DIY Chicken Feed

[tikibanjo]

I’ve read so much conflicting info about this, my head is starting to spin. I saw a video someone posted in which she raved about years of making her own chicken feed from bulk ingredients: cleaned oats (50%), cracked corn (25%), black oil sunflower seed (25%), and a small scoop of diatomaceous earth. I was considering providing this mixture and also the store-bought grower/later feed - about 50/50, giving them the choice.

Thoughts? I anticipate some strong opinions.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Store bought feed is scientifically formulated to give your chickens everything they need nutritionally. In the history of chicken keeping, these are the healthiest chickens to have ever lived. With that said, you can make your own feed, but it is essential they have a wide array of grains and seeds. Depending on the bird type (pullet, layer, meat chicken, chicks), they all require different nutritional needs. I investigated growing/mixing my own feed and have found that it is cheaper to buy premixed feed. There are several feed calculators online, but I spent several weeks building my own so that I can add my own ingredients and adjust feed ratios to obtain the appropriate protein and fat content. Oats, corn, and sunflower seeds would up the fat and carbs to beyond a chickens needs and not provide enough protein. Any homemade feed will need to have a large portion of various wheat, soy, and legumes in it to increase protein and nutritional variety.

https://humble-hills-farm.com/2020/...nd-cost-calculator-for-homemade-chicken-feed/

I wrote about my entire journey there if you are interested. I don't make any money from this, but if you can find it useful I'm happy to let you use it!! The link is to the blog post, within the post is a link to a google docs spreadsheet. You have to open the spreadsheet, go to file and download in the upper left corner, and download the spreadsheet as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet in order to edit it.

 

[tikibanjo]

Store bought feed is scientifically formulated to give your chickens everything they need nutritionally. In the history of chicken keeping, these are the healthiest chickens to have ever lived. With that said, you can make your own feed, but it is essential they have a wide array of grains and seeds. Depending on the bird type (pullet, layer, meat chicken, chicks), they all require different nutritional needs. I investigated growing/mixing my own feed and have found that it is cheaper to buy premixed feed. There are several feed calculators online, but I spent several weeks building my own so that I can add my own ingredients and adjust feed ratios to obtain the appropriate protein and fat content. Oats, corn, and sunflower seeds would up the fat and carbs to beyond a chickens needs and not provide enough protein. Any homemade feed will need to have a large portion of various wheat, soy, and legumes in it to increase protein and nutritional variety.

https://humble-hills-farm.com/2020/...nd-cost-calculator-for-homemade-chicken-feed/

I wrote about my entire journey there if you are interested. I don't make any money from this, but if you can find it useful I'm happy to let you use it!! The link is to the blog post, within the post is a link to a google docs spreadsheet. You have to open the spreadsheet, go to file and download in the upper left corner, and download the spreadsheet as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet in order to edit it.

This is super helpful!!! Thank you so much!