Homemade feed questions?

[SavageDestiny]

Thanks Chris09 , I will take the information you give under consideration. I do notice tho' how my chickens are much more enthusiastic about the food I make up for them than when I was feeding them straight layer pellets/ They finish it all now so are still getting the same amount of pellets plus the other stuff I add..the major ingredient is still the pellets, I am getting conflicting information from different chicken keepers and being as I am a novice I find it quite confusing..

Just like everything else in this world, nobody can quite agree on what is best to feed chickens. To some degree, it is about finding what you're comfortable with and what works well for your flock. However Chris09 was spot on about all the add-ons. Suet is basically just fat, which is unnecessary and can cause too much weight gain and high cholesterol. Kielbasa is heavy with preservatives, seasonings, and salt, none of which chickens need. Celery is mostly water and fiber with little nutrient content.

There is nothing wrong with adding scraps and snacks to your birds' diet, but be a little choosy. Fresh, uncooked, unseasoned, nutrient dense foods are the best. Leafy greens, fresh vegetables, fresh meat, etc. are the best sorts of things to give.

 

[chick n goat ma]

What conflicting information.
I know that there is a ton of information out there some good and some not so good. The one thing that a lot of people forget or just don't know is that chickens eat to fill there caloric needs meaning when that need is met there eating stops weather or not they get all there nutritional needs.


Now before someone comes on and says that I'm downing a homemade feed mix, I'm not.
I'v had poultry and livestock for 30+ years and within those years I have done my fare share of mixing feed from scratch and having a home mix.

Obviously false Information > chickens like pigs can eat anything, or (from a local chicken keeper) If they free range you don't have to feed them anything. I have since been directed to 'Chicken treats" page and from now on will only feed mine what is good for them , from the list there. I will continue to give them pellets too. What is your opinion of sunflower seeds for chickens,do chickens have the right kind of beaks to crack them open or doesn't that matter? I give sunflower seeds to my goats as treats but their first stomach is a big fermentation tank I've been told. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with a novice.. I appreciate it very much.

 

[Chris09]

Obviously false Information > chickens like pigs can eat anything, or (from a local chicken keeper) If they free range you don't have to feed them anything. I have since been directed to 'Chicken treats" page and from now on will only feed mine what is good for them , from the list there. I will continue to give them pellets too. What is your opinion of sunflower seeds for chickens,do chickens have the right kind of beaks to crack them open or doesn't that matter? I give sunflower seeds to my goats as treats but their first stomach is a big fermentation tank I've been told. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with a novice.. I appreciate it very much.

False information? What is the false information?

Hog and chickens are two completely different animals with different needs, chickens may eat a lot of things but it doesn't mean there body can process the nutrition with in the product. As for the "Chicken Treat" page it's a joke, even the livestock nutritionist that was on here for some time and has a PhD in Livestock Nutrition said that it was loaded with misinformation and none of the proper information.

Chickens don't crack any seeds open, they eat them whole then there gizzard grind them up, sunflower seeds are low protein and high in hard to digest and indigestible fiber and should be soaked much like oats and barley before feeding to poultry or at least fed in small amounts. Also since sunflower seeds are high in phosphorous this can through off the birds calcium phosphorus levels and could lead to other problems.

Goats have one stomach but the one stomach has four chambers (rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum). The rumen is were there feed is fermented so feeding sunflower seeds to goats is fine, there digestive system is designed to possess high fiber foods. The feed I have mixed for my dairy goats has black oil sunflower seeds in it.

 

[chick n goat ma]

Is this not false information?.>> > chickens like pigs can eat anything, or (from a local chicken keeper) If they free range you don't have to feed them anything?..>>

I may be a wise old gal but I am new to rearing chickens, I have a lot to learn I know, so thanks for filling me in re. goats digestive system, and why NOT to feed sunflower seeds to chickens.

 

[K9Dave]

Is this not false information?.>> > chickens like pigs can eat anything, or (from a local chicken keeper) If they free range you don't have to feed them anything?..>>

I may be a wise old gal but I am new to rearing chickens, I have a lot to learn I know, so thanks for filling me in re. goats digestive system, and why NOT to feed sunflower seeds to chickens.

