Is this a suitable home made feed?

[farmgurl123]

Im wanting to make a feed for my chicks(5 weeks now) I spend a lot of time with the little flock and they seem to love my homemade concoctions, it helps them trust me. Is there anything in this list that I should NOT feed? Cooked buckwheat groats(not too many as I've read it can make them light sensitive), cooked egg, chia seeds, psyllium seed, flax seed, quinoa seed,cooked carrot, watermelon, garden lettuce, sour creamm, flavoured yogurt( concerned about this one-I have a lot of it and the humans hate it) bits of banana,cooked lentils, and i have an enormous amount of shreddies, regular and banana bread flavoured that my humans hate , can the chicks eat them also?

 

[Soy Milano]

Its great you are making them homemade feed, however the only thing I would worry about it unless you are a nutritionist who knows exactly what you are doing in order to balance all nutrient ratios, especially calcium and phosphorus, you run the risk of nutritional imbalances which could potentially greatly impact their health. Why not buy a commercial poultry feed (I recommend the higher quality brands), and give them your homemade feed as an occasional treat now and then, or an added topping? As far as ingredients go, as long as it is not on this list of toxic plants, you are okay - http://www.chickendvm.com/toxic.php

 

[farmgurl123]

they have free access on the commercial feed also.. and yes there is no toxic foods in it.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

I would avoid the flavored yogurt if it has anything in it (like artificial sweeteners) that’s not yogurt and fruit. Also, what are shreddies?

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! Chickens will eat almost anything, true, but it's possible to unbalance their diet by overfeeding goodies, so back off on the total amount per day, so about 90% of their diet is a good chick grower or all flock feed.
Mary

 

[Fishkeeper]

Suitable feed, no. Suitable treats, yes. And what I mean by that is, if 10% or less of their diet is those foods, you're fine.

 

[Cyprus]

What in the world are shreddies? Artifically flavored anything should not be fed.
Dairy is not good for chickens - they can't digest lactose.
Psyllium is a laxative/cleanser so I strongly don't recommend giving them that.

 

[rina2121]

what kinds of greens could you feed to chickens? lettuce, dandelions, cabbage, etc. and could you also feed them fruits, like apples, pears, melons, etc.?

 

[Folly's place]

Sure, all that is fine for chickens, just in moderation.
Mary

 

[Cingratz]

I feed them their later feed but they love their clover when they are out in the lawn but I give them lettuce and watermelon and all that kind of stuff. It always goes back to their main diet is still the feed. It balances them for sure.