Wholesome home-made chicken feed, without sweat, tears, a calculator, or deep pockets.

This article is impeccably researched, very well referenced, and gives the reader a glimpse into knowledge and techniques that were successful long before commercial feeds were available. Though somewhat scientific in it's writing, it is a good read for anyone interested in making their own feed.

I can't wait to dig into your article; thank you so much! Where has this been all my years? (lol - I have somewhat studiously been _not_ reading on a quite passive-aggressive kick about the age-old survival of chickens without excessive obsession).

You are absolutely inspiring about kicking the habit of commercial feed. Not that we're in rural Ecuador, but still it should be not difficult to do this from actual "scratch".

I purchase expensive, organic "Scratch n Peck" which the chickens proceed to leave behind the fines of - then I lightly ferment that along with some more "scratch" (no fines remaining) and feed it back, thereby preventing waste at least.

Trouble is, they're presumably overweight (my vet friend would remove the "presumably" qualification). They're only happy with this when they get to forage constantly, meaning - it's really not enough -- either in variation or possibly even nutrition. They get a protein boost every night and I can believe it's not recommended by the mavens here, but we've always done it because of the harmony it furnishes all around from human to avian.

So I really appreciate a knowledgeable, resourced reference for getting started. Thank you very, very much.

Thanks for researching and writing this article, and including the references which I am reading with interest. It's very timely for me and I plan to put it in to practice starting now. I have a few questions below, but first, here is why I'm making the transition.

I've been thinking for a long time about making a homemade feed mix for my chickens. The biggest obstacle that's been stopping me is finding the time to research the different foods readily available here, their nutritional contents, and devising a formula – or formulas – based on my findings. It's just so darn easy to buy the bag of layer or chick crumble. And cheap – 40 cents per pound. We don't have enough help as it is running our farm and various projects as it is, and money is always an issue. But… I've received multiple signs that I need to find the time somewhere and stop buying this stuff.

The signs? Nothing from the ether, just the crappy fact that two out of the last three sacks of crumble I bought went moldy and I had to toss it. I only buy 20lb sacks, I keep the crumble in an airtight container, I and always use it within a month. So that means it's coming from the feed store already almost spoiled. I'd rather spend time than waste money on spoiled feed.

Where we live (rural Ecuador, rainforest climate) it's not like I have choices of feed brands, designer this or organic that. There's one or two big companies distributing animal feeds, one kind of feed for layers, one for chicks, and that's it. The layer and chick feed comes in unmarked plain sacks, no date, and the only way to find out what's in it is to ask the store proprietor if you can please look at the label on the enormous sack from the manufacturer in the warehouse. So I know the feed is a pretty typical commercial mix: wheat, soy, maize, sunflower oil, and a bunch of vitamin additives, 18% protein minimum. Maybe it's average as feeds go, but if I can't get it fresh enough to use without potentially poisoning my birds, that's the game changer right there.

Another reason: anytime I have a chicken who is feeling a little off, the first thing they do is reject the commercial feed. I'm not talking about dying birds. I've successfully treated cases of mild respiratory illness, sour crop, and bumblefoot, and when chickens are recovering, all they want is the scrambled egg, sardines, and wholesome carbs like quinoa or sweet potato that I give them. It's a chore to get them to go back to eating commercial feed again, and that tells me it's really not what they want or need.

Furthermore, my chickens free range all day every day in orchards, forest, and grassy areas. There's all sorts of wild berries, cultivated fruits, grasses, and native groundcover plants. They nibble at whatever looks good to them. So I can assume they are supplementing their diet already with foraging.

Besides, I've wanted to make a change for personal reasons. I just don't feel good feeding them that stuff. It feels like a convenient cop out, and that's not congruent with our lifestyle out here at all. Neither wheat nor soy are grown in Ecuador so what's in this feed is either GMO loaded crap from Empire USA or linked to Amazon deforestation in Brazil, or both. Lordy. And here I am talking about the importance of rainforests and food sovereignty and locally produced food and the evils of globalization and yadda yadda, but I've been buying this stuff for my chickens, whom I like better than most people. No wonder I feel like a total turd dishing it out to them.

