Everyone, post your best homemade chicken feed recipes!

[sheilae123]

Hi, Are you using the feed that you came up with that you posted about last year? I was just wondering. I came up with a feed, but yours looks very complex to calculate.

Just wondering if you are using it and if so, how its going?

 

[LindaB220]

Hi, Are you using the feed that you came up with that you posted about last year? I was just wondering. I came up with a feed, but yours looks very complex to calculate.

Just wondering if you are using it and if so, how its going?

Hey, sheilae123

Which one were you talking about? The post # is in the right top corner. We'll find it. Let us know. I'm getting my chickens on Mar 20 and am looking for a good mixture also.

 

[sheilae123]

This is the one I am referring to:

Can I please get input on the “recipe” I have come up with that I would like to offer my girls? We have 10 chickens (EE, RIR, BR, Australorp, Cochin) and 2 Muscovy ducks. We have several grain mills within an hour from our home, and it would be very easy to get this pre-mixed. I would like to feed this to all of them (the numbers behind the item are parts/%):

Corn 12/10.75%
Oats 12/10.75%
Wheat 12/10.75%
Quinoa 5/4.5%
Millet 6/5.4%
Flax 5/4.5%
Pumpkin 6/5.4%
BOSS 6/5.4%
Safflower 5/4.5%
Peas 6/5.4%
Peanuts 3/2.7%
Alfalfa meal 13/11.6%
Fish Meal 2/1.8%
Fish flakes 3/2.7%
Brewers yeast 4/3.6%
Oyster shell 8.75 parts
Nutribalancer 3 parts

 

[sheilae123]

LindaB220, it was post #232

 

[Me alter]

Hi,
In my readings if I go just by percentages on American labels I didn't feel it was enough to recreat a recipe without redundancy or approaching toxic levels. So, when I google a topic I read articles written by vets and research done in Africa, Brittain, India Romania. Your recipe appears to be a "summer" recipe with corn at 10%. I believe a "winter" level of corn is closer to 30-40%. The BOSS may provide the omega 3 oil/fats you're looking for in the Flax seed. There is a toxic limit on the BOSS. But I use BOSS for my protein; I just ration out about 1 1/4 lbs. for 25 birds per day and I've had no problems. There's a real serious limit on salt. I use Redman's granulated mineral salt. Your fortrell dealor shoul handle it at least mine does. I also give my girls fish meal from Fertrell (so I think you can ditch the fish flake). The cost of these ingredients should be pretty high. So I started using feeding by choice. If I pay double for organic feed I don't want 40-60 percent of that to end up in the litter. By using a choice method I probably have 5% end up in the litter. I germinate my wheat that works real well.
Anyway, this should give you some points of departure. The United Nation has done a lot of research in the feed values of various grains so you might browse there.
Mike

 

[LindaB220]

This is the one I am referring to:

Can I please get input on the “recipe” I have come up with that I would like to offer my girls? We have 10 chickens (EE, RIR, BR, Australorp, Cochin) and 2 Muscovy ducks. We have several grain mills within an hour from our home, and it would be very easy to get this pre-mixed. I would like to feed this to all of them (the numbers behind the item are parts/%):

Corn 12/10.75%
Oats 12/10.75%
Wheat 12/10.75%
Quinoa 5/4.5%
Millet 6/5.4%
Flax 5/4.5%
Pumpkin 6/5.4%
BOSS 6/5.4%
Safflower 5/4.5%
Peas 6/5.4%
Peanuts 3/2.7%
Alfalfa meal 13/11.6%
Fish Meal 2/1.8%
Fish flakes 3/2.7%
Brewers yeast 4/3.6%
Oyster shell 8.75 parts
Nutribalancer 3 parts

Wow, Sheilae, that is some intense research on your part. Where did you come up with all this. Looks fabulous but maybe way expensive. I could be wrong. Anyone else out there have an opinion? It all this necessary? Or am I just cheap? Jealous too because I don't have a mill close by or can not buy Furtrell in my part of the country..

 

[sheilae123]

That was actually someone else's. I think it says Michelle in Massachusetts. I thought I was writing to her. I wanted to know how that formula was going for her. I was feeding my chickens organic layer (commercial) and they were picking at each other, the butt feathers. I have been researching up and down. I add more whole foods rich in methionine. I came to the conclusion that these chickens are from feather picking ancestors. Their genetic links should have been culled from the breeding program. They were hatchery chicks. I am getting pickier about where I buy my chicks. I am in the process of coming up with my own feed formula because the guy at the feed mill said that my "organic" feed, which I was paying big bucks for, probably contains GMO ingredients. I was shocked by what he had to say and now I am doing some research and coming up with my own feed. I don't like soy as a feed ingredient. (my personal preference) My ingredients are the following as of now:

Austrian Peas
Hemp Seed
Wheat
Millet
Lentils
Adzuki Beans
Garbanzo Beans
Sesame Seeds
Flax
Oats
Buckwheat
Quinoa
Alfalfa Pellets (ground up)
Brewer's Yeast
Nutribalancer
Kelp

I make it in 10lb batches. I get the hemp from the feed mill that deals with a lot with pigeon feeds. The seeds/nuts are sterilized by steam and no other treatment. They are rich in amino acids.
Yes, its labor intensive because I slightly sprout the beans, wheat, peas, quinoa and dehydrate them. I grind the corn, lentils, beans, peas and alfalfa. I am still working on this. I just did the calculation for the amino acids and am in the process of evaluating them. That takes a lot of time. They do get sprouted seeds everyday in addition to this dry feed. I sprout wheat, buckwheat, mung beans, adzuki beans, sesame seed, millet, sunflower, peas, and oats. Soak the seeds for 12hrs and rinse twice a day until just sprouting. I also grow wheatgrass and sunflower greens (too many change the yolk flavor), give them chopped Kale or spinach, chopped carrots (takes seconds in the food processor) and chopped apples on occasion. If anyone has any input, feel free. It's about 18-19% protein right now.

 

[pbjls]

wow that is a busy list of ingredients. I have been making feed for several years, and have done very well with wheat, peas, and barley as the base of the feed. I use a custom premix instead of nutria balancer, but I know most people can not have a premix made.

I will add some fish meal to get a higher protein for chicks and turkeys and I add molasses when feeding out hogs.

 

[pbjls]

I should also mention that the absolute best book on the subject I have ever seen is Nutrition and feeding of organic poultry by Robert blair.

 

[Kristinanne80]

was curious as to how this blend worked for you? also how onld were they when you started to feed this and for how long? if I was to add alfalfa and kelp could you recommend hoe much?