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can you make your own feed?

post #1 of 14
4/17/12 at 1:20pm
Thread Starter 

Is it practicle and remotely cost effective to make your own feeds?  What i really want is a high quality, all natural, feed that they actually like.  Can i make such a thing for 30 chickens without it being a huge ordeal?  If it's doable i'd love to see others recipes.

Our menagerie: 1 horse, 2 dogs, 6 cats, 2 rabbits, 1 guinea pig, 3 hamsters, 1 Silkie roo bachelor, 1 Ameraucana/Easter Egger roo, 1 Ameraucana/Easter Egger hen, 7 Golden Comet hens. RIP Puff and Mocha.

 

Chicks coming in April: Ameraucana, Barred Rock, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red.  Ducklings coming in April: Blue Swedish, Cayuga, Mallard.  More chicks come in July, all Buff Brahma.

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Our menagerie: 1 horse, 2 dogs, 6 cats, 2 rabbits, 1 guinea pig, 3 hamsters, 1 Silkie roo bachelor, 1 Ameraucana/Easter Egger roo, 1 Ameraucana/Easter Egger hen, 7 Golden Comet hens. RIP Puff and Mocha.

 

Chicks coming in April: Ameraucana, Barred Rock, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red.  Ducklings coming in April: Blue Swedish, Cayuga, Mallard.  More chicks come in July, all Buff Brahma.

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post #2 of 14
4/17/12 at 2:38pm

There is a thread with some feed recipes take a look.  smile.png

 

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/651147/feed-recipe-not-sure-how-much-of-what

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post #3 of 14
4/17/12 at 6:13pm

I make mine and they LOVE it!  I have not done the math to see if it is cost effective but I only have 4 and I grind my own wheat for bread anyway.  I am figuring it probably costs me $2 lb because everything I buy is organic.  It only takes me 5-10 minutes to crack wheat, corn, and peas and put the ingredients together for 1 weeks worth.  So many bugs lately that it took them 2 weeks to eat the last batch.  I have read on this site some people formulating their own mixture and then taking it to a milling company.  I feel the biggest challenge is storage because so many ingredients go into a batch of feed.  I have no idea if this helps but I hope there is a little nugget of information in there.

Aspiring Urban Homesteader with 2 BR, 1 Golden Comet, and 1 Buff Orphington.

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Aspiring Urban Homesteader with 2 BR, 1 Golden Comet, and 1 Buff Orphington.

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post #4 of 14
4/17/12 at 6:16pm

Ooops, I meant that it costs me a little over $1 lb.

Aspiring Urban Homesteader with 2 BR, 1 Golden Comet, and 1 Buff Orphington.

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Aspiring Urban Homesteader with 2 BR, 1 Golden Comet, and 1 Buff Orphington.

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post #5 of 14
4/18/12 at 6:51am

Chicks on DL-- I see you must be a city-dweller... how do you crack your own grain? We are on a farm (brand-new to chickens, tho!) so my husband has a big grinder run by a tractor... but I am wondering about having something small for here at the house. (we have 5 chicks and a duckling right now)

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post #6 of 14
4/18/12 at 7:35am

I would think that a home kitchen wheat/grain grinder would do the job, or even a coffee grinder :)


 

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post #7 of 14
4/19/12 at 5:20am
Thread Starter 

Thanks, i found a recipe in a book that i "think" i can find all the ingredients for.  I'm going to see what is truelly available to me next trip i make to town.  Then i'll just have to find a hand grinder someplace.

Our menagerie: 1 horse, 2 dogs, 6 cats, 2 rabbits, 1 guinea pig, 3 hamsters, 1 Silkie roo bachelor, 1 Ameraucana/Easter Egger roo, 1 Ameraucana/Easter Egger hen, 7 Golden Comet hens. RIP Puff and Mocha.

 

Chicks coming in April: Ameraucana, Barred Rock, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red.  Ducklings coming in April: Blue Swedish, Cayuga, Mallard.  More chicks come in July, all Buff Brahma.

