Feed bill reduction?

[Fred's Hens]

Here's an idea that may help, in some regard. I just saw cracked corn at a local brick and mortar farm store for $12.99 per 50# bag. It's not feed, but more or less treats, but reducing costs associated with raising chickens is the topic, so anything is relevent that goes towards the birds. My idea, which I "field tested" this morning in my kitchen, was to take dried-on-the cob corn from this year's crop and grind it up myself in my food processor! Voila! Cracked corn-home-grown style. It's worth a try.

Barred Rock Cafe

Just a couple of issues with grinding one's own corn. I don't have a stout grain mill and grinding enough for 40 birds would wear out a light weight, kitchen model too quickly. The second thing would be the corn itself. Much of the corn sold cheaply for deer feed is not suitable for chickens. There's some reason that escapes me presently, but a quick search would uncover it.

I pay less than $20 for 100 pounds of complete layer, so $13 a 50 lb for whole/cracked corn wouldn't help me much, YMMV.

 

[RaeRae2]

Be sure to save all your kitchen scraps to give to the chickens. Peelings, trimmings, fruit and vegetables that got a little mushy (not moldy or rotten, but just a little soft.) When I was growing up, my grandparents got old produce from the grocery store for free and fed that to all their poultry. That reduces the amount of hard feed they consume.

At night I feed my horses and I let the chickens out at the same time. The chickens clean up all the spilled grain and beet pulp from the horses under the feeder. That is feed that would just be wasted otherwise.

Also, when I'm soaking alfalfa pellets or beet pulp pellets in water for the horses, the chickens go NUTS for the fluffy wet mash! They really love it, and it's incredibly cheap. The alfalfa provides calcium and magnesium and the beet pulp is a great source of fiber. You buy by the 50 lb. bag - anywhere from $12.00 - $18.99, but since it is a dried and compressed product, you soak in hot water to create 4x the amount you started with.

I tried buying the cheap "co-op brand" of feed versus the Purina Layena because the cheap brand was $12.99 a bag, and the Purina is $17.99 a bag. HUGE mistake. The cheap stuff was all dust and fines. The chickens couldn't even eat it. And it was full of oats, and they don't like oats. I never owned a chicken that would happily eat oats. Whenever I would buy bags of "scratch grains" designed for chickens, they would eat all the corn and leave all the oats. So it ended up being a waste.

I do buy the Purina Layena layer crumble and feed that mixed with cracked corn and sunflower seeds. I also try to give them about 2 hours each night to be loose and eat grass.

The chickens absolutely love tomatoes, and we have a neighbor with a garden full of tomatoes she has been throwing out because she can't eat them before they go bad. She agreed to start giving me bags full of tomatoes and I will give her eggs in return. I know some sources say NOT to feed tomatoes, but I have for many years and never had any problem, ever. If you can find local people with fruit and vegetables or old cob corn or something, that helps.

Also rinse out and save all your eggs shells and crush them up into pieces to feed. The chickens love them and it's a free source of calcium.

 

[Barred Rock Caf]

Just a couple of issues with grinding one's own corn. I don't have a stout grain mill and grinding enough for 40 birds would wear out a light weight, kitchen model too quickly. The second thing would be the corn itself. Much of the corn sold cheaply for deer feed is not suitable for chickens. There's some reason that escapes me presently, but a quick search would uncover it.

I pay less than $20 for 100 pounds of complete layer, so $13 a 50 lb for whole/cracked corn wouldn't help me much, YMMV.

@ Fred's Hens: I agree that commercial grinding operations can cost-effectively mill corn kernels for resale. I am grinding free field corn in my KitchenAid H.D. food processor. I don't buy cheap appliances, whether it's for sausage making, mixing cookie dough or processing food. I'm just experimenting with this idea because the corn cobs (I did have to manually remove the dried kernels from each ear of corn, but don't mind that) are FREE and the scratch that i have been buying at TSC contains little cracked corn in it. Or least not enough to my liking. Another thing I started doing is "lacto-fermenting" the scratch grains so that the birds 1.) Eat it all gone; 2.) Consume beneficial bacteria that can aid in their G.I. tract efficiency, or so I think. I use the whey portion of my milk KEFIR that I ferment from whole milk. They go bananas over this fermented product!!

