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i'm not an expert at all, so i can only tell you as much as i know. for me, that's the recipe that i feel will work. but there are tons of different options. the Pearson's Square and Kim's Rectangle on
this page will show you how to figure out the right mix of whatever you are using. seriously do a lot of reading on the subject though. the links on my BYC page are things that have helped me a lot.
most of the stuff i listed should be easy to find if you have a good feed store or mill in your area. some things, like the kelp and the Nutri-Balancer, may need to be ordered. if you have the ingredients available, mixing your own will usually save you money. we feed all organic, and, unfortunately, in the Southeast that means big $$. almost everything i want i have to have shipped to me. but even with the higher price tag, mixing my own will save me money.
that's all dependent on how fast you can use it all up. some things you will have to buy in 50 lbs bags even if you only use a little in each batch. if you can't use it all before it goes bad, then you might not be saving yourself much money. if that's the case, see if someone in your area will split bags with you or if your mill will mix your specified batch for you (like bigredfeather's) and sell it to you in more manageable portions.
as for grinding, there's a lot of different opinions on that. some people would say you shouldn't feed whole grains while others, myself included, think they are great. chickens have the ability to eat whole grains but they aren't usually used to them. you'll probably want to ease them into it so they don't gorge themselves the first day on whole grains and get an impacted crop before they are used to dealing with them.
