Homemade layer feed

Recently my brood started refusing their store-bought layer feed. It's a good feed, but they don't seem to like it. I started feeding them maize and sunflower seeds and the occasional treat of mustard and spinach, but they seem to be "underfed" and hungry all the time on this. They are completely free-range in a large camp (predators are a big problem around here so camps are my only option), but they are still provided with lots of food. We had a quite brutal winter here and the new shoots of green grass is just starting to show - and of course, insects and worms will start reappearing soon too.
I'm also worried what goes into these commercial feeds as I want my hens to be on a good vegetarian diet as I'm one myself and only consume the eggs that they lay - no store-bough lies about free-range and human treatment. The reason I started the flock in the first place is to provide my family with safe, truly free range eggs where I know the hens were treated humanly - and I know what they eat. No matter how you look at it, what you feed them gets back to you when the eggs are consumed.
Does anyone make their own completely balanced layer feed? Or does anyone have suggestions?

gwydiana said:

http://theelliotthomestead.com/2013/06/homemade-chicken-feed-organic-and-soy-free/



this looks interesting!

 

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Thanks so much! Will have a look.

How will you keep your chickens from eating the bugs? How can you make a chicken be vegetarian? I'm curious.

sepaditty1 said:

How will you keep your chickens from eating the bugs?  How can you make a chicken be vegetarian?  I'm curious.

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Ha-ha, that NEVER crossed my mind.

I thought you knew something I didn't about keeping them away from bugs.

i figure i better share some info here:

chickens who are fed a vegetarian diet normally do not do well, they need a certain amount of fat/protein that cannot be supplied easily by grains alone. soy is the wrong way to turn, as most soys contain antinutrients that make the chickens grow slower by restricting the absorption of vitamins. the lack of vitamins also decreases the ability for the immune system to work resulting in minor health issues becoming major troubles.

loveourbirds said:

i figure i better share some info here:

chickens who are fed a vegetarian diet normally do not do well, they need a certain amount of fat/protein that cannot be supplied easily by grains alone.  soy is the wrong way to turn, as most soys contain antinutrients that make the chickens grow slower by restricting the absorption of vitamins.  the lack of vitamins also decreases the ability for the immune system to work resulting in minor health issues becoming major troubles.  

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Thanks for the insight!