YMMV, and so will each of ours depending on our individual situations. I have half as many birds (19) as you do and mine free range for at least 12 hours per day. I'm prepping for Fall/Winter when I assume they'll need fat calories for heat production, so they will have layer pellets and a bit more cracked corn available to them during the colder months. One other thing that I am seriously considering, an opertion that we all can do, even in Winter, is indoor farming of meal worms.

@ raerae2: My neighbor up the road told me of his similar experience with a local feed mill and abandoned buying any feed from them. The pricing at TSC for Purina and other brands of crumbles, pellets and scratch and cracked corn made buying from the mill directly cost-prohibitive, or so he claimed. I've never purchased from a local mill, so I don't have any direct experience with that.

I like your use of the bird livestock to "run clean-up" after the horses have slobbered up their area! Hey, it also serves to minimize the migration of rodents and other "moochers" in and around the areas where your domesticated critters inhabit. Good job!

Barred Rock Cafe

 

[FARMBOY123]

The reason the feed prices are so high is because were it was so hot this year and not as good of crops so the feed compnys have too pay more fir the grains ect but hopefully next year it will be cheaper!? Im paying 17 bucks for a back but what i do is get some old weat and mix it

 

[redfeather]

Does anyone know how to find the feed mills that package their own generic stuff? I really don't know where to get food except for from the co-op. And yeah, the stuff there is about $20 for a bag.

We already feed the chickens ALL our scraps. Veggie and fruit scraps, stale and moldy bread, uneaten leftovers of pretty much any kind...
The only thing they don't get is the raw meat trimmings and scraps because those belong to the 6 dogs, lol!

I know the guy who took my old flock (5 years old and not producing much) was happily retired and said that he got truckloads of used grains from a brewery-- probably not efficient for layers but for his purposes with pigs and chickens kinda living in retirement with him and giving him a few eggs and company, it seems to work.

I'm 30 miles north of Seattle, if anyone knows anyplace local.

 

[oberhaslikid]

I buy untreated wheat and sprout it for the chickens in the winter.Feed value goes up 300% when sprouted.I grow Kale and turnips and cut the tops to feed the birds too.
I also took a pallet turned upside down ,covered the ends,filled with dirt and then covered with chicken wire.I throw wheat seed in it to grow and or bird seed.
The wire keeps them from scratching it up.It grows up through the wire and the chickens have greens to feast on.

 

[Headgear]

I usually have 75 to 100 chickens. I got this mill,
http://www.lehmans.com/store/Kitche...plete_Grain_Milling_Package___2360220#2360220

I built a 4'x4'x8' bin out of 2x4's and plywood, go up to the mill and get a ton of corn and oats in my dump truck, dump it in the bin and put the bin in the barn with a bobcat with forks. Not everyone has all the toys but it could be done on a smaller scale. I add fish meal, bean meal, minerals, kelp, etc. and save roughly a third over commercial feed. I love that I know what is going into their feed and its ground fresh every day. Even if you just had the grinder and bought shelled corn and oats you can save a little but the main thing for me is that it is fresh and good for for the birds. Some of the stuff that I have heard that they put into commercial feed is a little scary. Having chickens is a hobby for most of us. We all want it to be as cheap as it can be but if you going to try to make money with a hand full of chickens, forget about it. What ever you do make it as efficient and easy on yourself as you can, suffer through the economy and enjoy your girls.

 

[Chris09]

I buy untreated wheat and sprout it for the chickens in the winter.Feed value goes up 300% when sprouted.I grow Kale and turnips and cut the tops to feed the birds too.
I also took a pallet turned upside down ,covered the ends,filled with dirt and then covered with chicken wire.I throw wheat seed in it to grow and or bird seed.
The wire keeps them from scratching it up.It grows up through the wire and the chickens have greens to feast on.

The Feed Value goes up 300%? Where did you get this information?



Table 3. Effect of sprouting on nutrient characteristics of wheat.

Non-Sprouted​

Sprouted​

Bushel weight, lb

60.4​

55.9​

CP, %

12.32​

13.16​

Fat,%

0.79​

0.88​

Crude fiber, %

3.22​

3.57​

http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/livestoc/as647w.htm

By sprouting Wheat you are gaining about;
0.84% Crude Protein (CP)
0.09% Fat
0.35% Fiber


Chris