Homemade feed

gagerohne1

Hatching
Oct 24, 2017
8
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9
Hey ive been doing some research looking for a relatively simple but effective homemade feed. My chickens will have access to foraging about 7 months a year but to supplement them during that time and to feed them during the winter ive come up with this recipe that i plan on growing on my property.

30% corn 20% hard winter wheat 20% soybeans 20% peas 10% whole oats
any opinions/advice?
 
Sprouting grains makes more of the nutrients available as the 'anti-nutrients' that preserve the seed are used up as the seed activates to start growing. Even just soaking them overnight makes a difference. You can just sprout them or grow them into fodder for your birds depending on what your birds like. Mine like their wheat and oats just sprouted - they'll only pick at it if I grow it to the fodder stage. Fermenting your feed is also a good way of improving the available nutrients in it. Here's a thread all about it (I'll link you to one of the current pages as there's some very good information there from scientific studies):
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/fermented-feeds-anyone-using-them.645057/page-876
 
All that mix is just a fancy scratch grain.
You haven mixed in any vitamins, minerals, etc.
You should do a little reading on the nutritional requirements of poultry and what makes a balanced poultry feed.
 
All that mix is just a fancy scratch grain.
You haven mixed in any vitamins, minerals, etc.
You should do a little reading on the nutritional requirements of poultry and what makes a balanced poultry feed.
anything youd reccomend adding/subtracting? these seem to be what makes up almost the entirety of most feeds but id love to hear suggestions
 
Chickens require balanced nutrition that you will get from manufactured feeds that contain the proper amounts of protein, vitamins and minerals..
Egg production, health and behavioural problems will most likely be your issue....

Best wishes.
haha well as long as those are my only issues ill be fine (kidding) do you have any reccomended ingredients in a home mixed feed to improve the quality of mine?
 
I think what everyone here is trying to say is, poultry feed makers have done a plethora of research to see what does and does not work for feed . If you feel you need to use grain, try a brand called Peck and Feed.

Sprout it for nutritional value. Ferment is for nutritional value. But no one here has years and years of research to really make *The Perfect Feed* from scratch.
 
anything youd reccomend adding/subtracting? these seem to be what makes up almost the entirety of most feeds but id love to hear suggestions

Well, it may make up a percentage of a feed mix but there is a lot more in there than grains. You need the feed to meet the needs of your poultry and it needs to be balanced and have the correct amount of Metabolizable Energy
Example, if your feed is a 18% protein that fine as long as you have the right amino acids and the correct amount of amino acids in the feed. Also you have to balance the calcium and phosphorous for your poultry.
If it was me I would find a good mixer mash or pellet and work off that.
Mixers have all the nutrients in them and you just add grain to make your feed.
 
You're light on calcium, you still need a vitamin pack, I recommend Fertrell Nutri-Balancer @about 5%. I suspect you also need to work on amino acids, adding alfalfa meal would certainly help. But here's a quick look at what you have so far.

Nutrient Name: Amount Units
Crude Protein 18.5% %
Crude Fat 7.1% %
Crude Fiber 4.4% %
Calcium 0.08% %
Phosphorus 0.40% %
Salt added 0.00% %
Sodium 0.03% % per KG
Energy 1,410 Kcal/LB 3102
Vitamin A 250 IU/LB 549.12
Vitamin D 0 IU/LB 0
Vitamin E 0 IU/LB 0
Choline 1583 IU/LB 3482
Biotin 13.2 MCG/LB 29
Manganese 44.2 ppm 97.284
Zinc 16.7 ppm 36.74
Copper 5.15 ppm 11.326
Selenium (added) 0.00 ppm 0
Lysine 0.93% %
Methionine 0.27% %
Methionine/Cystine 0.51% %
Arginine 1.21% %

ETA: Make sure you roast your soy before using in feed.
 

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