Homemade chicken food

[raingarden]

Hi Bob @RedHillChicken

A sack of wheat is about half the price of a sack of processed chicken feed here BTW.

Must be nice. Here hard red wheat iis a little more than the $31 bag of Triple Duty (sort of like all flock). Whole corn is a little less ($28).

 

[Perris]

Must be nice. Here hard red wheat iis a little more than the $31 bag of Triple Duty (sort of like all flock). Whole corn is a little less ($28).

I wonder what Triple Duty is made of then...

 

[chrissynemetz]

Welcome to BYC! It's nice to meet you! Please make yourself at home here!

 

[raingarden]

I wonder what Triple Duty is made of then...

It doesn't say but probably mostly corn, wheat, soy and the micros. It's only 15% protein and it's the only all-flock type of feed they sell near me. So, I usually fortify it by mixing in some fish meal, 30% protein game bird starter ($38/40 lb), or a whole egg to bring it up to 18% protein.

 

[Perris]

It doesn't say but probably mostly corn, wheat, soy and the micros. It's only 15% protein and it's the only all-flock type of feed they sell near me. So, I usually fortify it by mixing in some fish meal, 30% protein game bird starter ($38/40 lb), or a whole egg to bring it up to 18% protein.

Are you happy not knowing what you're actually feeding them as your main feed?

 

[Boppo]

Hey, Bob. Welcome to BYC! Best wishes with your feed and poultry and all your plans.

 

[saysfaa]

...Then there are comments made that suggest NOT putting in fish meal to the feed as it contains mercury....

The mercury from ocean products is not usually a problem because selenium protects against the effects of the mercury as long as there are more moles of selenium than moles of mercury. (Lol, high school chemistry used in real life!).

Anyway, there is enough selenium in ocean water and not so much mercury that people and chickens can eat ocean fish products without concern about the mercury.

I expect the comments are made by people who looked at only one thing. Or, more likely, copy pasted someone who looked at only one piece of one thing.

 

[saysfaa]

The mercury from ocean products is not usually a problem because selenium protects against the effects of the mercury as long as there are more moles of selenium than moles of mercury. (Lol, high school chemistry used in real life!).

Anyway, there is enough selenium in ocean water and not so much mercury that people and chickens can eat ocean fish products without concern about the mercury.

I expect the comments are made by people who looked at only one thing. Or, more likely, copy pasted someone who looked at only one piece of one thing.

The mercury does tie up the selenium, though. You might consider offering trace mineral salt.

Edit to add: or a trace mineral salt and vitamin mix.

 

[raingarden]

Are you happy not knowing what you're actually feeding them as your main feed?

I know they plug current commodity prices into their software and the progeam spits out a least-cost forumlation that conforms to the specifications on the label..... just like they all do. The label specs conform to the current state-of-the-art for what a chicken needs. That's good enough for me and the birds are in good health. The manufacturer (some sort of subsidary of Land-O-Lakes and Purina) has a lot more to loose from producing an inferior product than I have to loose with my meager flock. If you trust capitalism and the system it will take care of you.

 

[Perris]

The label specs conform to the current state-of-the-art for what a chicken needs.

Er, hardly. A better descriptor would be 'conforms to the minimum nutrients required to keep the bird alive at least cost'. I don't know what age they test it to for all flock type feeds. They lose interest after 18 months for layers as that's when commercial producers throw their layers away. The nutrient figures for broilers are based on experiments done on birds up to 3 weeks (yes, 3 weeks) old; body maintenance beyond that is not an issue in those calculations because the bird will be harvested at 5-6 weeks old for KFC or suchlike and all they're interested in for the 'finishing' stage is weight gain.