DIYing Chickens Diet

[Mautown]

I have seen some threads on here referring to it not being worth trying to DIY a chicken feed recipe, mostly due to cost but also due to the difficulty trying to get a well balanced diet.

Is this something that could be negated with logistical planning?

If I planned on starting insect colonies that were highly prolific breeders, grew microgreens and supplemented with things like oats or foraging for wild edibles, would it be possible to achieve a lower cost to feeding them?

My concern with the microgreens is that it seems we will tear through seeds and it won't produce an enormous amount of food, but there are microgreens that can be repeatedly harvested by my understanding and at the quick rate of their growth to harvesting them it seems like we could produce a decent amount with minimal effort.

I'm unsure of how productive we could be with foraging for them. I know there is a ton that they can eat but I'm not experienced enough to know of all the adverse effects that could come from feeding them too much of 1 thing.

I appreciate the help as I truly am a novice with this. Just looking to learn the craft and treat my chickens right.

 

[notabitail]

I have seen some threads on here referring to it not being worth trying to DIY a chicken feed recipe, mostly due to cost but also due to the difficulty trying to get a well balanced diet.

Is this something that could be negated with logistical planning?

If I planned on starting insect colonies that were highly prolific breeders, grew microgreens and supplemented with things like oats or foraging for wild edibles, would it be possible to achieve a lower cost to feeding them?

My concern with the microgreens is that it seems we will tear through seeds and it won't produce an enormous amount of food, but there are microgreens that can be repeatedly harvested by my understanding and at the quick rate of their growth to harvesting them it seems like we could produce a decent amount with minimal effort.

I'm unsure of how productive we could be with foraging for them. I know there is a ton that they can eat but I'm not experienced enough to know of all the adverse effects that could come from feeding them too much of 1 thing.

I appreciate the help as I truly am a novice with this. Just looking to learn the craft and treat my chickens right.

I can't help much with the other things on this list, but the insects, I can. Mealworns contain a lot of fat, so they should be fed in moderation.
Having your own colony of worms is better in the long run. I have a few. They take a couple months to get going really good but once they are going there will be a bunch.
If you want more on raising mealworms let me know.

 

[Mautown]

I can't help much with the other things on this list, but the insects, I can. Mealworns contain a lot of fat, so they should be fed in moderation.
Having your own colony of worms is better in the long run. I have a few. They take a couple months to get going really good but once they are going there will be a bunch.
If you want more on raising mealworms let me know.

Good to know, thank you!

I should have been more specific, the colonies I'm working on are dubia roaches and crickets. I'm also trying to get a worm bucket going but that is giving some issues.

Do you use European nightcrawlers or red wigglers?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

@U_Stormcrow

 

[Perris]

this might help
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...eat-tears-a-calculator-or-deep-pockets.78655/

 

[EddieSalita]

Micro greens seem inefficient and low in protien when compared to particular fodder plants with good nutritional profiles. Things like alfalfa, moringa, dired cassava leaf, tagasaste, desmanthus etc.....

They are more productive and or perennial. Or just less labour intensive and or cheaper long term. Probably much more nutritious also. Moringa in particular is high in calcium and various amino acids. It has been studied quite a bit as a chicken fodder.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6680523/

Nature doesnt make pellets. But nature doesnt make birds lay an egg a day either.

 

[Mautown]

this might help
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...eat-tears-a-calculator-or-deep-pockets.78655/

Wow, very good thread, super detailed.

Thank you muchly for your detailed response. I read it once and will read it a few more times to get what I can from it and my wife will be reading as well. Thanks!

 

[Mautown]

Micro greens seem inefficient and low in protien when compared to particular fodder plants with good nutritional profiles. Things like alfalfa, moringa, dired cassava leaf, tagasaste, desmanthus etc.....

They are more productive and or perennial. Or just less labour intensive and or cheaper long term. Probably much more nutritious also. Moringa in particular is high in calcium and various amino acids. It has been studied quite a bit as a chicken fodder.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6680523/

Nature doesnt make pellets. But nature doesnt make birds lay an egg a day either.

Thanks for your input. I appreciate the good perspective with your final point.

 

[akpiglet]

My two cents: A well balanced diet is a really big deal, if your hens are on dirt only, and/or they never change location. If they are on pasture and have access to enough of nature, I think they will balance their diet.
That being said, When I've not been able to move mine often enough, or when it is extra dry out (in a country that's normally wet) - they may not find enough bugs/worms, and may have picked out many of the choice weeds and grass that they should be getting their nutrition from. Then I find them screaming to be fed more often, and they seem unhappy and I am concerned whether I've got their mix right. I stick with a very simply mix, influenced by the forum member who wrote that amazing article refered to above.
I still think it's worth it to educate yourself about the importance of methionine to lysine (there's going to be too much of one compared to the other, if you have a ratio of wheat to peas that's wrong), but this cannot be as critical if they get a lot of foraged food.
Farmed worms etc. would be fantastic... and a little seaweed provides minerals.
If they have access to forage and you provide farmed critters, DIY feed is definitely cheaper. On the other hand, I am feeding chicks as though they don't get forage, because I don't let them out as freely or they'd be eaten. This is expensive based on the DIY feed recipes.