Hi,
Generally if cost is the main factor. Commercial bagged feed is the way to go. Concentrate your efforts on coming up with a good feeder that does not waste feed.
If you live in an agricultural area and can by and store grains in bulk, THEN making your own feed can save money. It is a time consuming, labor intensive act though. IMO one needs to do it because of reasons more than saving money to make it worth while.. It needs to be a hobby per say..
Poultry nutrition is tricky, especially for birds that are not free ranging on a farm. A diverse amount of grains is generally the way to go. If only a few grains are used then nutrient packs are a must.
Search BYC for recipes and threads. Also search the internet.. Lots of information out there, but most who make their own have put 100's of hours into research..
You can see my feed on my byc page.
Here is a link to a byc thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=4477&p=1
Here is a site with many different feed recipes:
http://www.lionsgrip.com/recipes.html
If you are using limited grains then a balancer such as this may be needed:
http://www.fertrell.com/poutrynurtibalancer.htm
We have a fair size group of homemade feed makers here on BYC.. It is a great resource...! I would start by seeing what grains you can get locally, then lets see if we can build a feed out of them..
ON
I really would like to make my own feed to save money dont really know how to and all this searching and not understanding is frustrating. So far what ive come up with is in my mix is oats, alfalfa, crackedcorn, oystershell, and fish meal(i have no idea where to find it can i substitute it for something else more commonly found in a feed store like tsc) Does this sound right or do i need to add something? thank you your help will be very much appreciated!
