Does anyone have a good chicken feed spreadsheet they will please share?

[TooCheep]

Update on my own duckweed experience. Yesterday, I tried feeding straight duckweed. It worked okay, but the chickens weren't excited by it. Today, I split their normal daily ration of fermented feed into two containers and mixed some duckweed into one. Both containers were emptied at about the same time, so I consider that a success.

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As for the winter peas vs. duckweed comparison. Yes, drying is a part of the process for using duckweed normally, though water fowl like ducks eat them fresh in the wild. One item to consider is production cost/effort.

Under proper conditions, duckweed doubles *very* fast. So you can harvest and come back a week later and it looks like nothing had changed. I don't have hard numbers, but I suspect that the amount of duckweed that you can harvest from a given area is easily an order of magnitude greater than peas. But then drying comes into play... Someone serious about this could do an analysis, but it would be interesting to know which is easier to produce in quantity of dried product.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Sorry for all the spelling errors. Also playing a game on my cell phone, a game in another window of my computer, and eating dinner.

Hopefully, the above makes sense.

and tying it all back to @TooCheep excellent question above, I, like many, am not particularly interested in a perfect protein (except insofar as it allows me to use approximations to perform quick mental math), and am happy to provide "more than enough".

I would have no concern if there was a pond on my property (there is) full of S polyrhiza (or Lemna Minor, since I'm not counting on it to be a core part of the diet) that my birds could snack on. (I keep trying) Like my clover varieties, and my methi (fenugreek), its a net benefit I'm sure they will reasonably self regulate. But as a feed substitution, I'm going to stick with the local mill's stuff. Its not great, but its good enough and at a cost I can stomach. That said, I'm very fortunate, most don't have the local mill options and pricing that I do. That changes the math - quite a lot

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I have some limited knowledge of human health/nutrition, but far less about chickens and have counted on your posts for much of my knowledge. I know in humans, it is sometimes the ratio of nutrients that is very important (ex: Omega-6:Omega-3 ratio), sometimes just getting sufficient quantities with virtually no practical upper limit (ex: Vitamin-C and Iodine) and sometimes you need to be in a specific range, with lower and upper limits (ex: Vitamin A). I'm sure the same types of rules apply to chicken nutrition.

Meant to respond to this earlier, got sidetracked.

In chickens , the only major ratio we need to pay attention to is Calcium : Phosphorus. Most common biological processes (almost everything except making the shell of a chicken egg) use 2 Ca for each 1 P. and chickens find the P bound in plant sources ("phytate phosphorus") to be largely unuseable, absent the addition of certain enzymes in their feed, so particularly with free range flocks like mine, very important they get all they need from their feed.

Calcium is also the only thing commonly in a chicken diet that's routinely harmful in excess - and the only reason that excess is possible is because an actively laying hen's calclium needs are so much greater then every other flock member's. To a point, "excess" P helps buffer the effects of excess calcium (certain types of calcium are less detrimental as well).

So I tend to look for feeds around 1% - 1.5% +/- Calcium *since I'm one of the "All Flock + calcium/oyster shell in seperate dish" people) with 0.6% Phosphorus if I can get it . That 1 : 2 Ratio of P to Ca. I have seen feeds out there at 5% and higher calcium with just 0.4% Phos. That's not something you feed to a bird you plan to keep.

Otherwise, I look to exceed minimums based on bird age, knowing that the safe maximums are a long ways away.

 

[Nym]

I would be going back to nature with nutritious and tasty supplements aka fresh cell foods - meal worms and ample handfuls of fresh greens like duckweed, red clover, red cabbage and watermelon. See what local farmers / markets / supermarkets etc have that's going cheap to get you started fast.

Dandelion leaf dried and lightly ground to a flake is loaded with vitamin C! And free in any backyard. With a bit of care it grows large and lush and loves getting our attention with those bright yellow flowers: Pick me! Pick me - I'm everywhere because I'm so good for you!

Buy cheap frozen peas in bulk; add boiling water to a cup full on cold days, strew around for warm foraging fun. and hang corn cob pinattas around for them to attack and enjoy.

Make sourdough cornbread with added dried dandelion herb, mixed italian herbs and hemp meal or seeds. Research the benefits of hemp feed and even bedding.

Once upon a time in Australia it was almost law for farmers to grow hemp for chook seed feed! High in omega 3,6 & 9!

Chickens get fussy .. very fussy! Mine know the difference between sourdough and regular bread, but I'm not going to stop giving them a wide variety of breads: Their all-time fave is a Greek Pita flat bread - only 3 ingredients! Chickens also appreciate simplicity, I think.

Yoghurt, kefir, sourcream etc are wonderful additions to a factory feed. A tablespoon mixed in to a mash seems to really make it more appetising .. and all are dead-easy to make. What chicken can resist mashed veg with herbs and a dollop of sourcream! (once in a while).

Sprouted mungbeans, lentils and pea shoots are a delicacy. My birds follow me around in the hopes my pockets are still full of these 'training' treats. Chopped tomatoes, blueberries and riced cauliflower are just as popular.

Dried parsley is another fave to add to any feed.

Youtube has mealworm farming vids and it looks a lot easier than mixing your own feed. I bought the drawers but have yet to buy the worms to start my own supply. They live on oats and a bit of cucumber for water ..

Duckweed is the easiiest plant to grow. Add to water and stand back. I have buckets and bird ponds full of it and have been feeding it to my chicks within days of hatching ... it's the first thing to disappear at mealtimes.

I hope some of this is useful