Homemade chick starter recipe

[CordovaAK]

Hey. Im a new member. Just got my first chickens since I was a kid. Been doing a bit of research here and other sites around the Internet. I live in VERY rural AK so finding feed can be incredibly difficult. Here's what I've put together for their starter. Just looking for some thoughts as to whether or not their getting everything they need.
2 parts bulgur wheat
2 parts Cornmeal
2 parts Sesame seeds
2 parts Steel cut Irish oats
1 part. Cold milled flax seed
1 part Shelled sunflower seeds
1 part Ground almonds
1 part Pearled barley (soaked in hot water)
1/2 Part lentils (soaked in hot water)
1/2 part split peas (soaked in hot water)
2 parts cooked ground whole herring (cheap protein fat source locally caught)

I've been tossing in every now and again wild berries (which they freak out over, it's awesome) and a little fresh seaweed I chop up. Tell me what you think.

 

[upthecreek]

Hey. Im a new member. Just got my first chickens since I was a kid. Been doing a bit of research here and other sites around the Internet. I live in VERY rural AK so finding feed can be incredibly difficult. Here's what I've put together for their starter. Just looking for some thoughts as to whether or not their getting everything they need.
2 parts bulgur wheat
2 parts Cornmeal
2 parts Sesame seeds
2 parts Steel cut Irish oats
1 part. Cold milled flax seed
1 part Shelled sunflower seeds
1 part Ground almonds
1 part Pearled barley (soaked in hot water)
1/2 Part lentils (soaked in hot water)
1/2 part split peas (soaked in hot water)
2 parts cooked ground whole herring (cheap protein fat source locally caught)

I've been tossing in every now and again wild berries (which they freak out over, it's awesome) and a little fresh seaweed I chop up. Tell me what you think.

WOW ........ they should be some Happy Healthy Chickens !!!!

That's a good recipe and i know they love it .
Best to You,
Shannon

 

[Kelsie2290]

Have you figured out the protein and fat content of the food? I would consider adding some sort of vitamin/mineral supplement just to cover all the basis.

 

[CordovaAK]

I'm thinking the berries and kelp together are supplying the needed vitamins and minerals. Any thoughts why these wouldn't replace a supplement?

 

[Kelsie2290]

I guess my idea is that with a poultry v/m supplement I know (hopefully) what I am adding, and that it should at least meet their basic needs... with berries and kelp etc, I am not really sure what or how consistent it is from brand to brand etc. I know the theory is that a wide range of food stuff in the diet will cover their needs, but how much variety can we really offer them?

 

[CordovaAK]

So both the kelp and the berries, I'm harvesting wild so there is really no consistency as I don't have gas chromatograph to find breakdown of their parts (I'm just being silly). I could look online at the different species I'm feeding them and get a general idea about the vitamin and mineral content. As to your first question I've done some calculations on my feed recipe. Looks like 35.83% fat 48.11% carbs 16.06% protein. Might need to up the herring in their meal. I'm looking for 20% or thereabouts, correct? That or the lentils, but they don't seem to like those as much.

 

[CordovaAK]

Yup, just double the herring to 4 parts changes the breakdown 41.29% fat 37.96% carb and 20.75% protein. Unfortunately, it jumps the fat content a bunch too. It's good healthy fat. Mostly unsaturated, high in omegas.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hey, you're not being silly, wish we could do that I don't know what a diet that high in fat is going to do, really interested in seeing how it comes out the other end so to speak.
Below is a link to the poultry book available on line that has the basic requirements listed, and a couple of other links on homemade diets from UC Davis and U of KY, that I like, don't know if you have seen them.

National Research Council. 1994. Nutrient Requirements for Poultry. No. 1, 9th
Edition. National Academy of Science, Washington, DC. 155 p
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=2114&page=21

http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/avian/feedingchickens.pdf
http://ucanr.org/sites/placernevadasmallfarms/files/102989.pdf
http://www2.ca.uky.edu/smallflocks/feed_ingredients/grains.html

 

[CordovaAK]

Thanks for the links. There's some good info. A lot of it expands on the maximum allowances of certain things in their feed and the possible adverse effects of too much inclusion in a home mix. So basically, the more options they have and right amount of protein equals good production. I still can't find anything on higher fat content except one study of full fat soybeans and how they dramatically increased egg size and decreased feed intake. http://japr.fass.org/content/14/1/32.short

 

[upthecreek]

Thanks for the links. There's some good info. A lot of it expands on the maximum allowances of certain things in their feed and the possible adverse effects of too much inclusion in a home mix. So basically, the more options they have and right amount of protein equals good production. I still can't find anything on higher fat content except one study of full fat soybeans and how they dramatically increased egg size and decreased feed intake. http://japr.fass.org/content/14/1/32.short

i think you got this thing figured out and should teaching us !! Thanks for the very good info and the way you handled it(perfect) !!

As to fat , i think a good comparison could be made by knowing exactly what a chicken will eat while free ranged ...... i think it would get a higher fat content than even yours(your recipe) if they could find enough of the right foods . For sure they would gobble down things like frogs (small & big) meat , hi fat , digestible protein ........ that's just the tip of the iceburg .

Shannon
(an unrelated problem i'm having here on BYC is : i do my message with paragraphs and etc , drop down a line or two enter my name = but when it shows up on BYC it is all pushed up together (no paragraphs) wonder what i'm doing wrong ??
with my luck it will work perfect this time lol .

Thanks

(and it did .... makes me look stupid .... can't argue with it though)