Feed Recipe - Not Sure How Much Of What...

[Chris09]

Okay, here's what I came up with. I am not sure what percentage Protein this comes out to, to be honest. Maybe someone can help me with that?

15% Corn
10% Soybeans (Roasted)
10% Wheat
10% Oats
10% Grit
8% Barley
8% Alfalfa
5% Sunflowers
5% Linseed
4% Beet Pulp
9% Fish Meal
6% Vitamins & Minerals (Kelp and NutriBalancer if I can get them)

Now, back to the milk replacer or dry milk.... Good idea or no? Also, will I need some molasses to help bind?

Anyways, without knowing the cost of the vitamins and without adding the mill's costs ($16 a 1/2 ton, I think), it equals out to $9.47 for 50#. I am spending $9.50 now. Plus $20 a month in grit. I'll still have to feed oyster shell free choice, but I can handle that. I use very little - 50# every 6 months - because I feed the shells back to the girls.

Anyways, how does the proposed mix look?

Why so many ingredients?
Now I would recommend adding either Molasses or a Oil to help bind your ingredients a little and also cut the dust.
Another thing you may want to add is Calcium Carbonate.

I like to keep my mixes simple.
example of one of layer mixes that I use.
Corn, Oats, Whole Roasted Soybean, Animal Protein Mix, Trace Mineral/Vitamin mix, Molasses and Calcium Carbonate.

Chris

 

[micareli]

I am an animal lover,.... but love stops at my borders if the animals are a nuisance..... so i would add .22 pellets for the dogs until message was received.... then increase strength of .22 until it got into a rifle strength then free range is once again allowed

 

[galanie]

I am an animal lover,.... but love stops at my borders if the animals are a nuisance..... so i would add  .22 pellets for the dogs until message was received.... then increase strength of .22 until it got into a rifle  strength then free range is once again allowed

I'm assuming wrong thread?

 

[Reyvaughn]

Quote:
Mainly, variety and the nutrition each item adds to their diet.
I don't want to add calcium because this mix will be for my chicks and roosters as well as my breeding and laying hens. I usually have a 1 to 2 rooster to hen ratio and 1/3 of my flock is usually chicks or birds growing out.

I thought about adding Red Cell for my vitamins/minerals and as my binder.

Quote:
Well, until one of these dogs kill or injure one of my animals, there is nothing I can do. I have thought about buying a BB gun, though. It'll hurt them but won't kill them. I have 3 roosters out free ranging as bait and because they keep jumping their fence. I have 5 ankle biters across the road, a lab, lab/pit mix and pit from down the road I have to deal with. The pit came up on Monday checking out my Mini Schnauzer and I had to chase the pit off. So, in the mean time, I have to deal with it.

WI Farmchick -
My mill is mixing it for me. The most expensive items on the list is the BOSS ($30 a 50#) and beet pulp ($18 a 40#). I was told I can get beet pulp for $11 at TSC, though. The cheapest is barely at $0.088 a pound and corn is only $0.148 a pound.

 

[Reyvaughn]

I'm assuming wrong thread?

No, part of the reason I am making my own mix is because the neighbors refuse to keep their mutts under control and I can't free range anymore. I went from lovely orange yolks to yolks the color of the super market's because they don't have as diverse of a diet.

 

[Chris09]

Mainly, variety and the nutrition each item adds to their diet.
I don't want to add calcium because this mix will be for my chicks and roosters as well as my breeding and laying hens. I usually have a 1 to 2 rooster to hen ratio and 1/3 of my flock is usually chicks or birds growing out.

I wouldn't worry to much about variety as much as I would nutrition.
You have types of feed stuff (Barley and Linseed/Flax) that are known to cause pasty butts in both chicks and adults if feed too much so I would keep them to a minimum. In fact if it way me I would take both the Barley and the Linseed/Flax out of the mix, the Corn and Oat will cover everything that the Barley was adding to the mix as far as nutrition and the Alfalfa, Soybean and good old pasture covers everything the Linseed/Flax was adding to the mix.

With this mix being for chicks also I will assume that you are grinding this mix to a mash, am I correct?


Chris

 

[galanie]

No, part of the reason I am making my own mix is because the neighbors refuse to keep their mutts under control and I can't free range anymore.  I went from lovely orange yolks to yolks the color of the super market's because they don't have as diverse of a diet.

Ah, ok my bad, missed that somehow.

 

[Chris09]

Quote:

Diversity has nothing to do with yolk color, The color of the yolk is due to substances called carotenoids.
The most important sources of carotenoids in poultry feed are Corn, Corn Gluten, Alfalfa and Grass. Corn and Corn Gluten Meal is in nearly every commercial feed so you could just offer either Spinach, Green Lettuce, Collard Greens, Kale, Mustard Greens and or Ground Carrots or a mix of them [FONT=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]as a treat and you will still have nice dark yolks.[/FONT]

The mix you have isn't really going to darken the yolks that much unless you up the Corn and Alfalfa Meal or offer greens also.


Chris

 

[WI FarmChick]

Why so many ingredients?
Now I would recommend adding either Molasses or a Oil to help bind your ingredients a little and also cut the dust.
Another thing you may want to add is Calcium Carbonate.

I like to keep my mixes simple.
example of one of layer mixes that I use.
Corn, Oats, Whole Roasted Soybean, Animal Protein Mix, Trace Mineral/Vitamin mix, Molasses and Calcium Carbonate.

Chris

How much molasses or oil and what kind of oil would you think?
Wouldn't the oyster shell be sufficient for the calcium as free choice?
and why or why not?

 

[Chris09]

Quote: I use a little Calcium Carbonate in my mix because even the Roosters need a little Calcium in there feed.
There is not enough Calcium to harm the Roosters but enough to help with growth, feathers, etc.
On the Molasses/ Oil I use around 25 lbs per 500 pound mix give or take depending on how dusty the mix is. The Molasses is what ever the mill has on hand. The oil I like to use from time to time is a Corn/Soy Oil blend that I get through the mill that I use.

Chris