Homemade Chicken Feed

[mimis_acres]

Hi all! I am trying to make my farm more of a homestead and I would love to start making all of my own animal feed. I have 16 laying chickens (as of now), all about a year old. I have researched some different layer feed recipes but I have never heard of some of the ingredients so I have no idea where to even get them. Does anyone have any simple homemade feed recipes? If not where can I can get these ingredients and can I get them in bulk somewhere?

Thank you in advance!!

 

[nuthatched]

Check out Justin Rhodes on YouTube, he has some of the most nutritionally sound feed recipes.
I'd check into local co-ops for bulk pricing.

Please note, making your own feed is not going to be easier (can you buy and store ingredients in mass quantities?), cheaper (with 16 birds that will be approx 22 lbs of feed a week, costing $5-$9 per pound of feed ($100+ a week) double for organic) or even healthier ( a vitamin/mineral mix typically has to be added to balance the feed AND is typically served in a wet mash to make sure the birds don't pick out their favorite pieces and get nutritionaly deficienct or fatty liver) than bagged chicken food.
There's really no such thing as a simple (as in low number of ingredients) and nutritionally fulfilling recipe.
Edit, misread the number of birds.

 

[Perris]

Hi all! I am trying to make my farm more of a homestead and I would love to start making all of my own animal feed. I have 16 laying chickens (as of now), all about a year old. I have researched some different layer feed recipes but I have never heard of some of the ingredients so I have no idea where to even get them. Does anyone have any simple homemade feed recipes? If not where can I can get these ingredients and can I get them in bulk somewhere?

Thank you in advance!!

I do; I wrote an article about it here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...eat-tears-a-calculator-or-deep-pockets.78655/
if you have any queries, don't hesitate to ask.

My flock consists of about 25, and a couple of them have laid right through the winter - with no supplemental lighting or other unnatural interventions - whilst others are starting up again now after their winter break, so this works for layers (as well as for roos and chicks, should you have any going forward).

 

[Sally PB]

@mimis_acres, where are you? It helps to know your general geographic location. If you're in the US, just the state will do.

A lot of what you'll need could vary by location, so you might need to make substitutions.

 

[mimis_acres]

Check out Justin Rhodes on YouTube, he has some of the most nutritionally sound feed recipes.
I'd check into local co-ops for bulk pricing.

Please note, making your own feed is not going to be easier (can you buy and store ingredients in mass quantities?), cheaper (with 16 birds that will be approx 22 lbs of feed a week, costing $5-$9 per pound of feed ($100+ a week) double for organic) or even healthier ( a vitamin/mineral mix typically has to be added to balance the feed AND is typically served in a wet mash to make sure the birds don't pick out their favorite pieces and get nutritionaly deficienct or fatty liver) than bagged chicken food.
There's really no such thing as a simple (as in low number of ingredients) and nutritionally fulfilling recipe.
Edit, misread the number of birds.

I don't mind the pricing or if it's easier or not. I'm just trying to make my chicken feed more healthy so I have healthier chickens. By simple, I just meant different ingredients.

 

[mimis_acres]

@mimis_acres, where are you? It helps to know your general geographic location. If you're in the US, just the state will do.

A lot of what you'll need could vary by location, so you might need to make substitutions.

I am located in South West Ohio!

 

[mimis_acres]

I do; I wrote an article about it here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...eat-tears-a-calculator-or-deep-pockets.78655/
if you have any queries, don't hesitate to ask.

My flock consists of about 25, and a couple of them have laid right through the winter - with no supplemental lighting or other unnatural interventions - whilst others are starting up again now after their winter break, so this works for layers (as well as for roos and chicks, should you have any going forward).

Thank you so much!

 

[nuthatched]

I don't mind the pricing or if it's easier or not. I'm just trying to make my chicken feed more healthy so I have healthier chickens. By simple, I just meant different ingredients.

Thing is, It's really not going to be healthier. It might be fresher but not necessarily healthier, a body can only absorb so much nutrition and the rest gets pooped out since the body has no way of storing most nutrients, in fact some nutrients can get harmful in high levels.

 

[Huntmaster]

I am located in South West Ohio!

Welcome fellow Ohioan, North West Ohio here.

 

[Perris]

Thing is, It's really not going to be healthier. It might be fresher but not necessarily healthier, a body can only absorb so much nutrition and the rest gets pooped out since the body has no way of storing most nutrients, in fact some nutrients can get harmful in high levels.

Excess nutrients are an issue with concentrated feed, not real food. That's why commercial farms using commercial feed have a problem with poop.