Feed Nerds! Opinions wanted re: whole grain feed recipe

[Double Kindness]

Well I've just been wearing my gloves every time I feed my flocks. And the itty bitty peep peeps get their food just everywhere! I give them soaked & fermented 26% protein gamebird feed (they are my meat chickens) & my laying flock gets 18% all flock feed, both are organic soy and corn free. My teensy weensie chicks get medicated chick starter, but I was thinking I wanted to change it to organic chick starter (I'm getting 12 more bresse chicks soon and probably 6 more ayam cemani in addition to the 6 chicks I already have!) So I probably need a good bit of chick starter.

So what about food mills? Vs whole grain, as some of the ingredients are like hemp protein flour aren't whole grains and whole hemp seeds to make my own flour is prohibitively expensive. Whole grain rice? I forgot to go to voodoo to pick up doughnuts, but we need to get post hole digger and do some serious building next weekend!

We picked up a bag of each type of feed for my flocks yesterday. I didn't get more chicks yesterday, it was so hard not to, but I need to get stuff built for my chickens before winter comes... I have a feeling it's going to be a brutal one this year.

 

[bootsNbirds]

@Double Kindness What brand of organic layer feed are you using? 18% protein is pretty good! My conventional layer crumbles are only 16% and I think they really would do better on more protein.

I hope someone answers about the food mills, cuz I'd like to know too. Best brands, durability vs. cost, etc. Really leaning toward that, just gotta save up some $$ first!

I'll be mixing up my feed recipe today

So I'll keep the thread updated on how the chickens like it.

 

[Double Kindness]

I get all flock feed that's 18% protein b/c I have a rooster with my hens (he's so good to them!) It's not a brand name, I get it at a place called earthdog on kalamath & 3rd in Denver. It's a bit pricey (40 lbs is $37).

I think I might get the kitchen aid attachment meat grinder/food mill. I go to wardel's to get whole seeds for reasonable costs, millet seeds are $5.99 for 10lbs, I get boss seeds in bulk and have 35 lbs in buckets, they have flax seeds, hemp seeds etc etc. I think they're the most reasonable priced in the area I've found so far.

Definitely let us know how it goes. I'm still looking for stuff, but I'm so crazy busy atm, I'm just going to deal with wearing gloves and not spending as much time as I want with my chickers until I get the gluten free food for my chickens under control, which will be about 2 more feed bags worth until I think I can get it done!

 

[bootsNbirds]

Ok, here we go, feed review. I used the first recipe posted, as I haven't yet figured out a recipe with reduced BOSS that still allows a high protein content.

Obviously I won't know for a while whether their protein requirements are being met & whether they're going to lay well. Buuuutttt....
The chickens really like the mix!

DRY:
They ate everything except the alfalfa pellets. But the feed store only had the large 1/4 inch pellets, not the rabbit pellets, so I'd like to try those.

WET:
In 4 hours the alfalfa pellets had turned to nice green mush. I let it go another 4 hours until feeding time, when I added kelp, and the brewer's yeast to the mix. The yellow split peas actually softened up really well, I was able to break them with the pressure of a fingernail. The chickens loved the soaked grains, picking through & getting the oats first, then the other grains. Seems that they ate most of the alfalfa eventually though.

I'm surprised and thrilled that they ate the split peas! Getting optimistic that this could work

The feed store didn't have milo this week, so I used cracked corn for this batch. Same protein content and cheaper.


I'll have to redo my cost calculations though, to account for organic alfalfa pellets and organic corn. Forgot that alfalfa is GMO :/

It was a great first trial though!!

 

[Chris09]

This is what I've come up with. (100 lb recipe)

alfalfa meal/pellet 7 lbs
flax seeds 5 lbs
brewer's yeast 3 lbs
milo 25 lb
oats 25 lb
yellow split peas 10 lb
BOSS 25 lb

Crude protein works out to 18.98%
Price is .30/lb, so $15.25 per 50 lb. About 2 bucks more than I pay for premixed feed at the feed store.

If so can you post the protein percentages of each ingredient?
I'm not coming up with a 18% feed when I run the numbers, mine comes closer to 13% protein and that's using a high protein livestock type brewer's yeast.