I tossed the moldy feed today and have no plans to go into town for a few days, but the chickens needed to eat. So I just cooked up a pot of rice, quinoa, sweet potato, amaranth, flax seeds, lentils and added half a cup of yellow split pea flour to boost the protein. I added some fresh grated turmeric and ginger root from the garden. Maybe it's not perfect, but I felt good making it and the chickens loved it.


I've been giving them a big can of mackerel or sardines once a week, or making a stew with meaty beef bones, cassava and quinoa. And their reaction when I dish out something like that makes it obvious they are clamoring for something else than the crumble.

Ok, rant over. On to your article and my questions for you. I see that your personal studies led you to use wheat as a base ingredient. For reasons already mentioned, I don't want to use wheat. If I'm going to do this, I want to do it right, meaning I use what we grow on the farm and what's readily available from local sources.

I'd appreciate it if you could look at these lists of possible ingredients and advise me which ones would be your top picks for a homemade feed.

If I could devise a mix based on "free" ingredients (what we grow) from List 1 combined with ingredients from the second two lists, I could come up with something for the same cost as commercial feed.

We grow four excellent carbohydrate sources, each with different vitamin, mineral and fiber content.

List 1
Cassava (manioc). Big starchy tubers (not related to potato). Very low protein. High fiber. Some mineral content. The chickens love it. A lot of folks around here feed their chickens cassava, it grows so easily and is hugely productive. But is so low in protein, I wouldn't use it alone.
Camote. A tropical sweet potato. Less sugar than temperate sweet potatoes. Moderate protein. High fiber, vitamin and mineral content.
Taro. Small starchy roots. Not related to potato. Low protein. Good mineral content. Reportedly anti- inflammatory.
Plantains. Similar to bananas, but bigger with less sugar.* High in B vitamins and potassium. Can be consumed raw when yellow (ripe) or cooked when green.

All of these would require cooking to neutralize oxalates and make them more digestible. But I figure I could make a big batch every three days and by days two and three it would be lightly fermented. That's how Kichwa people get chicha (fermented drinks) started (and by adding their saliva, btw).

*Note: I'm careful with my flock eating bananas. I know they are excellent sources of nutrition, but occasionally they have gotten into an entire bunch that fell in the fruit orchard and ended up with a sour crop from eating dozens of rotting bananas, peels and all. So I'm more comfortable with using cooked green plantains because they are much lower in sugar or moderately ripe plantains raw.

List 2
Ingredients Locally available (at 50 - 60 cents per lb):
Barley
Cracked maize
Rolled oats
Rice*
Lentils
Black eyed peas (cowpeas)
Dried peas
Lupine
*I didn't think rice was very nutritious, but turns out it has a lot of benefits for chickens. My group prefers it cooked.
https://learnpoultry.com/chickens-eat-rice/

List 3
More Ingredients Locally available (at about $1 per lb):
These more costly ingredients I could add in smaller amounts to make the mix more nutritious.
Quinoa* (moderate protein, complete amino acid profile, )
Amaranth* (high protein, minerals)
Flax seed* (high protein, fat, minerals)
Chia seed* (similar to flax in composition)
Yellow split pea flour** (high protein)
Fava bean flour**(high protein)

*Regarding these ingredients, they are extremely high in some minerals. See this breakdown on amaranth for example.
**These flours are easy to use by adding water to make a paste and mixing it in with a grain mix or mash to up the protein.



Question: I notice that you recommend using lentils sparingly because they have a lot of iron. Are there other minerals that chickens should not get in excess?

Question: How would I formulate the mix? I was thinking perhaps to research the nutritional contents of each food per 100g and try different combinations that would have a minimum protein and fat content and a broad array of vitamins and minerals. What's the easiest way to figure this out? Or is this calculation not even necessary?

Question: Seeing how some of these ingredients (especially the ones we grow) and the hard seeds (like quinoa and amaranth) require cooking, while others only need soaking and fermenting, I figure I could devise two "formulas" –

1. A cooked mash of cassava, camote, plantain etc with peas or lentils and seeds added. The tubers, quinoa, and amaranth all have equal cooking times so could be easily prepared.
2. A soaked fermented mix of oats, barley, and maize with peas and seeds added.

