Homemade feed

[rjohns39]

Here's what the SPN guideline for a heritage grower on pasture.
Nutrient: Units:

CRUDE PROTEIN 20.1 %
CRUDE FAT 7.8 %
CRUDE FIBER 5.5 %
CALCIUM 1.20 %
PHOSPHORUS 0.78 %
SALT (ADDED) 0.32 %
SODIUM 0.17 %
M.E. (PLTY) 1291 KCAL/LB
VITAMIN A 6.13 KIU/LB
VITAMIN D 1.61 KIU/LB
VIT. E (ADDED) 50.0 IU/LB
LYSINE 1.00 %
METHIONINE 0.42 %
METH + CYSTINE 0.63 %
MANGANESE 92.1 PPM
ZINC 70.6 PPM
IRON 64.6 PPM
COPPER 5.64 PPM
IODINE 3.78 PPM
SELENIUM 0.32 PPM

This is for comparison. Sorry about the formatting.

 

[Titan Farm]

@gagerohne1

Most people look at a feed tag and see just basic feed "stuff", protein, fat, fiber, calcium, ingredients etc. but when you break a feed down its more like this
Example of protein in my 20% breeder feed.

Protein,% 20
Arginine,% 1.3
Cystine,% 0.35
Glycine,% 0.98
Histidine,% 0.54
Isoleucine,% 0.82
Leucine,% 1.5
Lysine,% 1.1
Methionine,% 0.35
Phenylalanine,% 0.91
Tyrosine,% 0.58
Threonine,% 0.76
Tryptophan,% 0.23
Valine,%0.94

Over all protein is nice but when mixing a feed you have to know the whole mix.

 

[gagerohne1]

@gagerohne1

Most people look at a feed tag and see just basic feed "stuff", protein, fat, fiber, calcium, ingredients etc. but when you break a feed down its more like this
Example of protein in my 20% breeder feed.

Protein,% 20
Arginine,% 1.3
Cystine,% 0.35
Glycine,% 0.98
Histidine,% 0.54
Isoleucine,% 0.82
Leucine,% 1.5
Lysine,% 1.1
Methionine,% 0.35
Phenylalanine,% 0.91
Tyrosine,% 0.58
Threonine,% 0.76
Tryptophan,% 0.23
Valine,%0.94

Over all protein is nice but when mixing a feed you have to know the whole mix.

this is wonderful thank you

 

[rjohns39]

this is wonderful thank you

Another thing you've already mentioned is that many will alter their blends for winter as the birds nutritional requirements and availability of free range stuff are different. I use two books primarily and I'm still a novice—but have a nutritionist I can run ideas by.

"Commercial Poultry Nutrition" Second Edition by S.Leeson and J.S. Summers
"Feeding Pasture-Raised Poultry" by Jeff Mattocks

The SPN nutritional analysis I provided above is based upon the following ingredients:
Ingredient Pounds
CORN 7.0% (GRD) 815
SOYBEANS ROASTED 550
BARLEY 9% (GRD) 200
LINSEED ML. (O.P.)34/7 200
ALFALFA ML 17% 100
POULTRY NB DL 60
FISH ML (MENHADEN) 50
LIMESTONE 37% Ca 25
PoultryNB = Fertrell Nutri-Balancer

 

[Smuvers Farm]

Here's what the SPN guideline for a heritage grower on pasture.
Nutrient: Units:

METH + CYSTINE 0.63 %

This is for comparison. Sorry about the formatting.

No wonder your chickens are so weird!!!

 

[el aguila]

+1 on the Fertrells and alfalfa meal.

Many grain mills have a premix similar to Fertrells that they use when they mix their own chicken feed. Fertrells is one of the better quality mixes out there. It is expensive, but a bag goes a long way when you are using 5%.

Fertrells also sells a fish meal that some people use as a protein source instead of soybeans. I don’t use it because it would be to expensive for me.

I’m looking for a substitute for soybeans, but haven’t come up with anything viable yet. I’ll try black soldier fly larvae next spring.

 

[rjohns39]

+1 on the Fertrells and alfalfa meal.

Many grain mills have a premix similar to Fertrells that they use when they mix their own chicken feed. Fertrells is one of the better quality mixes out there. It is expensive, but a bag goes a long way when you are using 5%.

Fertrells also sells a fish meal that some people use as a protein source instead of soybeans. I don’t use it because it would be to expensive for me.

I’m looking for a substitute for soybeans, but haven’t come up with anything viable yet. I’ll try black soldier fly larvae next spring.

Good point on the fish meal. There are lots of bad fish meals out there, but Fertrell's is top quality and so is their kelp meal.

Grains comparable to soy are:
Camelina
Corn Distillers, Hi Prot
Flax Meal
and Corn Gluten Meal is comparable to fish meal.

Dry roasted, unsalted peanuts are also very comparable, but the oils work there way into eggs and meat, so if someone has a peanut allergy the eggs can cause a reaction.

 

[par0027]

i have 15 chickens that live in my backyard, one of the chickens we call Chucky was bitten by a rat before she came to us, the rat had bitten her beak so it's twisted which makes it harder for her to eat the pellets. So to help her out we made a mash

All you need is
Garlic powder, scratch mix, Mint Thyme..., apple cider VINEGAR, hot water.

Then we just cover it up with Foil and wait for it to cool down a bit. This not only helps get Chucky to eat, but all the ingredients help block out any diseases or sicknesses they might encounter

 

[Titan Farm]

If feeding garlic or garlic powder keep it in between 1 and 3 percent of there total feed ration, that's about 2 teaspoons per pound of dry weight feed.

Quote from a study done by European Poultry Science (EPS)

"Results obtained in present study confirm results of Javandel et al. (2008), Onu (2010), Raeesi et al. (2010) and Stanaćev et al. (2011), who stated that beneficial effects of garlic on chicken growth can be expected if garlic in concentration of 1–3% is added to diets. Higher doses of 3% have depressive effect on consumption and, due to presence of certain anti nutritional substances, reduce the daily gain."

 

[Foristers]

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?

Based on that mix, it sounds like you are low on lysine and methionine - two amino acids that chickens need. You can buy both online to supplement. They usually come in powder form and may be marketed for other animals (cats, horses, etc). If these are layers, you'll need a calcium supplement as well but oyster shell is easy to find.
You also may need a boost for the vitamins A & D and I do not know where that mix stands for B vitamins.

Good luck!