How much should I feed a large group of animals? UPDATE Page 4 - #32.

[kuntrygirl]

Where can I buy BOSS? Doesn't look like they sell it at Tractor Supply. Looks like it's a bit pricey.

But then again, if it's mixed in with something else, that's not too bad of a price to pay each week. I just have to find it now. Where do you all purchase your bags of BOSS?

 

[PunkinPeep]

I didn't read all the responses. But when/if you switch to free choice feeding, keep in mind that at first, your birds will eat way more than they need. Once they get used to the constant food supply, they'll get a little bored of it and not eat it so fast. At least that's what mine did. They started doing a lot more free ranging and not being quite so interested in the food - and also not rushing me every time i walked out the door. Nice.

If i did the math right, i think my chickens are eating 1/2 to 1 cup of food each day. But i have only chickens, and they free range all day long.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I called one of the local mills that advertised selling feed in bulk but when I called, they sell bulk feed for all animals except chickens. Go figure.

They have their own chicken feed mixture and below are the ingredients:

The name of the feed is called Rooster Booster and it is only 16% protein.

(was wanting a little more protein). They sell it for $12.85 for a 50lb bag.

The mixture is as follows:

Alfalfa pellets
Cracked Corn
Milo
Wheat
Protein Pellets
Nutra Boost
Sunflower Seeds

What do you think of this mixture, the ingredients and the price? Should I stick to Flockraiser at Tractor Supply and add some BOSS? What should I do?

 

[Olive Hill]

Quote:
I won't comment on the price because geography will play a big part in that. That said, when you called did you just ask if you can buy chicken feed in bulk? What you need to ask is "Can I have feed custom milled in bulk?" or "I have a recipe for feed I'd like made, can you do that for me in bulk? What would the price be for xyz?" No need to even mention the species of animal you're feeding.

As far as the recipe of the above feed, what is the purpose of all these birds? Do you process them for the freezer? Are they breeders? Are they just pets?

 

[TyrannosaurusChix]

Quote:
Actually the tsc here sells it.

They have them in the big paper bags like the purina food ( look more in the wild bird section but it is just boss) it was between 10-15 bucks but since my feed has it already mixed in , i opted for the smaller plastic see through bag( still in the wild bird section) that i paid $4 for.

 

[mistyfeather]

6oz per bird for lighter birds up to 8oz for the larger birds plus free ranging and some grains befor bedtime. this is how i messure for mine , tho i only have 14. it works well tho , i messure out the feed and then give half in the morning and half in the afternoon , befor they go to roost i toss them some scratch and oats inside their run. they free range all day as well

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
I won't comment on the price because geography will play a big part in that. That said, when you called did you just ask if you can buy chicken feed in bulk? What you need to ask is "Can I have feed custom milled in bulk?" or "I have a recipe for feed I'd like made, can you do that for me in bulk? What would the price be for xyz?" No need to even mention the species of animal you're feeding.

As far as the recipe of the above feed, what is the purpose of all these birds? Do you process them for the freezer? Are they breeders? Are they just pets?

Ok here are the answers to your questions.

No, I did ask if I could buy chicken feed in bulk. I just said feed. When she said yes, then I asked specifically about chicken feed. She said that their bulk chicken feed is only in 50lb bags. She said most people don't want bulk chicken feed.

After reading your post, I called them back and followed your specific instructions/questions and this is how the conversation went. I asked them if the manager could work with me and allow me to purchase bulk as in 1 ton/2000 lbs of feed. I asked her if they would allow me to give them a recipe for feed and they put those ingredients together and dispense it by the ton for me or buy a larger quantity other than a 50lb bag. She said yes. She said all I need to do is go to the store and talk to the manager and give him my list of ingredients and he will quote me a price and I can pick up my special bulk feed whenever I need.

The purpose of my birds are everything that you mentioned. They are for processing, for breeders, for egg laying and my favorites are pets.

So what do you think? Can you give me a recipe to give to them? I would like something that is no less than 20% if possible. What amount of protein do you think I need?

