So I tried my hand at making a tiny batch of organic chicken feed....

[fiberart57]

I love it! It looks as though it would make wonderful scratch and healthy treats.

I keep my flax seed in the refrigerator, possible only in small amounts, and it stays fairly fresh. I imagine that you would just add it as you use it.

Nice job even though you're going to purchase. There's a limit to the amount of time, energy and money I can spend on my six birds. I work 50 - 60 hour workweeks and I just decided to buy healthy food and go from there.

Mary

 

[woodlumn]

I'm sure this is a silly question, but better safe than sorry:

All the grains (and corn) is raw/dried, correct? Just buy it in the bulk section, mix as is, and feed?

Thanks!

 

[BethieofVA]

Quote:
Yes, they are raw. I visited a local health food store that had a fairly large organic bulk section. I took the recipe with me and based it on "cups" and went from there. If it read three parts, I got three cups! Like I posted earlier, I did not get everything simply because they did not have it in stock. I would guesstimate that small batch may have cost me $7?? I can get a 50lb bag of soy free for $25, so much better deal for me. It was fun to play though!

 

[woodlumn]

Yeah, I'm sure it's more expensive. But it certainly looks healthy, compared to the crumble. Do the bags of organic feed include whole grains, or is it processed too?

 

[BethieofVA]

Quote:
Here is the ingredient listing for what I have ordered. I have not gotten it yet!

Our 19% Broiler Feed is made with certified organic grains, supplemented with organic alfalfa meal, Thorvin kelp, flaxseed, and Fertrell Poultry Nutri-Balancer. Broiler Feed can be fed to broilers until slaughter, or to new laying hens until 1st egg (or 16 weeks). It has 2% fat and 6% fiber. See details for complete product list.

Crude protein, minimum..............................................19.00%
Crude fat, minimum.......................................................2.00%
Crude fiber, maximum...................................................6.00%

INGREDIENTS
Organic Field Peas, Organic Wheat, Organic Corn, Fish Meal, Organic Oats, Organic Flaxseed, Organic Alfalfa Meal, Calcium Carbonate, Hydrated Sodium Calcium Aluminosilicate, Dried Organic Kelp, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, d-Pantothenic Acid, Niacin, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Biotin, Folic Acid, Iron Polysaccharide Complex, Manganese Polysaccharide Complex, Zinc Polysaccharide Complex, Copper Polysaccharide Complex, Cobalt
Polysaccharide Complex, Yeast Culture, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Bacillus Licheniformis, Bacillus Subtilis, Lactobacillus Lactis, Enterococcus Faecium, (Dried Aspergillis Oryzae Fermentation Extract)

 

[bibliophile birds]

Quote:
Countryside feeds are all chopped whole grains, never processed. my birds LOVE their Countryside. the best part, for me, is that their chick starter and their broiler feed (basically flock raiser) is the exact same formula, the starter is just ground a bit finer. that means that there is no problematic transition period when switching feeds.

 

[Supermommy486]

Looks awesome. Thanks for this post. I was actually wondering about this since I want my chicks to be as organic as possible.

 

[CityChicker]

Good for you! It is a lot of work, but kind of fun too. I just started doing a complete ration for our birds and I am mixing it half and half with Layena (for multiple reasons including cost). It is somewhat easier to justify since we go through several hundred pounds of feed monthly. For someone with only a few birds, I think ordering through a place like Countryside is probably the easiest route. Just the supplements to add to the grain was about $450 the first time we ordered. I wanted to utilize several things and it seems like everything only comes in like 50 pound bags. I may start rebagging some of the ingredients and selling them to people that want to mix their own, but can't order hundreds of pounds at a time.

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
Countryside feeds are all chopped whole grains, never processed. my birds LOVE their Countryside. the best part, for me, is that their chick starter and their broiler feed (basically flock raiser) is the exact same formula, the starter is just ground a bit finer. that means that there is no problematic transition period when switching feeds.

If they grind, roll or cracked there grain then it is processed.

Chris

 

[Chris09]

INGREDIENTS
Organic Field Peas, Organic Wheat, Organic Corn, Fish Meal, Organic Oats, Organic Flaxseed, Organic Alfalfa Meal, Calcium Carbonate, Hydrated Sodium Calcium Aluminosilicate, Dried Organic Kelp, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, d-Pantothenic Acid, Niacin, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Biotin, Folic Acid, Iron Polysaccharide Complex, Manganese Polysaccharide Complex, Zinc Polysaccharide Complex, Copper Polysaccharide Complex, Cobalt
Polysaccharide Complex, Yeast Culture, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Bacillus Licheniformis, Bacillus Subtilis, Lactobacillus Lactis, Enterococcus Faecium, (Dried Aspergillis Oryzae Fermentation Extract)

Could someone tell me why Country Side is using Enterococcus Faecium?

Enterococcus Faecium --
A gram-positive bacterium group D, alpha hemolitic or nonhemolitic in the genus Enterococcus.[1] It can be a commensal (non-harmful coexisting organism), in the human intestine, but it may also be a pathogen -- causing diseases like neonatal meningitis.

Chris