Heritage Feeds for Heritage Breeds

[Jake Levi]

Thanks Chris for that information, that is really quite a range.

 

[Jake Levi]

Over the past week I have been reading through all of the local ad papers that I can find, from grain prices there are several that I know that I will be buying local rather then the big bag 'ag stores' like TSC and Big R and others.

First two are Corn and cleaned Oats, both are far cheaper local sources then the big box stores, oats at .08/lb. Barley just a bit higher. Find a local mill that will grind your mix for you, if your mix is these three in the main you can beat the commercial mixes by quite a bit. Also search out the best prices that you can find for Sunflower sees, especially BOSS. Next year I am going to be planting quite a few, along with pumpkins and my own corn.

I will still be buying both BOSS and pumpkins but what I grow will still go a long ways in lowering the years costs. Both ground pumpkin seeds as well as the meat of pumpkins chickens will clean right up.

 

[Jake Levi]

Meat and fish meal, does anyone here have a good source in 50lb bags? With the pumpkin seeds and BOSS wont need to up the protein a great deal but will want some. Fish meal other then for the young is best used sparingly as it gives eggs a fishy taste. That said it is an excellent protein supplement.

For my purposes an arrangement with a local butcher for saw cleanings would be near ideal, just give it to them directly. That is worth looking into, I could use next year 20-30 lbs a week of the stuff.

What are the rest of you using or planning to use? For my mix both pumpkin seeds and BOSS is a given. And then supplementing that.

 

[CluckyJay]

What about making bloodmeal?

http://books.google.com/books?id=80...ge#v=onepage&q=how to make blood meal&f=false

Could be nice and organic, especially if you raise your own animals. Definitely one of the old fashioned ways of feeding livestock.

I am working on creating a meal out of my soldier flies.

 

[Jake Levi]

I dont do enough butchering, other then chickens, next year I may well try to recycle what I have so far trashed. I always skin mine before freezing, dont need the fat of the skins, but that still leaves an amount to be ground up that could be fed.

The last meat meal that I bought was in 80lb bags, pricey , I was adding it to sled dog feed. Plus more fats. As I recall the bags were double, heavy waxed paper inside another with a heavy thread in it, very strong. And tight.

I want to find more of the same.

 

[Jake Levi]

This week I am looking at economical ways to resolve the feed costs and have come down to making one of two choices, one, either mix my own, or two, find a local(driveable to) mill that I can work with.

Checking prices on a grain mill if I buy one then thats a commitment for some time due to price. Even if I can find a good used one.

The prices of commercial bagged feed, and the way it has grown in the past couple of years is soon going to price itself out of reach of all but the small hobby flock that they now cater to. Looking at commercial grain prices, I know a breeder can save at least 25% of the commerical bagged feed cost by mixing our own. Probably 5-10% more. Thats a lot if you are feeding a 100lbs a month or more.

Right now I am looking at Corn, Oats, Barley, Milo, with BOSS and ground sunflower seeds, molasses, grit , and some calcium in oyster shell, plus what I can supplement with in animal meal or fish meal. Just ball park pricing using available commercial prices it works out to around $16-17/100, depending on ingredients, thats quite a difference to the bag store prices.

What have others come up with? The above ration is a lot more diverse then what our breeds were developed on, even though they had free ranging for much of the year.

 

[ChooksChick]

One thing you'll really want when buying local grains is to watch what the aflatoxin rates for your local harvest are- this year the carcinogenic (in parts per billion) content of so much of the country's corn has been off the charts that they've had to pitch many, many folks' crops. Around here, they test at the elevator, and if it's beyond a certain amount, no one will take it. If you are buying your grains directly from the farmer, you are not protected from the potential for toxic components such as this. Also, some elevators do not test.

It's a big deal for me to know my elevators and mill only buy tested and certified grains so that we aren't inadvertently consuming eggs with toxic components. The drought is a big factor in harvests and quality of grains.

 

[Jake Levi]

Excellent points, that is why I am looking for a small mill that sells and mixes their own, I had a great one back in MI, Amish owned and operated along with an excellent feed store, they would mix whatever I wanted in 500lb or larger lots. I sure miss them. I havent had a chance to look south of me yet, that is coming up soon.

Jake

 

[nanncee]

Quote:
If they are getting free range all day, I would think their mineral uptake would be taken care of. Now of course this is going to vary with the area you're in. But with free access to scratch, dig, and eat all the dirt and good bugs they can find tt shouldn't be a problem. Our soil here in northern utah is black and rich. Our birds surivive on almost 90% free range, with occasional soaked wheat feedings (or spent mushroom grain which breaks down nutrients wonderfully) when there is snow on the ground. Now to get marketable meat birds in a reasonable time, you would have to increase the grain consumption. But now I'm getting off topic.

 

[Jake Levi]

I agree, free range chickens should have the most balanced diet that there is including minerals with the exception of any deficient minerals for your area.

I give mine some free range afternoons here in NE Wa but the snow is going to cancel that out very shortly. The only real solution is to freechoice minerals or add them to the ration.