So many feeding questions... (homemade feeds, price, where to buy, yard scraps, etc) Help!?

[MountainDreamer]

Hello Everyone!

So, I have spent countless hours going through threads on the forum about feeding my chickens and scouring the internet but even after all the reading I still have a number of questions...

First, a little background:

I am a first time chicken owner. I have 4 chicks. As of today, they are 6 weeks old. I live in South Florida on 1/3 acre in a residential area.

Rural King is the only retailer I can find in the area that sells chicken feeds (unless I want to drive an hour or so)... I am currently feeding them Nature Wise Chick Starter. Once they are off the starter feed, the layer feed is about a dollar less per bag. The organic feeds are roughly double the price!!! All that being said, I would prefer to make my own feed.... like buy wheat berries, oats, peas, etc mix them up and feed them that instead. I looked at a lot of recipes and am confident I can come up with an acceptable mix. In addition to their regular feed I give them kitchen scraps and they get to "free range" out of their coop in a run area for an hour or so a day.

I also have 2 rabbits who share the run with them who also get kitchen/garden scraps. I bought some wheat berries from Amazon and have started sprouting it in a fodder system. I should have my first batch done tomorrow. Hopefully the chicks and buns like it! I have a worm bin which sometimes gets infested with BSF larvae and I plan to let the chickens eat some of them.

So my questions are these:

1- What percentage of their diet can be sprouted grains and what percentage should be dry grains? I've read that sprouting grains can increase the volume of feed 10 fold, is it only an increase in volume? Is there any additional nutritional value?
2- If I make my own feed mix, does it need to be ground up for them to eat it? Or can it be fed to them whole? Are their pros and cons to both ways?
3- I saw some people say they are paying like $0.30/lb for wheat berries and other grains... the cheapest prices I can find for wheat berries are $1/lb and that is from Sam's Club. Amazon is like $1.50/lb. I cannot find any co-ops in the area that sell grain, only vegetables. With these prices it doesn't seem economical AT ALL to make my own feed... Am I missing something? Where are people finding their ingredients so cheap?
4- I saw a lot of people saying they feed all their garden weeds to their birds. I have plenty of weeds growing in my yard and garden. There are some that I know the names of and have researched to see if my rabbits can eat them and have assumed the chickens can eat the ones the rabbits can eat.... What about the ones that I don't know what they are? When you are feeding your chickens weeds from your garden, are you identifying each one and seeing if they can eat it first? Or is it relatively safe to assume they can eat any weeds I find?

That is all the questions I can remember at the moment. I am sure there are others though... If there is any additional information you think I could benefit from, I'd love to hear it!

Thanks!!

 

[cavemanrich]

I think that giving your chickens a commercial feed and all your kitchen scraps should be sufficient. Let them eat whatever weeds they find in the free range. they will choose some over others. Don't be too worried that they will eat something bad. When you switch from starter, don't go to layer until they are laying eggs. The additional calcium may not benefit them until they are laying. ( can be harmful to an extent). You can also use a feed called Alflock. It is good to use when you have a mix of layers, non layers, and roosters. You provide additional calcium with cracked oyster shells free choice. The exotic feed that you are thinking about is fine if you desire to do all that extra work. I feed my chickens the basics, Alflock, and table scraps, and free range. All live long lives and are healthy. My chicks are pets, and I don't eat them.
You may consider giving your flock fermented feed. There are many chicken keepers here that would have it no other way. I myself don't want the EXTRA work.
WISHING YOU BEST and

 

[Seaecho]

Fermented feed is not extra work, IMO. My chickens just love it, and I have a routine where I just add 1/4 cup of it to the new mix when I need to make more, stir it up, and it's fermented in no time. All I do is stir it once or twice a day. I think the chickens really do like it better, and you can add things like parrot seed and scratch, chopped vegetables, or whatever you want to it. I also find that I have ZERO waste when I feed fermented!

 

[cavemanrich]

I'm a relatively new chicken owner myself, and still learning, but I used DuMor brand feeds at my Tractor Supply, waiting to use layer feed until laying age (time frame guide was on the bad). I also give them a little scratch too. And essentially all of my kitchen scraps...bread, fruits, veggies...I did read to avoid potato peelings.

Avoid potato peelings if they are raw. Potato is from the Nightshade family. So is the tomato. Tomato fruit is OK for all to eat. The greens are toxic to chickens. Most chickens avoid tomato greens on their own. I know mine avoid the greens, but will wolf down the ripe tomatoes. Chickens naturally know what to select from among grass, weeds, as they free range. If they are stuck in barren run and the only thing green coming thru the run fence is a tomato plant, yes,,,,,,, they will peck on it.
I have cooked up potatoes whole, (unpeeled) as well as cooked the potato peeling and gave as chicken food. So far none developed any symptoms at all.
BTW,,, @MyChickenShack ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[deanabess]

So, anything new you learned? I would like to find more flocksters here in SWFL who are doing things without vaccines and chemicals. I’m 6 months into it and super anxious about the climate here in the summers and keeping our flock happy and healthy!

 

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

Why don't you throw in a handful as scratch???
I agree doing the wheatgrass sprouts BTW. Do the chickens pull out the complete plant and eat root and tops, or just snip off the greens?

They will eat the wheat sprouts whole, I do throw that in like scratch. They love it.
When I grow it to Wheatgrass size, about 3 inches high, i now chop up the wheat grass after I found one with a large blade of it sticking out of its mouth, he had swallowed the seed end haha!, he didn't seem to mind, but I got worried about them choking so now I rough chop it, depending on their size, I mince it pretty small for chicks and in half inch pieces for medium sized birds and not chopped at all for full grown ones. They like it alot but prefer spinach and other garden greens so lately I've just been giving them wheat sprouts more than wheatgrass, less work and they like it just as well, (especially on day 2 and 3 of it sprouting.)

 

[MyChickenShack]

I'm a relatively new chicken owner myself, and still learning, but I used DuMor brand feeds at my Tractor Supply, waiting to use layer feed until laying age (time frame guide was on the bad). I also give them a little scratch too. And essentially all of my kitchen scraps...bread, fruits, veggies...I did read to avoid potato peelings.

 

[MyChickenShack]

Thanks! Just learned something new!

 

[CannedMonster]

My chickens wouldn’t eat the sprouted grains.
I tried different ones...no interest at all

It’s extremely important to make sure you get a vitamin mineral mix to add if you’re going to make your own feed.
You can buy feed on Amazon too.
Shop around, maybe you’ll find something you like for a price you’re okay with.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

You didn't mention how much your chicken feed was a bag. You seemed ecstatic at wheat being .30/lbs. That should be the same price as you chicken feed, approximately 15 dollars a 50 lbs bag which is 30 cents a pound. Medicated feed is a dollar more per bag.

You can get non medicated chicken feed that is not layer feed. Look for a grower feed or just ask for non medicated starter/grower. Layer feed is for actively or very near laying birds.