Reply

Our menagerie: 1 horse, 2 dogs, 6 cats, 2 rabbits, 1 guinea pig, 3 hamsters, 1 Silkie roo bachelor, 1 Ameraucana/Easter Egger roo, 1 Ameraucana/Easter Egger hen, 7 Golden Comet hens. RIP Puff and Mocha.

 

Chicks coming in April: Ameraucana, Barred Rock, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red.  Ducklings coming in April: Blue Swedish, Cayuga, Mallard.  More chicks come in July, all Buff Brahma.

Reply
post #8 of 14
4/19/12 at 6:08am

If your Chickens are old enough you wouldn't have to grind their grains for them. I have 9 week old's and they are on whole grains I have only 2 grains I need to crack yet. But soon they will be big enough to eat them all whole. The only time I ground their grains was when they were little. 

 

Which book are you using? just curious.   :)

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post #9 of 14
4/19/12 at 9:22am
Thread Starter 

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by WI FarmChick View Post

If your Chickens are old enough you wouldn't have to grind their grains for them. I have 9 week old's and they are on whole grains I have only 2 grains I need to crack yet. But soon they will be big enough to eat them all whole. The only time I ground their grains was when they were little. 

 

Which book are you using? just curious.   :)

 

OK, good to know.  I had read something about them needing to be switched to it slowly so their gizzards can get used to the whole grains.  The book i found the recipe in is The Joy of Keeping Chickens.  The ingredients i think will be fairly easy to find and it's for a 100 lb batch which i could handle.  Some recipes i've seen make way more than i can manage.  I did find a couple other recipes online i might try if i can find the ingredients.  I think my birds would prefer the homemade stuff.  They greatly prefer whole grains over commercial feed.

Our menagerie: 1 horse, 2 dogs, 6 cats, 2 rabbits, 1 guinea pig, 3 hamsters, 1 Silkie roo bachelor, 1 Ameraucana/Easter Egger roo, 1 Ameraucana/Easter Egger hen, 7 Golden Comet hens. RIP Puff and Mocha.

 

Chicks coming in April: Ameraucana, Barred Rock, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red.  Ducklings coming in April: Blue Swedish, Cayuga, Mallard.  More chicks come in July, all Buff Brahma.

Reply

Our menagerie: 1 horse, 2 dogs, 6 cats, 2 rabbits, 1 guinea pig, 3 hamsters, 1 Silkie roo bachelor, 1 Ameraucana/Easter Egger roo, 1 Ameraucana/Easter Egger hen, 7 Golden Comet hens. RIP Puff and Mocha.

 

Chicks coming in April: Ameraucana, Barred Rock, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red.  Ducklings coming in April: Blue Swedish, Cayuga, Mallard.  More chicks come in July, all Buff Brahma.

Reply
post #10 of 14
4/19/12 at 9:37am

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by HSerChickLady View Post

 

 

OK, good to know.  I had read something about them needing to be switched to it slowly so their gizzards can get used to the whole grains. Yes the gizzard is a muscle so it will have to have time to build up it's strength......the longer the better. no need to rush it.  

 

The book i found the recipe in is The Joy of Keeping Chickens.  Thanks I will have to check it out.

 

The ingredients i think will be fairly easy to find and it's for a 100 lb batch which i could handle.  I have 40....9 week old's an I am mixing 50# at time right now. 

 

Some recipes i've seen make way more than i can manage. You can break those down to 100#

 

 I did find a couple other recipes online i might try if i can find the ingredients.  Keep it simple you don't want it to become a burden. won't be fun any more.

 

I think my birds would prefer the homemade stuff.  They greatly prefer whole grains over commercial feed.  I know mine do! LOL

 

 

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BackYard Chickens › BYC Forum › Raising BackYard Chickens › Feeding & Watering Your Flock › can you make your own feed?