Is my Diy mix feed enough?

[Tinkerbellsteel]

I have been mixing my own blend of seeds and such for my chickens along with feeding pellet layer, cracked corn, dried mealworms occasionally, grit and oyster shell. I am wondering if the mix i make is enough nourishment that i can eliminate the pellets.Here's what i put in my mix today based off things i have read that they can eat. The total weight is 30.62 lbs broken down into 1.89 lb quinoa, 6.74 lb steel cut oat groats, 3.5 lb food grade millet, 1.79 lb hulled red lentils, 1.71 lb lentils, 3.39 lb pearled barley, 2.53 lb raw sunflower seeds, 2.12 lb golden flax seed, 2.02 lb flax seed, 4.93 lb 7 grain mix(hard red spring wheat,soft white wheat,oat groats,flax,rye,barley,spelt,tritacle). Any answers and insight would be much appreciated for our ladies and roo.

 

[JaeG]

Chickens fed whole grains actually have more efficient, larger gizzards. I'm sure my girls were healthier when I was mixing my own feed but it got a bit expensive where I am.

There is this page and you can download her chicken feed calculator. Some meat based ingredients are always appreciated by chickens so I'd give them scrambled egg, mince, or fish occasionally too.

https://www.gardenbetty.com/garden-bettys-homemade-whole-grain-chicken-feed/
https://www.gardenbetty.com/garden-...culator-for-determining-your-protein-content/

This article is a good read too:
http://www.sterlingcenterfarm.com/Feeding/Wholegraindiet.htm

(Just be prepared for people to tell you you are doing the wrong thing and should be feeding a formulated pellet).

They are your chickens so it is your choice!

 

[Tinkerbellsteel]

Chickens fed whole grains actually have more efficient, larger gizzards. I'm sure my girls were healthier when I was mixing my own feed but it got a bit expensive where I am.

There is this page and you can download her chicken feed calculator. Some meat based ingredients are always appreciated by chickens so I'd give them scrambled egg, mince, or fish occasionally too.

https://www.gardenbetty.com/garden-bettys-homemade-whole-grain-chicken-feed/
https://www.gardenbetty.com/garden-...culator-for-determining-your-protein-content/

This article is a good read too:
http://www.sterlingcenterfarm.com/Feeding/Wholegraindiet.htm

(Just be prepared for people to tell you you are doing the wrong thing and should be feeding a formulated pellet).

They are your chickens so it is your choice!

I do throw them any scrap meats and bones from what we eat and sometimes the mice we catch in traps and cooked eggs occasionally as well. They also get veg and fruit scraps too.

 

[AllenK RGV]

I do throw them any scrap meats and bones from what we eat and sometimes the mice we catch in traps and cooked eggs occasionally as well. They also get veg and fruit scraps too.

I bet it is a hoot watching them play keep away with a mouse!

 

[Tinkerbellsteel]

I bet it is a hoot watching them play keep away with a mouse!

Absolutely! It usually goes to my oldest hen, PS2 (princess sofia the 2nd lol)

 

[Kusanar]

Ok, I don't have time to do all of the math right now, I'm at work, but, what you need to do is get the important info off of each ingredient and find out the percentage of each ingredient. For example, in uncooked Quinoa, the fat is 5.88% and Protein is 14.12%.

5.88% of 1.89 = 0.111 pounds of Fat
14.12% of 1.89 = 0.266868 pounds of Protein.

You need to do this for every ingredient in the mix to figure out how much total weight of each ingredient there is, then figure out your percentages from there. This is made much easier if you have the packages available.

 

[Kusanar]

Oh, also, compare the results you get from your mix to the feed you are giving them now and make a decision on if that is good or not based on the numbers rather than just throwing everything together and guessing.

 

[Tinkerbellsteel]

Ok, I don't have time to do all of the math right now, I'm at work, but, what you need to do is get the important info off of each ingredient and find out the percentage of each ingredient. For example, in uncooked Quinoa, the fat is 5.88% and Protein is 14.12%.

5.88% of 1.89 = 0.111 pounds of Fat
14.12% of 1.89 = 0.266868 pounds of Protein.

You need to do this for every ingredient in the mix to figure out how much total weight of each ingredient there is, then figure out your percentages from there. This is made much easier if you have the packages available.

That info isnt on the pkgs bc it is in bulk bags. I would imagine i can google the percentages tho.

 

[Kusanar]

That info isnt on the pkgs bc it is in bulk bags. I would imagine i can google the percentages tho.

Yes, you can, that's how I got the numbers I used, it's just EASIER if you have the packages. From what I have seen, it's hard to make a home made mix that is cost efficient when compared to purchased feed due to the fact that the feed companies buy their grains by the train car load rather than by the pound or by the bag, they get a much better deal.