Help? Whole Grains??

[Venac]

I think I've got the basics of making my own layer feed and they include-
2C Whole Corn (I crack/grind)
2C whole oats
2C whole wheat
2C Milo
1C Flax seed
1C BOSS
3/4C alfalfa mill
and yes
1C Roasted Soybean (sometimes whole, sometimes ground)
I kind of feel like I'm missing something bc it can't be this simple
I read the label on several Layer Feed bags and they all have fillers and binders so I wanted to go healthier for my girls.
I made the mistake of raising them on crumbles so they are having to adjust to the whole bits, so I am including the store bought layer feed until they adjust completely.
They do get grit and oyster shell free fed, but I just don't think this is as simple as it is. Any experienced ppl out there that want to lay into me, please feel free. My girl are wonderful and they seem to love me, lol. They also seem to love this recipe but I need to make sure it's correct or balanced enough for when they go full on homemade.
It's small quantities because the whole point is that I want them having fresh food and if I grind for a month, then it would have lost all nutritional value thereby defeating the whole purpose of going fresh.
BTW, this feeds them for 2 to 3 days

 

[JaeG]

Lysine and methionine are essential amino acid that aren't available from plant sources. They are added to chicken feed. You would need to provide some animal protein to ensure those essential elements aren't missing from their diet. If they have a large area to free range on year round where they can supplement the homemade feed with what they can find they'd probably be ok as well, but they'd need access to a lot of bugs. There are lots of essential vitamins and minerals that are likely to be missing from a plant based diet too.

This is a good website explaining all of the essential elements required for balanced feed:
http://www.poultryhub.org/nutrition/feed-ingredients/

 

[Folly's place]

ingredients are measured by weight, not volume, and your mix doesn't include the vitamin/mineral mix they need, or the correct amino acids in the right amounts. Also, your birds will pick out the yummy stuff, and leave the rest, so probably the dominant individuals will eat the tastiest items, leaving the least favorite seeds for the less favored individuals.
None of that will be good!
If you have small game type birds, and live in a varied environment all year, your birds may manage. If you have more modern type hens, who are designed to lay 150 to 300+ eggs each year, they will be malnourished.
Mary

 

[Kiki]

Your girls will be healthier if you feed them nothing but a commercially made COMPLETE BALANCED feed.

 

[Folly's place]

There's a mill date on each bag of feed, and so it's not difficult to buy fresh, and feed it within two months of milling, and store it properly. Pellets or crumbles are designed to contain the entire ingredient list in each piece, so nobody picks out the corn, for example, and leaves out the rest of the diet.
Mary

 

[Venac]

yup, i agree! I've just seen a lot of tips on feeding them so i thought id give it a try,guess that is why i asked although the stuff at the local co-op is last years crop and it does have lots of extra's, but at least i know they will be fed well. I do grind it all up to a crumble, but i wanted to get away from that

 

[Venac]

ingredients are measured by weight, not volume, and your mix doesn't include the vitamin/mineral mix they need, or the correct amino acids in the right amounts. Also, your birds will pick out the yummy stuff, and leave the rest, so probably the dominant individuals will eat the tastiest items, leaving the least favorite seeds for the less favored individuals.
None of that will be good!
If you have small game type birds, and live in a varied environment all year, your birds may manage. If you have more modern type hens, who are designed to lay 150 to 300+ eggs each year, they will be malnourished.
Mary

Yes and saying cups was easier than saying.. 003 or. 05, see my period doesn't follow or giving weight so sry it was meant to be approximates not exacts

There's a mill date on each bag of feed, and so it's not difficult to buy fresh, and feed it within two months of milling, and store it properly. Pellets or crumbles are designed to contain the entire ingredient list in each piece, so nobody picks out the corn, for example, and leaves out the rest of the diet.
Mary

Yes I do grind everything,
. It is also measured in portions

 

[Venac]

There's a mill date on each bag of feed, and so it's not difficult to buy fresh, and feed it within two months of milling, and store it properly. Pellets or crumbles are designed to contain the entire ingredient list in each piece, so nobody picks out the corn, for example, and leaves out the rest of the diet.
Mary

Ya my chickens don't care for the corn lol. I do grind it up bc of that.

 

[Venac]

Lysine and methionine are essential amino acid that aren't available from plant sources. They are added to chicken feed. You would need to provide some animal protein to ensure those essential elements aren't missing from their diet. If they have a large area to free range on year round where they can supplement the homemade feed with what they can find they'd probably be ok as well, but they'd need access to a lot of bugs. There are lots of essential vitamins and minerals that are likely to be missing from a plant based diet too.

This is a good website explaining all of the essential elements required for balanced feed:
http://www.poultryhub.org/nutrition/feed-ingredients/

I've heard someone say that they don't need that if u give them meal worms everyday and it's a treat. It just doesn't make sense to drop from 22 percent grower to 15-16 percent layer. I want them to have a bit more protien. Is that wrong?

 

[Venac]

There's a mill date on each bag of feed, and so it's not difficult to buy fresh, and feed it within two months of milling, and store it properly. Pellets or crumbles are designed to contain the entire ingredient list in each piece, so nobody picks out the corn, for example, and leaves out the rest of the diet.
Mary

Actually, I love in TN and I can not find any 2020 feed yet its fall. Everything is 2019