I recently started making my own feed for my chickens and am now moving on to make feed for my quail also. It is not an easy task and really needs a lot of research before you begin throwing all sorts of food stuffs, grains and seeds at them. The food it self needs to be palatable, digestible enough to be able to turn all the grains, proteins and vitamins into energy, allow for egg production and of course sustain life. Some grains can slow down digestion or even be toxic in high levels. Chickens need incredible amounts of trace elements, omega's, fatty acids, amino acids, ect...to produce eggs on a daily basis. The egg itself contains all the building blocks of life. And if a chicken is not getting these nutrients thru it's feed, it will draw upon it's body for it. The affects over a few months can be disastrous and can lead to death. So all feed needs to be properly balanced to keep the chicken healthy and happy.
Chickens will basically consume anything, but not everything is good for them at high levels. Many people have their own opinions on how and what to feed chickens, but I believe that the basis of a chickens diet needs to be grains and seeds. Things they would find in the wild. A small addition of some animal and or insect protein will offer them needed amino acids, trace minerals and omega's for proper health.
After much research and a lot of trial and error, I came up with the following recipe. I am sure it is not at all perfect, but living in such a rural area, these are the only things I have to work with. There are a few other grains, seeds and supplements that were tried over the months, but these are what I settled on, based on how the chickens reacted, the poop and the laying frequency. Whole grains must be introduced slowly over a month or so to not throw off the good bacteria in the GI tract. Birds that are on lay crumbles have smaller under developed gizzards than whole grain eating chickens and it takes time for this muscle, the gizzard, to adjust to work involved.
The parts are pounds:
2 parts Wheat
2 parts Cracked Corn
2 parts Millet (this is a premix for parakeets. It not only contains millet, but a multitude of tiny beneficial seeds and nutrients making it a complete diet for birds)
1 part Whole Oats
1/2 part Hulled Sunflower Seed
1 part Farmers Helper Kibble (this supplement contains fish meals, vitamins, minerals and probiotics)
1 part Kaytee Egg-cite Egg Food Supplement (this is a supplement for parrots. The main ingredient is eggs at 50% and has amino acids and omega's added. It is used during breeding, egg laying and molting of parrots)
1 part Meal Worms
1 part Ground Oyster Shell (the only reason I add this is because I have an older hen that as a horrible time putting on a shell if her food is not supplemented with oyster shell.)
The grains are ground separately in a grain grinder. The dry ingredients are ground separately in a food processor and are added after the grains are ground. Only the amount of feed that I will use the next day are ground and the dry ingredients are added then. I do not grind up more than I will use for one day to make a fresh grind each day.
This feed works out to 16.7% protein
7% fat
7% fiber
My birds do not free range so their treats consist of greens and veggies. I have only been feeding this recipe for a few months now and some are going into molt. The health of the feathers, the length of the molt and the health of the birds during the molt should tell me if I have this thing right. So far things are going well. I hope to continue to feed this whole grain diet from here on out.
Good luck with your feed adventures. Should you come up with your own recipe, PLEASE do research on each grain. Many of them should never consist of 10% or 15% of the diet for many reasons and you do not want to put your chickens in danger. Some grains are very hard to digest, even though the feed industries tell you they are. Many of these feed companies add digestive enzymes to help with digestion of certain grains. So be careful and enjoy!
thankyou
