Homemade feed idea

[VanUnamed]

Hello, as I am really, really getting tired of protein deficient brands and medications added I thought I could make my own feed.
This is my recipe.
25% Corn - 8.23 protein
30% Wheat - 13% protein
25% field peas - 24% protein
20% sunflower seeds - 23%protein
It would work out as a 17% protein feed. I can easily buy a mill for the grains and mill what is needed for 4-5 days. Maybe I could even feed the resulting powder-milled output as a moist mash.

I may also add other grains, maybe sorghum or barley if i can find them.
Do you think it's a good idea? I would like to know as right now is the right time to buy field peas.

Thanks.

 

[sylviethecochin]

It sounds alright, except you're not really considering anything but protein. I'd advise you to also calculate lysine, methionine, fat content, B vitamins, vitamin A, and selenium/e. I'd compare to a brand like Purina, since I don't know of any resources that tell the exact minimum amount of vitamins a laying hen needs.

 

[VanUnamed]

Ah yea, I forgot to mention that this would be like " a base " to make feed for everyone. I have chickens that are raised for meat (not cornish, normal slower growing variety) and also laying hens. For the hens I would also add ground eggshells or oystershells, I can buy a multi-vitamin for poultry, but I also read this here.
Nutrient content of field peas

• Dry matter: 90%
• Metabolizable energy: 2600 kcal/kg
• Crude protein: 23.0%
  • Methionine: 0.28%
  • Cystine: 0.22%
  • Lysine: 1.67%
  • Tryptophan: 0.19%
  • Threonine: 0.19%
• Crude fat: 1.4%
• Crude fiber: 5.5%
• Ash: 3.3%

 

[Morrigan]

The first three ingredients on my bag of purina flock raiser are corn, soymeal, and wheat. Assuming field peas are reasonably equivalent to soymeal, it sounds like a good start.