Mixing Grains for Feed verses Buying Corporate Crumbles...

[Chef JimmyJ]

This is true...For CITY FOLK. In the 50's a Chicken Dinner at a Wedding was puttin' on the Ritz. It cost big bucks, the equivalent of Prime Rib or Surf and Turf today. But the Country Farmer or rural American Homestead, Chicken was readily available Fresh Meat running around the yards. A young tender Roaster, 12 weeks old, was a Special occasion meal but there were plenty of Old Hens for everyday meals. Too tough to eat fried or roasted, creative Mom's made Chicken Soup, Chicken Stew, Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken and Dumplings and a whole variety of Chicken dishes that took that Tough Old Bird and cooked it Low and Slow in a liquid, until the meat Fell Off the Bone. Along with the meals above, a family favorite of ours, was Chicken simmered in Tomato Sauce over Polenta. The bulk of the ingredients came from the backyard. The corn for Polenta, Tomatoes, Garlic, Onions and Herbs for the Sauce, and of course the Stew Hen. The fun part was how the meal was served...Grandma's giant Pasta Board was centered on the table. The Polenta was poured out on the board then topped with the Tomato Sauce, Chicken and plenty of Pecorino Romano Cheese, purchased at the Italian market. The family sat around the table, took a spoon and ate off the Board. No filling plates and going off to watch TV or play Video Games. We drank Homemade Wine, Milk for the kids, talked, laughed, Grandpa told stories about growing up in the Old Country and working in the area Coal Mines. Sometimes we even sang songs but the best part, we just enjoyed being Together!...JJ

 

[AmyJane725]

How much is a 25Kg bag of feed where you are on average?
I pay 16 Euros ($18) for a 18% protein 1% calcium organic feed here. The organic bit isn't a big deal for me but they don't have the 18% in anything else locally.

I feed an organic non-GMO 18% feed. After tax it's like $32 for a 40 lb bag.

I got all excited when you mentioned that there were still feeds available that include fish meal. I was gonna ask what brand, but we don't live in the same country...

 

[Shadrach]

I feed an organic non-GMO 18% feed. After tax it's like $32 for a 40 lb bag.

I got all excited when you mentioned that there were still feeds available that include fish meal. I was gonna ask what brand, but we don't live in the same country...

If it's any consolation I can't get them here locally either. The nearest place I've found is a two hour drive away.
I've been feeding fish two or three times a week along with the commercial feed. I'm trying to come to an arrangement with my local fish monger for the fish guts he gets.

 

[AmyJane725]

If it's any consolation I can't get them here locally either. The nearest place I've found is a two hour drive away.
I've been feeding fish two or three times a week along with the commercial feed. I'm trying to come to an arrangement with my local fish monger for the fish guts he gets.

I'm sure there's probably some small scale operations dotted throughout the country that make animal based protein feed, but there's definitely not any commercially available anymore. When I was researching feed I came upon many threads listing off brands that used fish meal or other meat products, but those were years old. If you look at those same brands now they've all switched to cheaper plant based sources.
This made the decision pretty easy, honestly. If there's no protein source to consider, I was just gonna pick the healthiest plant based I could find. I went with the hippy-dippy organic non-GMO stuff because, while I don't believe that GMOs in and of themselves are inherently harmful, GMO containing feeds are going to be laden with carcinogenic pesticides. That's what a lot of the GMOs are bred for; resistance to pesticides so they can just dump it on to control the bugs without killing the plants. I don't need any of that trash going down my precious babies' gullets.

 

[Chef JimmyJ]

@AmyJane725 Are there any Seafood Markets near you? Do you have friends that go fishing? Markets that get Whole fish and Filet them for customers have plenty of heads, skin and bones that they sell Cheap, <$1 per pound, to folks to make Soup or Stock. Your friends likely just throw everything but the Fillets away. A Dozen or two Eggs a week, to the local Fosh Monger, may land you more Fish Parts than you imagined...

 

[AmyJane725]

@AmyJane725 Are there any Seafood Markets near you? Do you have friends that go fishing? Markets that get Whole fish and Filet them for customers have plenty of heads, skin and bones that they sell Cheap, <$1 per pound, to folks to make Soup or Stock. Your friends likely just throw everything but the Fillets away. A Dozen or two Eggs a week, to the local Fosh Monger, may land you more Fish Parts than you imagined...

Eh, we have a Farmer's Market that's open during the summer sometimes, but nothing other than grocery store seafood sections the rest of the year. And I don't really have any friends. I just have chickens...

 

[Folly's place]

Here I pay $16.50 to $17.50 for 50 pounds of Flock Raiser. Dumor stuff is cheaper, but I wasn't happy with it. The local feed mill actually closed, so there's no place close to try locally milled feeds.
Mary

 

[Plsc]

I thought about mixing my own feed, cost was prohibitive here though. TSC is the closest place to get feed.

 

[Velma Mae]

This is from a complete Newbie here.
I do A LOT of Reseach before I take on a new project, so take my words or opinion for whatever value you place on it. There are very friendly and knowledgeable folks here and I value what they have to say. I really Love this Place!

