Homemade corn, wheat, and soy free layer feed

First, my research isn't on poultry nutrition, it's on wild bird nutrition, primarily waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, and song birds. I have the advantage of being able to measure alot of the variables in my lab. Right now we're running fatty acid profiles and will be starting amino acid profiles of fruits soon because least-cost diet analyses don't work well without that data, there are too many options for the program to converge upon one. My math on this may be off a little, but I don't have alot of time.

Angiedee-

I usually use : Scott, M.L., M.C. Nesheim, and R,J, Young. 1978. Nutrition of the chicken. M.L. Scott & Assoc. Ithaca, NY. 555pp. The NRC Poultry nutrition manual also has dietary requirements and food composition. The latest edition of Nutrition of the Chicken does not have the foodstuff composition.

HighSpringsChix-

Yes, but the real question is, will it provide sufficient energy and amino acids for growth and production. Field peas are 22% protein (dry weight), 1000 kcal/lb, 1.6% lysine, 1.8 leucine, and 0.38 methionine. Because the peas will be soaked before grinding, I would assume you could halve all those values because the peas will be around 50% water, that has no nutritional value. As I think about it, I'm not sure how soaking will increase the digestability value.

Oats, again halve everything because they are soaked, are 12% protein, 1190 kcal/lb, 0.5% lysine, 0.7 leucine, and 0.31 methionine.

Fish meal, depending upon source fish (I'll use menhaden), is 60% protein, 1400 kcal/lb, 5% lysine, 5 leucine, and 2.7% methionine.

Alfalfa meal is is about 740 kcal/lb (depending upon how it's processed), , 17 % protein, 0.65% lysine, 1.2 leucine, and 0.28 methionine

This would produce a diet that is about 296 kcal/lb, and 3.3 % protein.

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I know when we had horses that we went to a lower calorie feed for summer, and to a higher corn content sweet feed for winter. Seems the same principle should apply. I know I personally prefer salads, veggies, and fruit in the summer, and feel horrible if I eat a high cal food...hot and sluggish.

I would add some flax and sunflowe seed to op's recipe, to replace a bit of the oats. I looked at grain nutrition charts that compared various grains. I might add some amaranth, too...is it okay for chickens?

Where is a good place to buy the ingredients?

"I know when we had horses that we went to a lower calorie feed for summer, and to a higher corn content sweet feed for winter. Seems the same principle should apply. I know I personally prefer salads, veggies, and fruit in the summer, and feel horrible if I eat a high cal food...hot and sluggish."

You prefer a lower calorie diet because there are reduced thermoregulatory requirements and those foods are higher in percent water and most people tend to be dehrdrated in the heat.



At the latest Australian Poultry conference there was a paper suggesting the inclusion of more fats in the diet in summer (because of heat). The argument is that fats have a lower specific dynamic effect (heat produced during digestion) than carbohydrates or proteins. It makes sense, but I would worry about storage ability of the food.

Clint

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I use BOSS and flax seeds as well. Amaranth is fine, but if that stuff gets loose and starts growing, it can really be a nuisance to a farm.

As for where to buy...that's a tough one and you'll likely find that you're pushing the logistical limits of your local feed stores' ability to supply things. I have to use several different feed stores and even the bulk bins at WinCo (for flax seed, millet, and nutritional yeast). Azure Farm in Oregon is a relatively inexpensive source for many items, if you can get in on their ordering process.

To the OP - your original plan to use 5% fish meal is right on; Jeff Mattocks of Fertrell advises that greater than 5% can cause a fishy smell in the eggs so 5% is my target (again, that's by weight). See "Pastured Poultry Nutrition" for more. http://www.sustainablepoultry.ncat.org/downloads/chnutritionhpinew.pdf

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First, thanks for all the great info!

I know the soaking and the grinding improve the energy value of the peas and oats because, at the very least, they are physically easier to digest. I found this info about peas, and I am thinking I need to cook the peas to get the most energy from them, soaking alone might not be enough.

Here is my question, though, should all the values be halved for soaked grain? Even though I am soaking the feed, they are getting the equivalent of about 5oz of dry mix each. They finish all the feed I put out for them with no problem. They are laying really well, I'm averaging more than .7 eggs/hen/day. If they weren't able to finish that would certainly be a problem. As long as they are finishing all the feed, shouldn't we just look at the totals?

The fish meal is menhaden. The alfalfa meal is from soaked pellets that are 15% protein.

I am upping the fish meal by 50%, and adding 2 oz of tallow. That should improve the amino acid profile, and energy. I am looking for some flax, sunflower seed meal, and maybe millet to replace a portion of the oats.
Would that provide sufficient energy for the laying hens?

Thanks again.

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I ordered the fish meal from online. But, Hillandale in Lake Butler puts fish meal in their high protein hog feed, so they may be a local source. I did get them to bag me plain whole oats, though they do have a lot of chaff in them. The local feed stores have 'race horse oats' at a slightly higher rate. I am considering switching to them. I just found split iron/clay peas in Alachua at Alachua Farm and Lumber. I talked to the feed store owner in High Springs about getting them, so we'll see.

I haven't looked for flax or sunflower seed meal. I know I can get the flax at the local feed store, but I am clueless about the sunflower meal. Any ideas?

I wish there was a mill around here that would do special blends in smaller batches. I don't know of any, do you?

"I know the soaking and the grinding improve the energy value of the peas and oats because, at the very least, they are physically easier to digest."

I don't follow your reasoning here. The energy value is constant, and that's why chickens have gizzards is for the mechanical digestion.

If you're providing things on a dry weight basis and then adding water it wouldn't need to be halved. IF you are weighing out 5 lbs of grain and then soaking it, it's VERY different from weighing out 5 pounds of saoked grain.

Clint

How come sunflower meal and flax meal instead of just the whole seeds?

I need caloric density. There is plenty of fiber with the oat hulls, I don't need sunflower hulls in there too, I'm thinking.

i like that! iv been feeding my chicks, flax seeds chia seed and coconut flakes....really good high omegas