I want to buy some bulk grains at the grocery store for this winter.

[blondiebee181]

I hear sprouted grains are more nutritious for humans, but is it the same for chickens too? Like at my house, we preffer to eat sprouted beans as opposed to regular dried beans...

 

[cheeka]

my girls won't eat millet.


giving my gang millet is like feeding ice cream to a group of 5 year olds! they love it!

I made a huge vat of soup, and deliberately cooked up extra lentils to see if the gang would enjoy them ~ they gobbled them up in record time, little piggies

!

it's interesting to watch them pick through a pile of mixed seeds, pushing other seeds aside in search of their favorites. The first time I brought out black oil sunflower seeds, I literally had chickens hopping up on my lap and arm to try to get their heads directly into the container.

I love my split peas... it's a good thing they are inexpensive or I wouldn't share them, but after reading here, they will get split peas tomorrow with their breakfast oatmeal!

 

[rgmcgi]

Do any of you have opinions (good or bad) about ordering organic feed online? Second question... is it a money-saving exercise to make your own organic feed, or is it less expensive in the end just to buy it?

I'm curious because I have a small website focused on do-it-yourself chicken topics. We started out selling DIY chicken coop plans. And recently, we started shipping organic feed to our customers because many could not find organic chicken feed locally.

Part of me thinks the right approach is to teach customers about making their own feed like we do with chicken coops... but I am not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze

Thanks in advance for your opinions!
Rich

 

[Chicks on DL]

I'm using the same grains as everyone else, though my girls won't eat millet. In addition to the grains, for winter I really try to put all the table scraps out for my 5 girls. You want to see happy chickens? Watch chickens with that last half cup of cooked rice. Left over spaghetti is a scream to watch them eat and they love it. Cooked sweet potato skins, apple cores, stale bread, basically anything cooked. No bones, but they are omnivores so a little meat now and then is appropriate. They need some extra calories during winter to keep warm. Oh and crushed egg shells. Don't forget the crushed egg shells. Sounds a little gross, but its total recycling. The chickens are healthy and my refrigerator is a much healthier place since I no longer keep little containers of leftovers until they mold. Good luck!

I would be careful with the apple cores. Apple seeds contain cyanide.

 

[honeyb]

cant wiat to get some

 

[Cindy in PA]

I grew up on a farm and we had soybean fields around us as far as the eye could see. The local birds always ate these soybeans, especially at harvest time. I do not remember anyone say they made birds sick?

I have lived next to a soybean field for 28 years and have never seen anything intentionally eat soybeans, except for the leaves. The other year they sat there until almost Christmas & nothing touched them.

 

[aoxa]

Mine are the exact same way.. Millet is like a drug LOL. They go wacky over the stuff! I find it is a great first scratch grain for chicks free ranging with mom. They pick it up easily and it's very high in protein. Expensive though.. I buy it from the farm store.

 

[countrygoddess]

Do any of you have opinions (good or bad) about ordering organic feed online? Second question... is it a money-saving exercise to make your own organic feed, or is it less expensive in the end just to buy it?

I'm curious because I have a small website focused on do-it-yourself chicken topics. We started out selling DIY chicken coop plans. And recently, we started shipping organic feed to our customers because many could not find organic chicken feed locally.

Part of me thinks the right approach is to teach customers about making their own feed like we do with chicken coops... but I am not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze

Thanks in advance for your opinions!
Rich

Oddly, there are no sources of soy-free organic feeds here in Vermont so I looked for it online. The shipping costs alone had me researching poultry nutrition. I now buy my organic grains and seeds from a local farmer and mix my own feed. There are other ingredients that must be purchased online (fish meal, yeast, etc) but because I use so little of it, the cost of shipping isn't prohibitive like ordering the prepared feed would have been.

 

[LilyD]

Oddly, there are no sources of soy-free organic feeds here in Vermont so I looked for it online. The shipping costs alone had me researching poultry nutrition. I now buy my organic grains and seeds from a local farmer and mix my own feed. There are other ingredients that must be purchased online (fish meal, yeast, etc) but because I use so little of it, the cost of shipping isn't prohibitive like ordering the prepared feed would have been.

What grains do you feed and do you ferment, sprout or just feed them straight as they are? Right now I am feeding whole foods for my chickens and they are doing well with it. I am very fed up with the feeds that are available here since they seem to be nutritionally lacking.

I am going to be sprouting some grains but other than that my girls will primarily be eating whole foods the way that they were fed in the old days.

 

[yolka doodle]

Unfortunately i smoke and one of my chicken snatched a ciggy out of my hand so quick, i had to chase her, i managed to get it, very very lucky. Now i am very careful