Not every person raising Chickens has the land or time to Free Range. Even tossing the Girls lawn weeds and some grass, garden trim and seasonal leftovers or wilted greens and people food is good. But for these Chicken Fans, it's Feed that makes the bulk of their Chickens diet.
I'm not a Chicken Nutritionist but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night...
After 3 years of research, I'm retired with a lot of time on my hands, this is what I have determined. Since the Domestication of Chickens, some 9000 years ago, when they foraged and ate a portion of whatever their keeper was growing and eating. They ate vegetables and assorted Grain. It was some 8000 years, turn of the Century, until Factory Farmed Poultry was born and another few Decades, the 50's, before sufficient knowledge of Vitamin and Minerals effect on health became a field of College Study, aka the Chicken Nutritionists. Their focus, Originally, was and is the Health of the birds...BUT...It was not too many years before Farmer Joe and Sons Poultry, became Tysons Inc, Pilgram's Pride and Perdue. While chicken health is of major concern, you can't sell Dead Chickens, Chicken health at a MINIMUM COST, is paramount. While Chickens live, grow and produce amazing eggs at 24-30% Protein, Protein is the most expensive ingredient in feed. The " Nutrionists " researched and determined with 16% Protein, artificial Vitamins, Hormones and Antibiotics, the birds grow at sufficient rates, to turn a profit. Is it possible or worth while for, Crazy Chicken Lady 85 to try to do better? Absolutely! Go to Shop-Rite, buy a Tysons Chicken and a Dozen Eggs. Next stop at your Local Farmers Market and get a Free Range Cornish Cross and a Dozen Free Range Buff Orpington Eggs. Roast off the Chickens with just Salt and Pepper for seasoning and make Soft Boiled or Sunny Side Eggs...How do the chickens look, smell, how does body conformation and Taste compare? Now the Eggs, how far do the Whites Spread, how Viscus are they, what Color are the Yolks, pale yellow or Vibrant Orange, how does the Taste of the two compare? You will be surprised...
There is a REASON over the last 50 years, people taste some unusual foods like, Snake, Alligator, Etc, and say," It taste like Chicken..." That's because modern Factory Farmed Chicken has a very small discernable Taste of its Own!!!! Virtually everyone here under 55 years of age, especially growing up in the city, has probaly not tasted what Chicken is SUPPOSED to Taste like, you were raised on Grocery Chain Chicken and the Tastless Store Eggs! Free Range Eggs have a Rich, Depth of Flavor that coats the mouth and lingers beyond swallowing. The Intensity is like a Full Flavored pot of Grandma's Sunday Gravy, aka Tomato Meat Sauce, that has simmered all day, her Loving Hands stirring and coaxing every ounce of goodness from the Home Grown Ingredients.
The Poultry Feed conglomerates soon took the opportunity to take the " Scientist " designed Feed they sell Factory Farms by the Train Car load, and make More Money. They started bagging it in 25 and 50 pound bags, printing some pretty picturesque farms, from days when chickens were hand raised and tasted great. They then market and sell it as, The Best Feed Money Can Buy!
I DON'T THINK SO!
I am old enough to have eaten the Chickens my Grandfather raised and Grandma cooked. The birds were born and raised on their small PA Farmette. The Chicken free ranged the property, were fed what my Grandfather raised in the Garden during the summer and a blend of Grains and Dryed Vegetables purchased from the local Feed Store in the winter. They could get Purina Chicken Chow but Gramp's would never feed His Girls that New Fangled who knows what. The flavor of Grandma's Chicken Roast or Soup was Amazing and the Egg Yolks, from their Ladies, were the color of Sunkist Oranges! Those meals were on visits and Holidays. I longed to return and missed those Chickens. In contrast, I was born and raised in Post War Suburban New Jersey. Chickens and the Eggs we ate came from Factory Farms and fed " Nutritionist " designed grain crumbles that have to be artificially enhanced because the Grains were/are the cheapest money can buy. They get ground and stored for Who Know How Long until ALL their Natural Nutritive value is Oxydized and Lost. Same goes for Layer Crumbles in automated egg farms. The birds and eggs were tasteless, having to be covered in BBQ SAUCE, Gravy or Marinaded. Hot Sauce on Eggs at least gave some flavor.
There are still plenty of folks around, Members Here, YouTube Channels and countless Blogger's, that have been taught the Old Way of How to Mix Nutritionally Balanced Blended Feed. They use Whole Grains that will Keep their Nutritional Value. Maybe add high Protein ingredients like Fish Meal, Kelp and Others or search out Organic, Non-GMO Roasted Soy Beans and Corn. Since Seasonal Rain, or lack of it and Weather changes can effect Nutitional Values, a little Fertell's Nutri-Balancer can make a great Insurance Policy that your birds diet is not lacking essentials. Do it right, lots of folks do, and grow Healthy, Beautiful, FLAVOR FILLED CHICKEN and Eggs that are worth eating.
Read, Watch Videos, Study the vast material on the subject both here and on the Net. THEN decide, Mix Your Own or Buy from the Checker Board Square folks. BTW...FERTRELL'S is accepted as Organic and made from all Natural ingredients. Add to your mix at 3% by weight to supplement any needed or missing Vitamins and a whole range of Probiotics. Oh Yeah, A NUTRITIONIST worked with Fertrell's Farm owners to develop their Nutri-Balancer. They are really good folks just doing what they are asked to do. NOT Evil Corporate Stooges.

So that's my thoughts on the Subject. Like I said. I'm just a Newbie with a lot of time on my hands...JJ

 

[Velma Mae]

I'm like you. I did a lot of research. The more I learned the more I knew I had to learn more. I also make my own feed. I sure enjoyed your article. Thanks.