Food vs treats What is the difference?

[begin-a-new]

Want to thank you all for ALL the advise and thoughts You have given me LOTS of things to think about. And believe me I'll be studying everything you have said. That's why I here....to learn!
Thank you again.
I will be back as soon as I get all this info digested LOL.

 

[Nupe]

I would say, a mixed grain fodder along with a cooked meat, any fresh veggie scraps you can offer and crushed oyster shells (when they start laying) would be sufficient. Oh, and make sure they have grit. Usually you can tell when they're missing something by their behavior and there are vitamin supplements available that you can add to their water.

Good luck!

 

[HighStreetCoop]

There's a pretty impressive feed calculator available here:

http://www.chateaujardin.net/blog/chateaujardinfeedcalculator

I have a copy if you want to DM me.

 

[Beekissed]

The problem with creating one's own feed mix for chickens is that chickens, unlike dogs, are producing something from their bodies each day that require certain nutrients to create. They can't turn off the production on their own, though some dietary deficiencies can do that for them to some degree and the change in seasons and the resulting hormone shift can do it as well.

Meanwhile, back at the coop, these chickens need more balanced nutrition than just protein, calcium, vitamins....that seems to be what most people who mix their own concentrate upon. For instance, oyster shell is almost complete calcium but no phosphorus...what are your plans to provide this very much needed mineral? They really need amino acids, the right kind in the right amounts....what are your plans for providing the essential amino acids to their diet? Free ranged chickens on good forage/pasture can often balance their own diets with what can be found in nature, but those penned rely completely upon a well balanced diet in order to remain healthy and then to be able to produce eggs.

Here are some links about poultry nutrition and how important the correct balance of nutrients can be to their health, their growth and their production. Someone else said it very well....reinventing the wheel that has been so far advanced that it really doesn't need much tweaking at all is just going to provide you with extra work, extra expense and, in the long run, may be the downfall of your flock. I'm not one to thing that premixed poultry feeds are the be all, end all to poultry nutrition~which is why I free range and only use it for a supplement and I also ferment it to boost the digestibility of the proteins~but when a flock is penned up there are few alternatives better than an already balanced layer ration from a feed mill.


http://www.poultryhub.org/nutrition...nutrient-requirements-of-egg-laying-chickens/

http://www.ukessays.com/essays/biology/the-requirements-of-amino-acids-in-poultry-biology-essay.php

http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309048923&page=9

http://ressources.ciheam.org/om/pdf/c37/99600024.pdf

 

[Nupe]

It's not a matter of what's best for the chickens, it's more about what's available to the OP. There's no commercial food close and mail order wasn't feasible. They'll be on commercial chick starter but their regular ration will have to be homemade. In this case, the best I can recommend is covering the basics (proteins, grains, greens and calcium) while keeping up variety to hit all the vitamins.

 

[begin-a-new]

You seem to know where I'm coming from and Beekissed and others have all very good points on nutrition. As with my dogs, I still provide vitamins in case I have missed something in there diet. I'm forever talking to my Vet and she makes sure I'm on the right track. No Vet for chickens here, however, if I follow the advise of the wonderful people on here about nutrition and other things, watch their (chickens) actions and in what condition the eggs are. I think I'll be ok. But, I will continue asking question here and there, researching/learning all that I can. I'm not the type of person who just throw their dogs out on a chain nor chicken in a pen and that's that. I'm very lucky, home most of the time. Children are grown and gone, just my husband and I. I have the time to spend with our babies. 4 parakeets and two dogs. My part time job is strange, I have a irregular monthly schedule, but, I am able to pick and choose when I work. No month, week or day of my schedule is the same as the one before. I have a dream part time job (not a dream paycheck though,

) But, a job that I love.

If anyone runs across anything that is informative or just plan interesting please send it. You're never to old to learn something new.

 

[Beekissed]

Since you can't easily get feed, you might research your area and see if anyone has a home brewery going on and can give you the spent grains...very high in protein and fiber and you can feed small amounts of that mixed with other feeds. Fermenting any whole grains you use will give you more bang for your buck. Some folks set up black soldier fly stations in their runs...these always make me leery due to botulism. Meal worms are easy to grow, as are earthworms. Sprouting grains can make them more nutritious than feeding them dry, but fermenting them takes that even further so no need to do both. Growing crops specifically for them, such as pumpkins(I would hold these over for the winter and allow them to ferment), beets, kale, spinach, etc. can supplement their diet.

Doing a cultured deep litter in the coop and run can provide sources of natural forage for the chickens and also keep them healthier and more active while confined. Setting up places in the run where you provide habitat for earthworms or bugs with the use of old stumps or old bales of hay that can be flipped over now and again to provide forage for the birds is a possibility.

Foraging for spent fruits and veggies from neighbors and friends and even shopping marts in the area are also a good supplement to the diet. Feeding their shells back to them is good, digestible calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. Using sweet lime in your deep litter can also provide them with an extra source of calcium and giving ACV in their drinking water will help them to absorb the calcium from their dietary sources.

Lots of work to come up with additional feed besides the balanced ration of layer feeds....free ranging can take a lot of the work out of it, but unless your pasture/woods are exceptionally good forage you'll still need to supplement their diet a little, especially in the winter months.