How to make feed last longer

[Fred's Hens]

Watch that deer corn. Much of it isn't safe for poultry feed.

 

[Crehan]

Just add corn!

 

[cmfarm]

Fred's Hens :

Watch that deer corn. Much of it isn't safe for poultry feed.

What is in deer corn that makes it not safe for chickens?​

 

[Fred's Hens]

Quote:
What is in deer corn that makes it not safe for chickens?

A BYCer posted this on another thread. The topic gets covered here with some regularity.

"Some of the deer corn contains Aflotoxin that can cause issues in your flock."

 

[cmfarm]

Sorry, read about it shortly after I asked.

 

[Tracydr]

Quote:
The flock raiser is going through the roof too. Michael, I buy my stuff through a small dealer and go to Purina every two weeks to get my feed. It's way cheaper than buying retail.

I have been looking at getting some cheap grains from local farmers, but you have to be careful there too because the grains can get a fungus and kill your birds if not properly stored.

Jean, I wonder if we get feed from the same guy since he is the only small dealer I can think of. I know some local farmers sell grains but I am just not sure which to add and how much to keep a good protein level. I dont really like soy based products. What about alfalfa?

I feed alfalfa hay and sometimes add the pellets, soaked, although hay prices are through the roof right now. It does stretch the feed some and makes the yolks orange.

 

[Tracydr]

Quote:
I don't think beet pulp would work as well for chickens. It's really a high fiber carb and helps horses gain because they are able to digest it through fermentation. I'm not sure, though.

 

[omegorchards]

If there is a grain elevator near you then you can get a few 55 gallon barrels and buy wheat in bulk. I get mine for about 11 cents per pound. I feed it free choice to my birds along with their wet/dry mash. Another thing I feed daily in my wet mash is milk. I add 2 parts dry volume feed to 1 part wet volume milk (e.g 2 gallons dry feed mixed with one gallon of milk). My birds love this wet mash and put on significant gain when feeding on it. I have my own milk cow so I always have extra milk. Almost all of us folks that have our own backyard milk cow have extra milk. Ask the folks at your feed store if they know of anyone with a backyard milk cow. I bet they will and I bet you could trade birds/eggs for milk. Good luck.

 

[DFCottage]

Yes.. beet pulp is fantastic for horses because of it's high fiber, and is very easily digested. It's not high in fat by itself, but it does help horses gain weight in a safe way without adding a ton of extra supplements, oils, etc. Gotta love hind gut fermenters! I sometimes give soaked alfalfa pellets mixed with some of their scratch and a little of the horse's soaked beet pulp mixed in as a warm winter treat, and they loved it. But remember, if you want to give this to your chickens, SOAK first! It expands to about 3x the size (warm water will help it soak quicker). The sugars are not high because most of it is removed during the process of extracting the sugars from the sugar beets in order to make table sugar. What's left over is the beet pulp Some companies add molasses to their beet pulp to make it more palatable for horses, so if you decide to give your chickens some, make sure it's the no-molasses pulp. But if I had a choice between the alfalfa pellets vs the beet pulp, I'd give the alfalfa pellets.

Here's some great info on beet pulp:

http://shady-acres.com/susan/beetpulp.shtml

Many people prefer to give horses soaked alfalfa cubes vs the pellets because the cubes offer the fiber value that the pellets don't. Pellets are used mainly because they soak down easier, and to add extra calories. After trying 3 different types of alfalfa cubes and having them not soak down well enough I gave up on them,and I changed to beet pulp as a extra calorie booster in the winter time for the horses. Everyone looks fantastic. But the chickens seemed to love the soaked pellets. Plus alfalfa has calcium.

I was recently able to find a local mill that is now making my own custom blend for the chickens: alfalfa hay, corn, soybean meal, and wheat, works out to about 16-17% protein. (My scratch consists of oats, BOSS, and a few other goodies soaked in a water/AVC). This new feed mix is saving me approximately $4.50 per 50 pound bag vs what I was purchasing before, and the birds love it.

 

[halo]

You missed the best part of that website.

http://shady-acres.com/susan/squirrel.shtml