Does anyone on here grow their own chicken feed?

[deedles]

I'd like to stay away from commercial feed if at all possible, what with the GMO corn and soy and heavens knows what else toxic is in there.

Is there anyone on here that feeds their chickens without buying commercial feed? I mean, chickens have been around a lot longer than Monsanto, right?

If there is already a thread on this can anyone point to that... I don't mean to restart an old topic but I looked back a few pages and didn't see anything in particular.

Also, who grows mangel beets for their chickens in winter? Anyone on here? I've been reading that they are fabulous and used to be used as feed... as did most root crops apparently. It seems grains were easier to deal with so the industry went that route, but grains may not be the best diet for animals and poultry.

Anyway, thanks in advance.. I hope someone on here is a 'do-it-yourself' feeder!

 

[naturemom]

I don't grow my own, but I did make some for a while. I will again when I find a local source of organic grain. This site has some recipes. http://organicchickens.homestead.com/ChickenFeedRecipes.html
I also just got a copy of Backyard Poultry Naturally, which has feed recipes and also a lot of information about growing forage plants. I can't wait till spring so I can get started on that.

 

[RubberChickenLubber]

Here's a thread from this past week where we were talking about it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=36092

 

[hooligan]

There is a chicken book out that discusses what was traditionally used as chicken foods. I am sure you could find something online that references it.

 

[digitS']

I just want to encourage you to grow chicken feed. (And, I'll bump this up to the top again in the process.

Frankly, I don't see why we can't do this with some success

. There are a few important areas where we may go astray - one is allowing the protein level to drop and the other is not providing appropriate processing.

I've fed quite a lot out of my garden to the chickens. I have grown grain on farms in earlier jobs and on the family farm for livestock - just never chickens. More recently, I've grown grain crops in the garden for other use than feeding chickens. This year, I'll be putting some of this together and seeing what the hens think of the results.

Information from Manitoba Provincial government will be important to me in formulating the feed.

This 100 year-old guide is well worth reading. The publication was placed online by Oregon State University and doesn't take long to download. Click the "Adobe PDF View/Open" link near the bottom of the page.

I don't intend to completely replace commercial feed but I'm looking forward to seeing if 50% of what the hens eat can come from home

.

Steve