Yes you absolutely can make your own grain. I use a cement mixer to mix the ingredients. You do have to be meticulous to ensure that you are giving your birds a well rounded diet (as mentioned above). If you have any chicken books, one of the appendixes probably includes a list of "food protein components" or something along those lines. You can probably google it as well.
But, more to your point, you have to make two big decisions up front. You must choose which grain to use which makes up the bulk of the feed. You actually have endless options, and I would pick which one is cheapest in your region. I'm growing my own winter rye, oats, winter wheat and field peas here. So next Summer, those will be the main ingredients.
Your second big decision is what meal to use. When you look at the protein percentages on typical grain, you'll see they are from the 8% to 14% range, which is too low for starter or broiiler feeds. So, you supplement the protein using a seed meal. Soybean meal is cheapest where I live, but linseed is often available too. You could also use fish meal, which is great because chickens are omnivores. The seed and animal meal protein percentages typically range around 40%.
So as you can see it's simply math to multiply out the two components to reach the target protein percentage. Then, all you do is refer to your ingredients charts again to fill out all the other nutritional needs. If it's layer feed you are using, you will obviously require a fair ammount of calcium (bone meal is commonly used). If you are talking waterfowl, then you will need brewer's yeast to round out the niacin for them.
Finally, if you have other livestock, such as cows, sheep, goats; and you have had a soil analysis and custom mineral made up for them; then there is no reason not to make your own chicken feed. Those loose minerals you get for your farm are actually just feed starters. Add your grain and meal and you have the best possible food for your birds on your soil types.
But, more to your point, you have to make two big decisions up front. You must choose which grain to use which makes up the bulk of the feed. You actually have endless options, and I would pick which one is cheapest in your region. I'm growing my own winter rye, oats, winter wheat and field peas here. So next Summer, those will be the main ingredients.
Your second big decision is what meal to use. When you look at the protein percentages on typical grain, you'll see they are from the 8% to 14% range, which is too low for starter or broiiler feeds. So, you supplement the protein using a seed meal. Soybean meal is cheapest where I live, but linseed is often available too. You could also use fish meal, which is great because chickens are omnivores. The seed and animal meal protein percentages typically range around 40%.
So as you can see it's simply math to multiply out the two components to reach the target protein percentage. Then, all you do is refer to your ingredients charts again to fill out all the other nutritional needs. If it's layer feed you are using, you will obviously require a fair ammount of calcium (bone meal is commonly used). If you are talking waterfowl, then you will need brewer's yeast to round out the niacin for them.
Finally, if you have other livestock, such as cows, sheep, goats; and you have had a soil analysis and custom mineral made up for them; then there is no reason not to make your own chicken feed. Those loose minerals you get for your farm are actually just feed starters. Add your grain and meal and you have the best possible food for your birds on your soil types.
