How to mix my own feed

[Moges amha]

Hi everyone, well i got to the point where buying feed is getting way too expensive and i wanted to start mixing my own feed but i have no IDEA how to do it!! I have 530 bovan browns layer chicken . Who can help me ??

 

[TOR]

You will have to figure what grains , minerals, and or other products to give your chickens a balanced ration.
You being in a different country you may have different resources, but yet many of the same. You have to figure the nutrition value of your ingredients and make a mix.
Simple? Not really.
Just because you make it does not mean it will be cheaper.
You could also make a compost pile which you could use to help feed chickens. Rotational grazing. There are options which could help you cut your feed cost.
Just google poultry nutrition, poultry ration and lots of information will come up.

This is something I have been working on myself, takes a lot of research.

HOpe this helps some. Good Luck

Here is couple articles and video

https://www.poultryproducer.com/feed/poultry-rations-and-feeding-methods/

https://animalscience.unl.edu/Exten...17/2017.Mar.01-Kreifels-Poultry Nutrition.pdf

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Been there, done that. You can simply NOT compete with the bulk pricing that feed manufacturers get when buying their grains prior to mixing. If you grow your own, sure, but you're going to be putting in a ton of work and need a decent bit of land to do so. Plus, with premixed feed, you're getting top notch nutrition.

If you don't agree, I made a handy dandy feed ratio calculator to at least ensure you get the proper protein and fat rations. The calculator also allows you to put in the weight and price of each grain, and automatically calculates the total cost of the feed you mix.

Please, please, please read ALL of the directions before use. There are feed prices already in the calculator, which at the time of its creation were the cheapest prices I could find without buying more the 100 lbs of each grain, and you do need variety to ensure better nutrition.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...14165022417475361384&usp=sheets_home&ths=true

I am speaking from the experience of living in the US, and I don't have over 500 chickens either lol, only 17. Regardless, the calculator will still work for you.

 

[Moges amha]

Been there, done that. You can simply NOT compete with the bulk pricing that feed manufacturers get when buying their grains prior to mixing. If you grow your own, sure, but you're going to be putting in a ton of work and need a decent bit of land to do so. Plus, with premixed feed, you're getting top notch nutrition.

If you don't agree, I made a handy dandy feed ratio calculator to at least ensure you get the proper protein and fat rations. The calculator also allows you to put in the weight and price of each grain, and automatically calculates the total cost of the feed you mix.

Please, please, please read ALL of the directions before use. There are feed prices already in the calculator, which at the time of its creation were the cheapest prices I could find without buying more the 100 lbs of each grain, and you do need variety to ensure better nutrition.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...14165022417475361384&usp=sheets_home&ths=true

I am speaking from the experience of living in the US, and I don't have over 500 chickens either lol, only 17. Regardless, the calculator will still work for you.

Yeah dats the first thing i shud do b4 i even go any further is it cheaper than the commercial feed. The spead sheet will be vrey helpfull onces i try it on my PC it wont let me edit on my phone. Let me do that and get back to you with the results thanks again

 

[TOR]

Yeah dats the first thing i shud do b4 i even go any further is it cheaper than the commercial feed. The spead sheet will be vrey helpfull onces i try it on my PC it wont let me edit on my phone. Let me do that and get back to you with the results thanks again

I switched the file to a .xls excel spreadsheet then used enabled to modify. Otherwise I think it google docks and would not let me edit it. Then there could be other workarounds I am not aware of to edit the spreadsheet.

 

[Moges amha]

You will have to figure what grains , minerals, and or other products to give your chickens a balanced ration.
You being in a different country you may have different resources, but yet many of the same. You have to figure the nutrition value of your ingredients and make a mix.
Simple? Not really.
Just because you make it does not mean it will be cheaper.
You could also make a compost pile which you could use to help feed chickens. Rotational grazing. There are options which could help you cut your feed cost.
Just google poultry nutrition, poultry ration and lots of information will come up.

This is something I have been working on myself, takes a lot of research.

HOpe this helps some. Good Luck

Here is couple articles and video

https://www.poultryproducer.com/feed/poultry-rations-and-feeding-methods/

https://animalscience.unl.edu/Extension/AnimalCareRes/PPT2017/2017.Mar.01-Kreifels-Poultry

just finished checking out everything you sent me. very VERY helpful. from the video I like the techniques and the tools. The two documents were very detailed and just what i wanted . but imma have to read them again cause their a bit complicated . now my biggest challenge is fishmeal substitute . any suggestions ?? i dont have access to fishmeal where i live

 

[Moges amha]

I switched the file to a .xls excel spreadsheet then used enabled to modify. Otherwise I think it google docks and would not let me edit it. Then there could be other workarounds I am not aware of to edit the spreadsheet.

i did that and it work easy to use too. when i first read the instructions it seemed hard but it was very simple.one problem i ran into is i use metric system and using pounds is confusing me.. can you change it to metric ?

 

[TOR]

i did that and it work easy to use too. when i first read the instructions it seemed hard but it was very simple.one problem i ran into is i use metric system and using pounds is confusing me.. can you change it to metric ?

Yes by using math function in excel you can convert. You could also use a converter on the internet. Look up convert pounds to grams or pounds to kilos etc

Math function in excel example
https://www.extendoffice.com/docume...between pounds to kg,the range cells you need.

 

[TOR]

just finished checking out everything you sent me. very VERY helpful. from the video I like the techniques and the tools. The two documents were very detailed and just what i wanted . but imma have to read them again cause their a bit complicated . now my biggest challenge is fishmeal substitute . any suggestions ?? i dont have access to fishmeal where i live

You may change fish meal to a plant protein or other type of protein. Being in a different country you could have other products available to you. Also by changing out fish meal not just the protein will change, but your nutrients will also change as in vitamins, micro nutrients, etc,

google -----> substitute fish meal in poultry diet.

If you could find a animal nutritionist they could help you.

 

[Moges amha]

Yes by using math function in excel you can convert. You could also use a converter on the internet. Look up convert pounds to grams or pounds to kilos etc

Math function in excel example
https://www.extendoffice.com/documents/excel/3056-excel-convert-pounds-to-ounces-grams-kg.html#:~:text=Convert between pounds to kg,the range cells you need.

Well found out that excel isnt my forte. Spent an hour on it still cant figure it out. So may be u get the time you could make one with "kg" values. The spreadsheet sheet is awesome