Chicken Scratch and Fresh Grain for Home Milling

backyard-chickens

Having a backyard flock, connects us with our food. We become concerned about our flock's health and about the quality of the food we produce. Photo courtesy of www.aholliday.com.

I have been looking for a local organic supplier for chicken feed. We are fortunate to live on an acre of land in Kamloops and can have backyard chickens. Chickens help clear the yard of weeds and pests. They will take kitchen and yard waste and turn it into the best soil available. They produce eggs and meat which adds healthy protein and fat into our family’s diet. Children love the company of chickens. Children learn about responsibility, feeding and watering the birds. They learn about the environment and how they can be a helpful part of the cycle of life.

Presently, the City of Kamloops does not allow chickens on single-family zoned properties. The city has suggested that they would look at site-specific zoning to allow individual property owners to re-zone. Re-zoning is very expensive. Even if you apply for re-zoning, it doesn’t mean you’ll get what you want. Presently, if people want to have a few chickens they face the consequences of breaking the law while others forgo this wonderful addition to their household. How did we get to the point where the government decides if I can have a dog, cat, goat or chicken in my backyard? Why is it illegal to have a useful animal?

The City of Vancouver now allows backyard chickens. The City of Victoria has always allowed backyard flocks. Hopefully, our city officials will see the ecological and social benefits of bringing back livestock into the urban landscape. A few chickens and a small garden starts making people aware of what they are eating and where it is coming from. This new awareness could have a positive effect on local ranchers and farmers as city dwellers start to think about their personal food supply.

grain-mill

Fieldstone Granary has a number of grain mills and flakers.

I drove out to Armstrong, BC to visit Fieldstone Granary. They process only certified organic grains from their farm and a number of other certified organic farms. They are the only certified organic grain processor in the province that can do numerous types of grain and custom processing. They specialize in human consumption spelt, rye and golden flax. They produce livestock and chicken scratch. Spelt hulls can be used as bedding material or garden mulch. They have seeds for green manures and cover crops. We bought half a pallet of organic chicken scratch and a pallet of spelt hulls. The price was very reasonable for organic feed. Our birds went wild finding the gleanings in the spelt hulls!

Fieldstone Granary sells home grain mills and flakers. A good machine is not cheap. The flour, cracked cereal grains and flakes produced with a home mill is superior in quality to anything you can buy. If you use flour, cracked cereal grains or flakes it should be freshly ground. If you don’t know why you should eat freshly ground grains please read: Be Kind to Your Grains.

We bought some spelt and rye. Spelt and rye makes a low gluten flour. My daughter Sonja spent part of her afternoon hand grinding the grain. We will make sour dough starter over the next few days. Any ground flour should be used within four days or stored for later use in the freezer. I am really glad my daughters will know how to make bread using traditional methods with the best grain and flour available.