Everyone, post your best homemade chicken feed recipes!

[WPFarmstead]

Ok, so I have a base mix that I'm buying (wheat, peas and barley) and I'm trying to find a good vitamin/mineral supplement to add to it. Where does everyone source their kelp and nutritional yeast? Does anyone use trace mineral salt for their salt component?

 

[weidnercharm]

I get kelp from Amazon and nutritional yeast from Winco bulk foods.

 

[WPFarmstead]

I get kelp from Amazon and nutritional yeast from Winco bulk foods.

What size bags of kelp, price, how fast does it go, and how many chickens do you have?

 

[weidnercharm]

I lb of kelp with 40+ chickens has lasted me a month so far and I am not but a 1/3 of they way through it. Coat $10 with prime free shipping.
The nutritional yeast is $8.50 a lb and lasts a long time.

 

[WPFarmstead]

I lb of kelp with 40+ chickens has lasted me a month so far and I am not but a 1/3 of they way through it. Coat $10 with prime free shipping.
The nutritional yeast is $8.50 a lb and lasts a long time.

Awesome! I've been trying to source 50# bags, but if it goes that far, I will buy a small bag and use my prime.

 

[ladyearth]

so how ar yall getting the amino acids that meepbeep says they need? that Methionine and Lysine she mentions ?
I bought I believe an additive thinks ,its Ferrils, from McMurrays Hatchery thru mail... for starter grower. just a 10lb bag. the layer only came in big bags and they were out of that at the time,,,,
it has the consistency of sand.. So I put out oyster shell and give them some fresh just cracked eggshell while my 2 scrambled eggs is a cooking...
well the gals leave it when I add it to their mixed "grasses and grains" most of it anyway...
so next day I take that leftover and put it in egg or cooked brown and wild rice mix ,rice dampened slightly or canned fish and give it to the spoiled brats I also will put some nutrional yeast and tumeric and some black pepper..., nutrional yeast...
I lately bought organic tumeric by the lb lots cheaper..since I put it everyday in my scrambled egg breakfast
salvage store had chia seeds for cheap so bought all six bags of it. will prob give them some of that too.....I go quite often looking for cheap grains for them loke quiona, buckwheat, sesame seeds, teff found small bags of pine nuts . they loved those.. so do I..LOL
they luv cherry tomatoes I have thousands of them. Unfort I have not picked lots of them during the hot spells so lots are thrown in the woods,. Tried freezing quite a bit of them They also luv the tender tiny green beans straight off the vines. that are still producing till frost., winding down now from dry spells and constant moth attacks gone bad.
just a saying yall

 

[WPFarmstead]

so how ar yall getting the amino acids that meepbeep says they need? that Methionine and Lysine she mentions ?
I bought I believe an additive thinks ,its Ferrils, from McMurrays Hatchery thru mail...  for  starter grower. just a 10lb bag. the layer only came in big bags and they were out of that at the time,,,,
it has the consistency of sand.. So I put out oyster shell and give them some fresh just cracked eggshell  while my 2  scrambled eggs is a cooking...
well the gals leave it when I add it to their mixed "grasses and grains" most of it anyway...
so next day I take that leftover and put it in egg or  cooked brown and wild rice mix ,rice dampened slightly or canned fish  and give it to the spoiled brats   I also will put some nutrional yeast and tumeric and some black pepper..., nutrional yeast..

I read a good pamphlet concerning sources of methionine, as I was curious why the added synthetic is no longer going to be allowed in organics. There are actually a lot of sources of methionine, including meat, bugs, milk, and some plant meals. The organic alternative for methionine is kelp, which I also plan to supplement my feed with.

Lysine is contained in split peas, dairy, nuts, and meat and plant meals. Since a large part of my birds diet is split peas, they are already getting their lysine. I also intend to feed BOSS which contains lysine also.

 

[ladyearth]

yeah I give that but still getting everyday mostly one or two shells or soft shelled eggs.....
they mostly get their Naure Best organic layer feed...
plus all the bugs etc they find.....
usually in eving sunflower seeds too....

 

[WPFarmstead]

yeah I give that but still getting everyday mostly one or two shells or soft shelled eggs.....
 they mostly get their Naure Best organic  layer feed...
plus all the bugs etc they find.....
usually in eving sunflower seeds too....

So, you're getting soft eggs everyday? You may need to provide more calcium, but I think you more specifically need to stop feeding them all the extras for a little while and see if that helps.I would suspect they are either filling up on the extras and not eating the layer feed or one of the additives is directly blocking the calcium from being absorbed, such as citrus or an imbalance in nutrients. Some of the things you listed, I've not heard of people feeding their flock (Chia seeds specifically) and some are not good for the birds if given in excess (flax).

 

[ladyearth]

i only put less than 10 percent flax in the mixture I give.....
as for chia it will be a very tiny amount.
Plus as to the veggies they only get a little.
and thids thread is about homemade feed not bagged commercial soy loaded stuff. thanks all