From what I see your BOSS, Flax and Oats are to high and your milo and peas are to low, also it looks like your mix lacks the proper *kcal ME/kg for a laying hens diet. With out the proper *kcal ME/kg your bird are going to be eating a lot of feed to meet there caloric needs and wont perform as they should.

*kcal = kilocalorie, one kilocalorie is equal to 1000 calories.
ME/kg = metabolisable energy per kilogram of dry matter
A laying hen needs right around a 2,900 kcal ME/kg diet.

 

[bootsNbirds]

@bootsNbirds
Is this the mix your feeding?
Quote:
Yay @Chris09 I was hoping you'd chime in Yes, that's the mix I'm experimenting with. I'm using the protein calculations off this site: http://www.avianaquamiser.com/posts/Protein_content_in_chicken_feed_ingredients/ Maybe it isn't accurate, you probably know better?

Here are the protein percentages I came up with:

alfalfa meal/pellet 7 lbs (1.19%)
flax seeds 5 lbs (1.85%)
brewer's yeast 3 lbs (1.17%)
milo 25 lb (2.25%)
oats 25 lb (3.5%)
yellow split peas 10 lb (2.45%)
BOSS 25 lb (6.57%)

edited for typo

 

[bootsNbirds]

Forgot to mention, ordered Fertrell's Nutribalancer too.

I still have so much to learn! Countryside Organics has fish meal available again, so I'm looking at that as a feed ingredient... How much would you recommend @Chris09 ?? Don't want fishy tasting eggs...

And what, in your opinion, is a good balance for the oats, flax, and BOSS? Someone said no more than 10% BOSS earlier, do you agree?

 

[LindaB220]

Forgot to mention, ordered Fertrell's Nutribalancer too.

I still have so much to learn! Countryside Organics has fish meal available again, so I'm looking at that as a feed ingredient... How much would you recommend @Chris09 ?? Don't want fishy tasting eggs...

And what, in your opinion, is a good balance for the oats, flax, and BOSS? Someone said no more than 10% BOSS earlier, do you agree?

I bought a Bulk 5# pack of Alaskan salmon origin from the Dirty Gardener. Good for gardening or feeds he says. A little pricey with shipping ($27) but I only want to add a little at a time. I buy almost everything on Amazon. Bulk shipments aren't covered in my Prime free shipping.

 

[Double Kindness]

Linda- I love amazon prime! Although there's a feed store here that offers whole seeds/grains.

I'm learning here also, I don’t want my chickens stressed and unable to lay etc, but the gluten in their feed is really starting to make me get sick again. So if I can get their feed rations done through amazon and my feed store and the bulk stuff at the Asian supermarket I want to start that asap too! 18% all flock feed and still would like to keep the 26% protein ratio for my meaties which are dp breeds not cornish x. Help in that direction would be incredibly awesome!

 

[Chris09]

Yay @Chris09 I was hoping you'd chime in Yes, that's the mix I'm experimenting with. I'm using the protein calculations off this site: http://www.avianaquamiser.com/posts/Protein_content_in_chicken_feed_ingredients/ Maybe it isn't accurate, you probably know better?

Here are the protein percentages I came up with:

alfalfa meal/pellet 7 lbs (1.19%)
flax seeds 5 lbs (1.85%)
brewer's yeast 3 lbs (1.17%)
milo 25 lb (2.25%)
oats 25 lb (3.5%)
yellow split peas 10 lb (2.45%)
BOSS 25 lb (6.57%)

edited for typo

I don't know where aquamister is getting the numbers but some of them look way off (or at least misleading).

Alfalfa meal and pellets run around 17 percent protein.
Flax/Linseed (the whole seed not linseed meal) runs around 18 to 22 percent protein
Brewers Yeast (livestock grade) 35 to 49 percent protein
Milo around 9 percent protein
Oats depending on type (bin oat, race horse oats oat groats etc) can run from 10 to 18 percent protein
Peas around 24% protein
Boss runs right around 16 percent protein

Best thing to do is check with your mill, they should give you closer number.