How can I make my own organic feed?

[homeschooler]

I've read lots of wonderful posts on here about making your own chicken feed and I've decided on the following recipe:

Summer:
soft wheat 16%
hard wheat 12%
oats 20%
sunflower seeds 27%
millett 10%
field peas 6%
flax 5%
kelp 4%

Winter:
whole corn 9%
soft wheat 15%
hard wheat 13%
oats 17%
sunflower seeds 27%
field peas 10%
flax 5%
kelp 4%


The problem I'm having is that I can't find anywhere to buy these items in an organic form that is affordable. I found a couple places online, Azure and True Food Market, that have great prices, but the shipping is unbelievably high, like over $1 per pound! i know there are places like honeyville.com, but they are pretty high unless you live near a physical store, which i don't.

I've called some of the feed stores around here, but not having any luck with that either. i'm in Jacksonville, FL.

any suggestions?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

What I do is buy organic corn and org. chick starter, and the rest is conventional, to decrease the cost. (See my signature line.)

Check out Modesto Milling in CA and also the possibility of buying organic feed at your feed store- mixing it in to decrease costs.
http://www.modestomilling.com/poultry.html
You can use their scratch and look down at the bottom of the page.

There are some soy-free feeds available but I don't know if they are what you are interested in.

Kelp at 4% is too high.
http://www.countrysideorganics.com/product-faqs/thorvin™-kelp/
click on kelp application amts. and they recommend 1-2% which is what I have seen. I feed it too- it has salt in it apparently so be cognizant of that.

Millet is easy to grow- you can buy some birdseed and plant it. You can grow your own wheat (I have tried it) and sunflower seeds, too. This would decrease costs but is work to deal with it. It would be organic if you grew it organically.

Sounds good! I think that Azure includes shipping in their prices from what I read but I could be wrong.

 

[bug58]

Might check some of the feed stores in Middleburg see what they offer--I know Russell's Feed Store has some bagged mixes at a reasonable price. Not sure if it's organic or not but you could call and find out.

(904) 291-5725
4479 County Road 218
Middleburg, FL 32068

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Oh I didn't notice that you were in FL. Well don't order it from CA!

 

[homeschooler]

Thank you for the replies. I did put in a request for a quote from Modesto, but haven't heard back yet. I'll also check out Middleburg. Also, thanks for the advice on Kelp. i'll definitely lower that %. there's got to be places to get inexpensive organic feed ingredients, either locally or online without ridiculously high shipping. thanks for the help!

 

[Nicole01]

Just to add on the corn. My hens only eat cracked corn, whole corn is too large.

I am waiting for the mill guy to come and I will make a purchase of hard wheat and oats by 50# bags. You can sprout them too.