BOSS or Black Oil sunflower seeds are good for the chickens. High in protein and you can Sprout them for your chickens as well.

 

[Chris09]

I though you was saying that I said something that was false information.

 

[donrae]

False information? What is the false information?

Hog and chickens are two completely different animals with different needs, chickens may eat a lot of things but it doesn't mean there body can process the nutrition with in the product. As for the "Chicken Treat" page it's a joke, even the livestock nutritionist that was on here for some time and has a PhD in Livestock Nutrition said that it was loaded with misinformation and none of the proper information..

So glad to see other folks thinking that, too. But unfortunately, it's "on the internet, so it must be true".

 

[Organic Acres]

I just produce my own organic feed. I grow oats, wheat, barley and corn on my field. I buy non-GMO organic soybean meal in blocks of 400 pounds at a time to get it for cheap (this much lasts for a couple of years).

I grind and then mix the oats and wheat and barley together, and I grind the corn so it's in quite big pieces (not ground finely) and then prepare the home mix food in the following way:

broilers:

1 part soybean meal
1 part rough ground corn
3 parts oat/wheat/barley mix (note: I grind this too, but not finely)

this gives me a feed with a high spectrum of minerals and vitamins, and about 25% protein - good for broilers.

laying hens:

the same as above when it's winter, but in summer I don't use soybean meal or corn.

for these girls I have a second feeder of whole grains - again oats and wheat and barley, so that they can eat whole grains or ground grains depending on what they feel like doing.

year round I give all my chickens crushed oyster shells on demand.

my eggs and chicken meat are fabulous, and my chickens are always top notch healthy.

when I buy a laying chicken from a market or sale, they arrive at my farm with faded, off-color wattles and dull looking feathers and demeanor. Within a week or two of eating the food on my farm and ranging on the grass there outside, their wattles invariably become much darker red, their feathers get brighter and stronger, and they really perk up.

this is how I know for sure that my feed program is effective. I would never buy chicken food from a manufacturer, and I really don't understand why everybody does. it's cheaper and better to make your own.

 

[Chris09]

BOSS or Black Oil sunflower seeds are good for the chickens. High in protein and you can Sprout them for your chickens as well.

Most Sunflower seeds are only around 13% to 16% protein which is about the same as some other grain like Steamed Rolled Oats (17% protein), Barley (12% protein) Wheat Midds (18% protein) etc. There Total Digestible Nutrition (TDN) is low at 68% do to the high amount of indigestible fibers. Soaking them over night or two will help with the TDN and still keeping oil content.

 

[chick n goat ma]

I just produce my own organic feed. I grow oats, wheat, barley and corn on my field. I buy non-GMO organic soybean meal in blocks of 400 pounds at a time to get it for cheap (this much lasts for a couple of years).

I grind and then mix the oats and wheat and barley together, and I grind the corn so it's in quite big pieces (not ground finely) and then prepare the home mix food in the following way:


broilers:

1 part soybean meal
1 part rough ground corn
3 parts oat/wheat/barley mix (note: I grind this too, but not finely)

this gives me a feed with a high spectrum of minerals and vitamins, and about 25% protein - good for broilers.


laying hens:


the same as above when it's winter, but in summer I don't use soybean meal or corn.


for these girls I have a second feeder of whole grains - again oats and wheat and barley, so that they can eat whole grains or ground grains depending on what they feel like doing.


year round I give all my chickens crushed oyster shells on demand.


my eggs and chicken meat are fabulous, and my chickens are always top notch healthy.


when I buy a laying chicken from a market or sale, they arrive at my farm with faded, off-color wattles and dull looking feathers and demeanor. Within a week or two of eating the food on my farm and ranging on the grass there outside, their wattles invariably become much darker red, their feathers get brighter and stronger, and they really perk up.


this is how I know for sure that my feed program is effective. I would never buy chicken food from a manufacturer, and I really don't understand why everybody does. it's cheaper and better to make your own.

I will try your recipe for chicken feed but I only have 5 chickens so will NOT be buying 400lbs of anything 40 lb bags are about my limit. Do you think I need the soy bean meal living in subtropical Florida? I don't have a grinder but I imagine a few pulses in my food processor would have the same effect. I also give mine free choice oyster shells. Do you give your chickens any green vegetables or fruit? ?