Before the invention of pelletizing or the making of crumbles, chicken feed, like all livestock feed was merely ground, at a local feed elevator. Local feed mills still offer this service. Using local grains, such as corn, milo, etc, the grains are ground and added to that mixture will be a vitamin/mineral/supplement package. This blended, ground feed is often times sold for far less than feed that is pre-bagged and must incur shipping/handling costs.
The local feed mills that still grind their own animal feed products are becoming more scarce. It takes some local investigation. Many times such mills do not have a large advertising or web presence. Ask around. Ask where the farmers are buying their feed for their hogs, chickens, beef and dairy cows.
Some mills grind the "mash" quite fine, while others grind it more coarse. In either case, it appears as dust covered flour, but usually it isn't really. Moisten the mash and give it a stir and you can see that it is actually as coarse as most crumbles feed. This is called top dressing by many. Some people top dress with more than mere water. Some include an oil or fat to help "bind" the mash and reduce it's dusty appearance.
Hope that helps.
The local feed mills that still grind their own animal feed products are becoming more scarce. It takes some local investigation. Many times such mills do not have a large advertising or web presence. Ask around. Ask where the farmers are buying their feed for their hogs, chickens, beef and dairy cows.
Some mills grind the "mash" quite fine, while others grind it more coarse. In either case, it appears as dust covered flour, but usually it isn't really. Moisten the mash and give it a stir and you can see that it is actually as coarse as most crumbles feed. This is called top dressing by many. Some people top dress with more than mere water. Some include an oil or fat to help "bind" the mash and reduce it's dusty appearance.
Hope that helps.
