Homemade feed questions?

[Chris09]

Again, you seem to keep missing the part where I expressly say that aside from the grain/seed/legume mix the chickens must be able to free range or be supplied with a variety of veg, leafy greens, fruit, insects and meats.

If your birds have to free range to meet the rest of there dietary/nutritional needs then your not making a chicken feed (or at least a complete one) but more of a grain mix much like a glorified scratch grain.
Lets face it anybody can go and mix a bunch of grains together and call it a "feed" but if it don't meet there needs then it not really a feed at all.

 

[SavageDestiny]

If your birds have to free range to meet the rest of there dietary/nutritional needs then your not making a chicken feed (or at least a complete one) but more of a grain mix much like a glorified scratch grain.
Lets face it anybody can go and mix a bunch of grains together and call it a "feed" but if it don't meet there needs then it not really a feed at all.

My chickens could survive on their feed mix if I added a premade vitamin/mineral supplement. Just as chickens survive on commercial feed mixes which add in the same. Commercial feed mixes are no different than a home made mix except that their foods are cooked and mashed together. Both require vitamins and minerals to be added to the base grain mix. Commercial feeds accomplish this by adding the premade mixes. I could do this as well, but I prefer my chickens get their vitamins and minerals from fresh, natural sources instead of chemically produced, cooked to death vit/min supplements.

 

[Chris09]

My chickens could survive on their feed mix if I added a premade vitamin/mineral supplement. Just as chickens survive on commercial feed mixes which add in the same. Commercial feed mixes are no different than a home made mix except that their foods are cooked and mashed together. Both require vitamins and minerals to be added to the base grain mix. Commercial feeds accomplish this by adding the premade mixes. I could do this as well, but I prefer my chickens get their vitamins and minerals from fresh, natural sources instead of chemically produced, cooked to death vit/min supplements.

Quote: Ok this is twice maybe more that you used the terms,"cooked and mashed together".

So that you know there are very few ingredients in a poultry feed that are cooked, one being soybean (soy like legumes) and the others being animal proteins and fats.
None of the other ingredients are cooked...

Also the ingredients are ground and then either left as a mash, or put through a die to make a pellet/crumble.

 

[LindaB220]

Ok this is twice maybe more that you used the terms,"cooked and mashed together".

So that you know there are very few ingredients in a poultry feed that are cooked, one being soybean (soy like legumes) and the others being animal proteins and fats.
None of the other ingredients are cooked...

Also the ingredients are ground and then either left as a mash, or put through a die to make a pellet/crumble.

Well, thanks Chris. I was unaware that most feeds are not cooked unless they have soy or beans. Nice to know. I'd like to be in the position to go all grain but it's not in the cards right now so I make do with a couple different kinds of feed and some grains. It works for me because I ferment them. The soaked oats I made the other day are really working out well.

 

[Chris09]

Well, thanks Chris. I was unaware that most feeds are not cooked unless they have soy or beans. Nice to know. I'd like to be in the position to go all grain but it's not in the cards right now so I make do with a couple different kinds of feed and some grains. It works for me because I ferment them. The soaked oats I made the other day are really working out well.

It might be a type-o but. Only the soy/bean or animal product is cooked not the feed mix.

I'v seen some birds on a all grain diet and was not impressed at all (nor was the poultry judge) over all condition of the birds were bad and feathering was poor. If you get the chance to read some of the old articles from the U.S and U.K even some of the better articles from the UK today they do a lot of talking about Hard and Soft feathered chickens and how to feed them. Well long story short there are very few breeds of chickens that can handle and preform very well on a all gain diet.

Glad to here that soaked oats worked out well for you.

 

[SavageDestiny]

It might be a type-o but. Only the soy/bean or animal product is cooked not the feed mix.

I'v seen some birds on a all grain diet and was not impressed at all (nor was the poultry judge) over all condition of the birds were bad and feathering was poor. If you get the chance to read some of the old articles from the U.S and U.K even some of the better articles from the UK today they do a lot of talking about Hard and Soft feathered chickens and how to feed them. Well long story short there are very few breeds of chickens that can handle and preform very well on a all gain diet.

Glad to here that soaked oats worked out well for you.

Good thing my diet is grains, seeds, and legumes... plus all the extra goodies.

Commercial food wouldn't be any good without the vit/min premix either. Slamming home made feed because you saw birds do bad on an all grain diet is silly, since precisely nobody is advocating feeding only grain. Same with protesting that the feed isn't complete without a vit/min mix or fresh foods... because commercial feed would not be complete without the vit/min mix either.

 

[Chris09]

Good thing my diet is grains, seeds, and legumes... plus all the extra goodies.

Commercial food wouldn't be any good without the vit/min premix either. Slamming home made feed because you saw birds do bad on an all grain diet is silly, since precisely nobody is advocating feeding only grain. Same with protesting that the feed isn't complete without a vit/min mix or fresh foods... because commercial feed would not be complete without the vit/min mix either.

First I was not "slamming" home made feed. If anything I was slamming the all whole grain incomplete diet that relies on the bird free ranging. (which this person was feeding/doing)
Other than protein and fat do you know the nutritional value of your mix? If not how can you say that all your feed needs is a vitamin mineral premix to be a complete feed.

A feed is not complete if it does not meet the nutritional needs of that animal as a sole food source no matter if it is a commercial feed or a home mix.

 

[LindaB220]

I seem to be doing well on the mixture of my part grain, part feed. I ferment it and that bumps up the protein slightly. Still haven't opened my catfish feed yet. Doing well with the gamebird. I've decided to add tumeric to the mix. So many health benefits. Maybe 1-2 T per 5 gallon pail. I'm trying to get my courage up to paint my white pails black and make waterers out of them. I bought the little cup thingys that go on the side. 3 for the 1 in the big coop and 2 cups for the small coop.

 

[OldMcContri]

So everyone, my point was made by the responses in this point (even though I was not trying to get people pecking at each others comments and opinions) However, I did do a small batch of fermented feed from the grow feed I had and have to say that the girls loved their treat. It was gone pretty quickly.

 

[LindaB220]

So everyone, my point was made by the responses in this point (even though I was not trying to get people pecking at each others comments and opinions) However, I did do a small batch of fermented feed from the grow feed I had and have to say that the girls loved their treat. It was gone pretty quickly.

Yea!!! Keep it up.