Everyone, post your best homemade chicken feed recipes!

[coq au vin]

I grew up on fast food and Coke and I did just fine too.

 

[donnavee]

I have what may be a dumb question, but I'm fairly new to chickens. For those who mix their own feed, do you have problems with the chickens picking out the foods they like best and leaving the other or worse yet, billing it out on the ground? I got a mix from a local feed store and no matter how high I put the feeder, the girls wasted more than they ate. I love the idea of mixing a healthy, fresh batch of food - but hate the thought of it being all over the ground or floor.

 

[Organics North]

Quote:
Yes chickens are great garbage disposals, and can get by on just about anything.... Will they be performing at their best? I look at optimizing nutrition like the difference between a Ford Escort and a Ford Mustang... Both are cars, both get you from point a to point b... Which one has better performance? Optimizing chicken feed gets you better performance, better health of the birds, and if done right a healthier more nutritious, tastier egg and or meat..

Some of us that mix our own feed are avoiding certain ingredients, to support our idealology, for the health of our birds and or our own health reasons. Some of us save money by mixing or own, some do not..

ON

 

[Organics North]

Quote:
I grind the dry feed that they have access to 24x7 I have zero waste. Dry feed is only about 10% of my birds diet. I sprout whole grains and mix the other ingredients with the damp grains. I serve this damp grains and wet mash twice a day. I only serve what they eat. I have very little if any waste with this method.
(Yes it is time consuming!)
But I have a low feed bill.

Do a search on BYC for PVC feeders.. I notice much less waste with those than with the store bought kind of feeder..
ON

 

[digitS']

Looking at a laying hen's requirements and food nutrients while trying to narrow it down to the simplest formula possible with what could be found at the corner store:

My laying hen, producing an egg each day requires 2 eggs and an oatmeal raisin cookie.

Eggs are perfectly balanced protein for the hen but should come with their shells. The hen's digestion is not adequate to make complete use of only 1 shell, so 2 should cover her calcium requirement to make an egg shell each day.

She needs 1 egg for her egg and 1 egg for her own maintenance.

The oatmeal raisin cookie covers the additional requirements, mostly of calories. Certainly, as we begin to move into cold weather, and as a reward for being a good laying hen, the cookie rounds it all out.

Now, I haven't been willing to put any of this into practice. I can't really recommend it one way or the other. But, it could be used as a simple starting point: substituting one thing for another . . . .

Steve

 

[bonder]

My chickens get bagged up regular old feed from the store BUT to off set the cost, I do the following....

1. feed the leftovers that my kids don't eat (dry cereal, pasta, bread, veggies, whatever) (No extra cost, I'd be buying it anyway)
2. call the local grocery store and ask for over-ripe produce. (They give it to me free, depending on who is working, I can get upwards of 40lbs. Some I have to compost right away but some is absolutely wonderful!) (free minus the cost of gas to go pick it up)
3. I don't do this, but you could... Have the local cops call you when someone reports fresh roadkill (deer in our area). Go pick it up, process it, cook it and feed it to the chickens. Doesn't get more "organic" than that

(Free but you have to put in a lot of effort.)
4. I planted sunflowers this summer with the intention of drying the heads and feeding the seeds to the chickens this winter. (cost- packet of seeds, around $1.50)
5. let them roam in the farm fields nearby once the crops are out, they can eat the corn that's fallen to the ground.

 

[LALASD4]

Good idea about the produce.

 

[coq au vin]

digitS' :

Looking at a laying hen's requirements and food nutrients while trying to narrow it down to the simplest formula possible with what could be found at the corner store:

My laying hen, producing an egg each day requires 2 eggs and an oatmeal raisin cookie.

Eggs are perfectly balanced protein for the hen but should come with their shells. The hen's digestion is not adequate to make complete use of only 1 shell, so 2 should cover her calcium requirement to make an egg shell each day.

She needs 1 egg for her egg and 1 egg for her own maintenance.

The oatmeal raisin cookie covers the additional requirements, mostly of calories. Certainly, as we begin to move into cold weather, and as a reward for being a good laying hen, the cookie rounds it all out.

Now, I haven't been willing to put any of this into practice. I can't really recommend it one way or the other. But, it could be used as a simple starting point: substituting one thing for another . . . .

Steve

Please, don't anybody try this at home.

 

[Organics North]

Quote:
Please, don't anybody try this at home.

DigitS......

No I think I would reward the birds every other day... That way I get half the oatmeal raisin cookies......

.....

ON

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

Bought a small bag of split peas today to feed the girls. Can they handle as is without cooking or grinding? Are they high in protein? Thought I might mix with their BOSS.