Home Feeding Ideas and Solutions Discussion Thread

[jdeoliveira74]

home made receipes for feed i am using layer pellets mixed with alafalfa pellets and black oil sunflower seeds. The Alafalfa pellets are expensive at my feed store 20 for 50lbs what else is out there. feed keeps going up and our money doesnt go as far
Jon

I bought some steamed crimped oats wow they really love those so i mixed some into there feed. I am trying to stay away from corn and soy with all the gmo junk

 

[atmaclean]

I bought some steamed crimped oats wow they really love those so i mixed some into there feed. I am trying to stay away from corn and soy with all the gmo junk

Tractor Supply is probably less expensive for your alfalfa pellets/cubes. They also sell timothy pellets and timothy/oat mixed pellets/cubes if you are wanting a hay type green food....

This has probably already been mentioned but I also feed ground flax seeds. We buy a 50lb bag and then grind the seeds to mix with their feed.

The steamed, crimped oats are similar to the oatmeal you buy at the grocery store - mine love it, too! I wonder if the crimping and steaming makes the nutrients more available to the chickens as opposed to the whole oats?

Angela

 

[jdeoliveira74]

Tractor Supply is probably less expensive for your alfalfa pellets/cubes. They also sell timothy pellets and timothy/oat mixed pellets/cubes if you are wanting a hay type green food....

This has probably already been mentioned but I also feed ground flax seeds. We buy a 50lb bag and then grind the seeds to mix with their feed.

The steamed, crimped oats are similar to the oatmeal you buy at the grocery store - mine love it, too! I wonder if the crimping and steaming makes the nutrients more available to the chickens as opposed to the whole oats?

Angela

i heard the steamed is better has a higher protien value. You get flax at tractor supply? what do you pay for 50lbs

 

[fowlsessed]

There's an option on here to search this particular thread, just put in "protein" and it should narrow down your results! Grow some amaranth, both the seeds and leaves are very high in protein, the leaves are even higher than the seeds. It's drought tolerant and easy to grow, then just throw the whole plant to the birds, but if you choose to do so, it's really easy to thresh by hand and store.

 

[fowlsessed]

That was aimed in reply to ocap's post.

 

[upthecreek]

Our TSC has been out of Standlee Alfalfa Pellets for two weeks ........ i tried the Timothy/Alfalfa pellets and they don't like it .
Does anyone know of another brand of Alfalfa pellets that one could use . I live in south Alabama and have Alabama Co-Op stores and one independant feed store that can get FRM , Nutrena and few other brands .
Thanks ,
Shannon

i heard the steamed is better has a higher protien value.  You get flax at tractor supply?  what do you pay for 50lbs

 

[jak2002003]

I don't buy any commercial food for my chickens.

They live off kitchen scraps, and unshelled dry rice. They free range all day and roost in the trees or under baskets.

I feed the chicks the same as the adults and I also add hard boiled egg mashed up with the shells.

They are all fat, healthy and lay lots of eggs.

My climate is sub tropical, so they can find food all year round.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I'd like to hear more about the spent brewery grain; how, how much, benefits, cautions?

I do a lot of sprouts . . .

I bought a bucket for each day of the week from the Dollar store.
Day 1 is a soaker, no holes in bottom, with a pint of whatever seed (currently lentil culls; 100 lb bag for $10!).
Days 2-6 have holes in bottoms, nested into one another.
I cut 4-inch-long sections of 4" dia white plastic pipe, and set one in the bottom of each bucket as spacers, so these buckets stack about 20" high.
Day 6 bucket is at the top of the stack, & is where I run my fresh rinse water into, 2x a day (filtering down thru the stack, all set in the bathtub).
Day 7 bucket has no holes & is in a lighted area, "greening up".

The gals get Day 7 bucket every day; day 6 goes into #7, Day one soaker bucket gets dumped into #6, which then gets rotated to the #1 (bottom) position in the stack.

That 1 pint turns into a gallon & a half of sprouts for my 2 dozen chickens.

Next on the agenda is fermenting a separate batch of seed grains, when my 100 Delaware chicks come in May

Cool setup! If it was me, I might reverse the order of the buckets, so the oldest is on the bottom and the newest on the top. That way, the "freshest" water starts at the top of the stack ... if you know what I mean.

 

[atmaclean]

i heard the steamed is better has a higher protien value. You get flax at tractor supply? what do you pay for 50lbs

No, we get the whole flax seed from a feed mill - we pay around $22 for a 50lb bag of flax seed. We grind it and feed it to our horses and our chickens. Gives them BEAUTIFUL shiny coats and feathers. It also adds the omega 3/6 to the eggs.

Angela

 

[atmaclean]

Our TSC has been out of Standlee Alfalfa Pellets for two weeks ........ i tried the Timothy/Alfalfa pellets and they don't like it .
Does anyone know of another brand of Alfalfa pellets that one could use . I live in south Alabama and have Alabama Co-Op stores and one independant feed store that can get FRM , Nutrena and few other brands .
Thanks ,
Shannon

I'm sure you could use any brand of alfalfa pellets or cubes that are made for livestock. Alternatively, you could probably buy alfalfa hay and give them some of that as well. Just look for some that is very leafy with small stems as that will have more protein and calcium in it.

Angela