Making My Own Feed

[TheWilliamsStead]

Hello Hello. I have been doing little re-search on growing my own feed only because the cost of actual chicken feed is going up so high. I know there are TONS of plants to grow for my chickens such as lettuce, radish, buckwheat, cabbage, ect. The one thing I am running into is the grains to grow. I know corn and sunflower would be a huge help in making my own feed. I have egg laying hens mixed in with some roosters. Also I have a two full grown turkeys and three teen turkeys. So what I am mostly asking if any of you have suggestion's of grains to grow for my flock that provides most of the vitamins that they need and proteins?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I strongly suggest you not do this. For most people, in most situations, its not cost effective, its not time effective, and it introduces significant (and unnecesary)uncertainty into your chicken's nutritional intake.

If you choose to "bend the curve" on feed costs by devoting some of your grounds to edibles for your chickens, the first question to ask yourself is "what grows well where I am". The second question is "are their any soil deficiencies I should be aware of". The third question is, of the things I can grow, given the limits of my soil, which crops have the best cost/benefit ratio for me???

Example. SE Washington (State) produces a substnatial amount of wheat. Its also selenium deficient soil, which makes selenium deficient wheat, which makes seleium deficient chicken feed. But having decided that thereis no better crop to grow in that area (because wheat is more nutritionally valuable than corn as a chicken feed across most metrics) one can choose between "soft" wheat varietals and "hard" wheat varietals. Hard wheat has higher crude protein per unit of measure, and is the superior choice.

Maybe your climate and soils are only well suited for peas? Choose yellow peas if you can, not green. Lower tannins (an antinutritional factor present in all peas) in the yellow, and likely to be more palatable as well.

Now, knowing what you want to grow, start researching companion crops to restore the soil and support your main crop - chances are, your birds will benefit from those too.

and FWIW, I have a pasture, my birds free range it daily w/ 24/7 access. I've chosen to load it with four kinds of clover. Several grasses. We have sorrel (in small amounts), some flax, and every year I try to introduce other plants to see what will produce and self sustain - I've tried millets, buckwheat, sorghum, sorghum/sudangrass hybrid, perrenial rye, deer corn, chufa, radishes (several varieties), amaranth, puple hyacinth bean, methi, oregano, others. Based on how things are doing in the pasture, I can reduce my bird's feed, sometimes significantly - but I won't pretend I could replace it with the output of my pasture, nor could I successfully store it for my few months when little grows.

 

[AGeese]

I live in one of those places that can't get enough foliage depending on what part of the warm seasons. I have the following and a whole host more I haven't even paid attention to:

Fescue
Clover
Bluegrass
Rye

Right now 7 Hens and 5 Geese are getting 2-4 standard scoops of feed in addition to pasture daily depending on if we're in a mini drought.

Giving 4 scoops I've found is a bit much and they'll leave some if I do and finish it tomorrow.

I also give oyster shell freely.

 

[grenouille]

Hello Hello. I have been doing little re-search on growing my own feed only because the cost of actual chicken feed is going up so high. I know there are TONS of plants to grow for my chickens such as lettuce, radish, buckwheat, cabbage, ect. The one thing I am running into is the grains to grow. I know corn and sunflower would be a huge help in making my own feed. I have egg laying hens mixed in with some roosters. Also I have a two full grown turkeys and three teen turkeys. So what I am mostly asking if any of you have suggestion's of grains to grow for my flock that provides most of the vitamins that they need and proteins?

pumpkin seeds aren't exactly grains, but my chickens like them. they also like the flesh. "cushaw" type pumpkins work well, produce generously, (planted with a little aged manure worked in) and are pest and disease resistant. pumpkins properly cured keep for months. to feed them, just whack them into six inch chunks with a hatchet or machete..

 

[Folly's place]

A home made balanced diet will cost MORE than those bags of feed at the store! And it's more trouble to make, storage is an issue, just not worth it.
Listen to Stormcrow! By all means grow stuff that benefit your birds, offer varied free range environments when it's safe for them, and keep their feeders full of a balanced commercial feed.
Mary

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Or don't listen to Stormcrow. I'm just an anonymous person on the internet. Question. Research. I'ts how I've learned. That's better than listening to Stormcrow. Happy to share sources.

If you don't have the time, the inclination, or the necessary background then... you could do worse than listening to BYCers with Educator tags by their name and tens of thousands of posts. Like @Folly's place !

 

[Folly's place]

I had Poultry Science and Livestock Nutrition classes, long ago, in college. I learned that there's no way I'd do home made feed for my birds or if we had dairy cattle.
Mary

 

[SourRoses]

I say, don't listen to Stormcrow about not listening to Stormcrow. In other words, definitely, absolutely, listen to Stormcrow. Except when he's being humble.


I'm on a tight budget but I don't find chicken feed to be expensive. It's all the other stuff for chickens, especially things made of metal that hold coops and fences together. And fence wire, argh. Just last week we were trying to buy more double sided snaps for hanging feeders and they were $8 each. A gallon of bleach is close to $9 and I don't have time to wait for a little splash to clean the algae / slime from the buckets so I use a lot to get it done faster. We could buy bags and bags of chicken feed for what all the accessories cost.

 

[Folly's place]

Horses are expensive. Cat food is expensive, because of their dietary needs. Chicken feed is cheap!
Mary

 

[Kenya Mwangi]

Hello Hello. I have been doing little re-search on growing my own feed only because the cost of actual chicken feed is going up so high. I know there are TONS of plants to grow for my chickens such as lettuce, radish, buckwheat, cabbage, ect. The one thing I am running into is the grains to grow. I know corn and sunflower would be a huge help in making my own feed. I have egg laying hens mixed in with some roosters. Also I have a two full grown turkeys and three teen turkeys. So what I am mostly asking if any of you have suggestion's of grains to grow for my flock that provides most of the vitamins that they need and proteins?

Hello I think this is the best idea. Some ideas I asked AI about that would cover a range of vitamins would be Oats, Barley, Wheat Germ, and sunflower seeds. Other vitamins can come from grasses and clovers flowers and giant ragweed. My chickens love giant ragweed leaves.

I think you can grow 2.5 bushels in a 30x30 plot of oats. Sunflowers give so many seeds and can be planted in any extra space.

How much space do you have to plant things?

"don't grow your own feed" sound like a big red flag to me.

Anything is possible!

Plant away! And add insect and worm farms. BSF larvae have proved to be so easy. I have thousands of them in just 18 days from putting damp pig feed in a bucket with an entry for Flies to get in. I add new feed as needed and spray cold water hose water in it when it feels very hot in the afternoons.