Actually, making your own feed does not have to be as complicated. I have my chickens in a 2-acre fenced pasture (set up for my horse and goats, originally, fenced to keep coyotes out) so they will balance their own feed with the grains and soymeal I give them....most of the year.
In the snowy New England winters, I have a two-compartment feeder from
TSC meant for feeding free-choice supplements to horses....I put oyster shell in one compartment, and crushed granite in the other.
In a hanging feeder, I put soymeal for protein.
Thrown in their deep-litter bedding, I put the "energy" portion of their feed, which is a mixture of the lower protein grains...whole corn, whole oats, and whatever other grains I can get. I fill my trunk when I travel to any farm country for cheaper grains. I will be getting barley, oats, and buckwheat very cheap when I go to Maine in a couple of weeks. This mixture goes into a large hanging feeder as well when I am away and want to simplify the care for my wonderful friends who volunteer.
If the choices are kept very simple, the chickens will learn to balance their own rations very quickly, so you can then feed any scraps you can get your hands on. Remember, though, that humans in the USA are dying mostly from "lifestyle" diseases, meaning mostly what we eat will kill us more quickly....so only give your girls whole foods from your plates. None or very limited amounts of white pasta, bread, cereal, etc. All they can eat of veggie and fruit scraps, whole grain items (check the labels...anything that is "enriched" or vitamins added should not go to chickens....or your children. It is over-processed and leads to heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.)
So here is the short version:
1. Grain mixture in one feeder, two or more grains, more variety is better
2. Protein mixture in another feeder, soymeal is easy
3. Oyster shell for layers, not for chicks
4. Rock grit for confined chickens or snow-cover times of year
When I switched over, there was no change in egg production. I have had almost no loss, and no disease in my flock in the two years I've been feeding this way. I have a very long waiting list for eggs, and the egg sales cover the feed. Along with the deep litter method, chickens are amazingly NO work.
If you want to switch to whole grains, do so gradually, over a three week period. The crop is a muscle and needs to get "fit" enough to handle a whole-grain diet. To do this, hang the soymeal feeder, and feed scratch in increasing amounts as you switch over. You can even start with scratch to make it simple, just have the protein source to balance it.
It is SO easy this way! Healthy and much less expensive, too.
I actually spotted a chicken scratching on a goat this week, picking ticks off her, I am guessing! The goat was reclining in the sun, chewing her cud, and thoroughly enjoying the attentions of the hen. And more protein for the hen, too.....