 

[Olive Hill]

Quote:
I won't comment on the price because geography will play a big part in that. That said, when you called did you just ask if you can buy chicken feed in bulk? What you need to ask is "Can I have feed custom milled in bulk?" or "I have a recipe for feed I'd like made, can you do that for me in bulk? What would the price be for xyz?" No need to even mention the species of animal you're feeding.

As far as the recipe of the above feed, what is the purpose of all these birds? Do you process them for the freezer? Are they breeders? Are they just pets?

Ok here are the answers to your questions.

No, I did ask if I could buy chicken feed in bulk. I just said feed. When she said yes, then I asked specifically about chicken feed. She said that their bulk chicken feed is only in 50lb bags. She said most people don't want bulk chicken feed.

After reading your post, I called them back and followed your specific instructions/questions and this is how the conversation went. I asked them if the manager could work with me and allow me to purchase bulk as in 1 ton/2000 lbs of feed. I asked her if they would allow me to give them a recipe for feed and they put those ingredients together and dispense it by the ton for me or buy a larger quantity other than a 50lb bag. She said yes. She said all I need to do is go to the store and talk to the manager and give him my list of ingredients and he will quote me a price and I can pick up my special bulk feed whenever I need.

The purpose of my birds are everything that you mentioned. They are for processing, for breeders, for egg laying and my favorites are pets.

So what do you think? Can you give me a recipe to give to them? I would like something that is no less than 20% if possible. What amount of protein do you think I need?

Perfect! Sometimes you just need the right words to get the answer you're looking for.

LOL!

99% of my birds are destined for the freezer -- the other 1% get to stay and breed to make more birds for the table -- so my feed is tailored for that. I have mine milled to ~22% crude protein. If you have times of the year where you are not growing birds for the freezer you could reduce CP during that time to save a little money if you want. I don't. Largely that's just for my own convenience, not for the birds. It's just easier for me to stick with one formula. Now, I'm in the midwest -- land of corn and soybeans -- and because I'm raising meat for sale it's important that I keep costs as low as possible so I use what is most widely available. If these ingredients are not the most economical in your area you'll want to tailor the recipe to suit your needs. I use:

1.5 Parts Oats
1 Part 48 Soybean Meal
.5 Part Corn

with Fertrell Poultry Nutri-Balancer for nutritional balance.

If you cannot find a Fertrell dealer in your area or just want to use something else that's fine. You can even just ask at your mill to see if they have a particular nutrition balancer they already use. You just need some sort of vitamin/mineral supplementation in there to balance the diet out. If you run into a road block with that portion of it (you shouldn't) there are vitamin/mineral supplements on the market that can be added to the water, instead of the feed. It's not my ideal choice but it's an option if you must.

ETA: I have the above run through the grinder. I just find that some of the birds -- especially when they are younger -- will tend to pick through the oats in the mix if they are whole and make an enormous mess, but they will not make a mess if it's ground. That part is up to you and your flock.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Ok Olive Hill, let me get this straight, this is what I will list in my recipe/ingredients right?

1.5 Parts Oats
1 Part 48 Soybean Meal
.5 Part Corn

With Fertrell Poultry Nutri-Balancer for nutritional balance or any other nutritional balancer that they may use.

Do I need to ask them to include sunflower seeds?

What about these other ingredients that they told me about? What's that all about? Should I I ask them to throw any of the ingredients listed below that they mentioned or not?

Alfalfa pellets
Milo
Wheat
Protein Pellets
Nutra Boost

Sorry for so many questions but I want to get it right because this will be a FOREVER feed that I will be purchasing from here on out.

Thanks for your help. I appreciate that.

 

[Olive Hill]

You can have them include other ingredients if you want, it gives another dimension to the feed. My recipe is bare bones with what is most widely available here. If you do have them include other ingredients you will just want to take those into consideration with your formula and adjust your ratios to meet your protein goal.

The protein pellets they have listed there are probably soybean based. The Nutra Boost is probably what they use for vitamin/mineral supplementation.