Texas

[NickyPick]

With fewer birds, I'd just get one bag each at a time. The grain will last, dry, in a sealed can for at least a month and a half, if not more. I get feed every 6 weeks, and the last can's worth still looks just fine.
So, my feed stores prices: Catfish pellets $25.50 a bag. Oats: $12.95. Barley $14.95. BOSS $25.50. Scratch grains $12.50. So, one set will cost me $91.40, but you'd only be using about half of the catfish pellets with that batch. They're a dry pellet like dog food, so they'll last a good long time.

 

[Derangedplanet]

See I saw this. I feel like it might be missing some key nutrients tho based on the blend. But maybe combined with catfish feed that problem could be easily solved?

 

[NickyPick]

Maybe? I'm certainly no nutrition expert, but my feeling is 1, people have had chickens for hundreds or more years, just tossing them corn (which we know has no real nutritional value) and scraps, and 2, my hens range all day long, and there's lots of nutrition to be had in the grass and bugs they eat; and 3, it's been nearly 13 years on this feed and my hens are well fleshed, happy and laying very well - and living long. I've got several 10 year old hens here. So, my take is that whereas it might not measure up to a commercially formulated feed, it's been perfectly fine for my hens.

 

[Derangedplanet]

Maybe? I'm certainly no nutrition expert, but my feeling is 1, people have had chickens for hundreds or more years, just tossing them corn (which we know has no real nutritional value) and scraps, and 2, my hens range all day long, and there's lots of nutrition to be had in the grass and bugs they eat; and 3, it's been nearly 13 years on this feed and my hens are well fleshed, happy and laying very well - and living long. I've got several 10 year old hens here. So, my take is that whereas it might not measure up to a commercially formulated feed, it's been perfectly fine for my hens.

Oh I'm sure yours is. I meant the Craigslist listing I posted. It's basically just starches. Corn, oats. Thinking if I added scratch grain and catfish food it would be a lot more dynamic of a nutrient profilw and more comparable to yours. Have you ever thought of adding ground bug protein? Idk your area there could be lots of bugs and it would be pointlwsa. But here at least, especially in the winter, a small prouten bump doesn't sound an awful idea.

 

[NickyPick]

Oh I'm sure yours is. I meant the Craigslist listing I posted. It's basically just starches. Corn, oats. Thinking if I added scratch grain and catfish food it would be a lot more dynamic of a nutrient profilw and more comparable to yours. Have you ever thought of adding ground bug protein? Idk your area there could be lots of bugs and it would be pointlwsa. But here at least, especially in the winter, a small prouten bump doesn't sound an awful idea.

If I could have found ground bug protein, I would have defintely used it. At the time, I was trying to find fish meal or some kind of animal meal, but anything I did find was prohibitively expensive, so that's why I went with the catfish pellets. Those are about 35% protien. The oats and barley were, hmm, 10-12%, corn is 8% and the BOSS was up around 25%. I think it all evened out to 16-19% per feeding. I have free choice oyster shell out there for the calcium that they need (and they get the egg shells back from our egg consumption)

 

[Derangedplanet]

If I could have found ground bug protein, I would have defintely used it. At the time, I was trying to find fish meal or some kind of animal meal, but anything I did find was prohibitively expensive, so that's why I went with the catfish pellets. Those are about 35% protien. The oats and barley were, hmm, 10-12%, corn is 8% and the BOSS was up around 25%. I think it all evened out to 16-19% per feeding. I have free choice oyster shell out there for the calcium that they need (and they get the egg shells back from our egg consumption)

Sooo coming from the reptile world. You can buy giant bags of freeze dried bugs. Some of them are priceier than others. But it really doesn't take much to make a difference. I'm sure you could feed whole or ground up. But I think it would only be necessary in the winter. It is a bit costly tho. Your catfish food is a good idea imo

 

[NickyPick]

How big is giant? I tend to buy in bulk, so I would have been looking at 25-50 lb bags, under $30. Never even thought about looking a reptile feeds.

 

[Derangedplanet]

How big is giant? I tend to buy in bulk, so I would have been looking at 25-50 lb bags, under $30. Never even thought about looking a reptile feeds.

So a 10lb bag of bugs is actually pretty huge. And that's the main issue. Is that volume and weight are very inequivalent in bugs. However once bugs are freeze dried there wait is almost pure protein and chitin. So even just adding half a lb to 50lb feed would make a pretty big bump. That being said I think most animal feeds would be more cost effective. They used less raw proteins. Raw proteins are pricey.

 

[Derangedplanet]

Her first egg here! Since she laid it less than 24 hours after I set the eggs I tossed it into the incubator just to see. She's been with a roo since birth so I assume it's fertile. This is her third egg ever but the other 2 were before the cold snap.

 

[Tankueray]

How big is giant? I tend to buy in bulk, so I would have been looking at 25-50 lb bags, under $30. Never even thought about looking a reptile feeds.

Call the nearest Zoo and find out who their supplier is. We used to get supersacks of freeze dried bugs when I was a zookeeper in Florida.