Does this sound like a good plan? To provide variety without going overboard?
I would still plan on giving them some sardines and/or meat weekly as a "real treat."

I really appreciate any of your expertise with this. I'm done with this commercially manufactured stuff. My birds deserve better.

Thank you very much!

Thanks Perris for this very informative and almost 'scientific' article. I not only read it but also learned from it. : about language, flora, about food and health for humans, pigeons, wild birds, chicks and chickens.

It was a pleasure to read that there is no scientific evidence that commercial feed is better than carefully composed feed from pure ingredients.
And a pleasure to read how and why you prepare your own feed. The only thing I've missed is information about organic food that doesn't contain GMO soy and corn. I believe that the organic mixed grain that they sell in the Netherlands has a good composition that could also appeal to you. It is said that it should be sufficient to feed the chickens if they can free range whole day (except in winter). These organic grains are more expensive than the feed you buy. It’s certainly very different and healthier than the scratch they sell in the US you describe.

Furthermore its my personal choice not to let my bantams free range all day (risks) and I don’t feed my chickens extra meat or fish. They need it no more than humans imho as long as the feed is properly balanced. I do give my chickens organic layer/chick feed as the main part of their diet, because in my situation that is an easy and safe choice. The only animal supplements the chickens eat they find themselves + I give them some dried mealworms a couple of times a week.

Phenomenal WEALTH of information!

Amazing article! I've been looking for something like this for a while.

Absolutely fabulous article @Perris
Very similar to what I do myself, however I have been too nervous to exit commercial feed entirely and my flock feed consists of about half unmedicated chick starter with half whole grains/peas plus 1 cup per day of meat and bone meal, and table scraps (plus 24/7 free range forage on pasture). I'm lucky to live in a country where people would laugh you right out the door if your suggested you couldn't feed whatever you damn well pleased to your chickens.
Thank you very much for your informative article.

I will need to read this again and again. I am going to copy it to access it offline, is that legal?
This information packed article contains not only the ‘what to feed’ it explains the why, with the science behind it.
Learning how words & terms in the UK might have a different meaning in the USA helped me a lot.
There is so much I want to say about the importance of the information in this article, I am at a loss as to where to begin!
Step by step instructions for making feed including pictures. Again, I have to say, understanding why ingredients are used, what the nutritional value is - I think I found the words -
Required reading whether you make your own feed or not.

Well written and very informative. Thankful for people like you that are willing and able to do this research.

Another first class article. An enlightening mix of research and experience much of which bears out my own experiences of free range chicken keeping.
I've learn't a lot from Perris's contributions to the various feed discussions, particulalry the references to the supporting literature which I am still working my way through.

I'm one of the person who asked the author to write this article so I may be slightly biased if I find it wonderful. It is a perfect mix of the theory that led to choosing this way of feeding, and a detailed practical description of how it is done. The method in itself may probably seem not convenient in it's entirety for a number of chicken keepers who work full time or don't have sufficient space for their chickens to forage all day. However, I think it makes a convincing statement that considering real food as a treat potentially harmful for chickens and commercial food as the only safe and healthy way to feed them, is a rather biased point of view. I hope it will encourage chicken keepers in thinking that introducing diversity in types of food and not limiting strictly to commercial food can really be healthy for their flocks.
This matter is sometimes a heated debate on BYC (just like BARF diets for furry people has been when it began gaining popularity) and I think the article form is a useful way to explain things more in depth.

Thank you for writing this. It is a very thorough and well researched article (I am so glad you included the references).
I have known for a while that you make your own chicken feed but had little insight on what that involved.
I end up feeling that making my own feed might be more practical than I had originally thought - I may even give it a go as a result of reading this.
I did have questions about fermentation: do you do that to remove the anti-nutrients or for some other reason? And if the liquid contains the antinutrients, why do you sometimes use it to soak bread (did I read that correctly?). Finally, it sounded like you ferment it only over the prior 24 hours until you feed it - did I understand that right?
Anyway, great article. Thanks for sharing what you do.