Feed rescipe for chicks and layers

[soctippy]

Hi all- I am going to question your infinate wisdom and ask if any one has any good home-made chicken feed recipes. i am looking into making my own, i would like to cut corn almost completely out of the layers ration and reduce it in a mix for chicks. I am thinking that it may reduce the cost of the feed, and will hopefully keem my chickens from getting fat. Any sugestions are welcome.

 

[AGinPA]

I'm doing the same thing: no corn because of corn allergies in the family. So far it's working ok. Our 6 week old chicks are growing well on wheat, millet, quinoa and oats, plus seeds and field peas. Try this website for lots of recipes.

http://organicchickens.homestead.com/ChickenFeedRecipes.html

Good luck!

 

[naturemom]

I use a recipe from that site, too. I have a corn allergy, but I can eat eggs from chickens that eat corn. However, if I can't find organic corn I just replace it with millet. They have about the same amount of protein.

 

[funkychicken]

I got the recipe too but where in the heck can I find all the ingredients...I was worried about GMO grains and really want to go organic but lets face it it is way expensive and my local feed store doesnt even offer organic feed at all (says our area doesnt support the need to sell it) HA...well mabey if they offered it...oops I better stop..ok...I want to feed my soon to be flock well...got a great lead for mealworms and maggots(eeeww I know)...check out the thread on Everything else chicken/ under How thrifty are you...all help on feeding options would be wonderful...thankx

 

[Riparian]

I must say, I am all for the organic movment but the statment in the link provided about ground grains loosing their nutritional value is simply not true.

There are many reasons why we grind or break down grains but the main reason is to increase feed efficiency. Smaller particles compressed into pellet or crumbled form allow for a higher ratio of feed conversion within the bird. It has to spend less energy breaking down smaller particles and therefore increases feed to weight gain efficiency.

My opinion is that the problem with textured bagged feed is harmful chemicals and medications that are added that has become the industry standard.

 

[Davaroo]

So you are after a grain mash. Here is an old one, light on corn

"The dry mash that has given me best results after fourteen years, is as follows:

Four parts medium cracked wheat.

One part medium cracked corn (Indian corn or maize.)

One part good quality dried beef scrap.

One-fourth part soy bean meal (coarse ground).

One-fourth part oil cake meal (linseed).

One-fourth part charcoal.

The hens relish this mixture and will eat it up
clean." - - Charles Weeks, 1922

Grind it only to the size of a small matchhead. Chickens prefer a coarse grind to finer.
If you are to extract the most from chickens, dont forget the green feed, too.

 

[LoneCowboy]

I just did a post on this. There are some great links posted in it that will be of help to you.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=61467

 

[Dennis1979]

I have the same question as funkychicken and that is where the heck do you get the whole grains? I have visited 4 feed stores and they are nothing more than distribution points for the bagged feed put out by the big mills. They might have whole and cracked corn but that's about it. Where do I get millet, milo, wheat, oats, roasted soybeans, barley, etc., etc. and that's the easy stuff. Where do you get the more complicated stuff like quinoa, wheat middlings, wheat bran, oat bran, alfalfa meal, oat groats, sunflower seeds and so forth?

I have spent many hours reading about different recipes that people have but can't find any info on where they are buying this stuff. If the answer is that I have to go to the grocery store and/or whole foods store then forget it, Bagged feed is about 25cents a pound. If you start buying stuff retail from whole foods your cost becomes $2 or $3 a pound and its not worth it at that point.

Thanks,
Dennis

 

[digitS']

I live on the border of a major wheat growing area in the US. Friends buy wheat and corn for their chickens from the Hutterite community not far away. Corn grain is not grown here so they bring it in but the idea is that you show up with barrels, weigh the truck, and pay for what you buy after filling the barrels and weighing the truck again.

I once worked for a farm where livestock was a minor part. They had a hammermill in their feed room and milled their own grain for cattle. I understand that this isn't uncommon for hog farmers, especially.

Every county in the US, at one time, had a Cooperative Extension office associated with the state's land-grant university. Those folks have the job of helping small farmers and they can be a wealth of information. I'd say that if you are looking for grain, contact your local Cooperative Extension office first. Asking for the Small Farms specialist should provide you with some sources.

If that doesn't work, go on to the USDA farmer cooperative specialist for your state. He or she should be able to connect you with the grain growers.

Steve