Thoughts on homemade feed

[Featherlove23]

I don't know if it's true, but I'm hearing word on a possible flock feed shortage. (Not exactly a shortage per say, just might get a little hard to get) I went to my local cal-ranch to get some all flock feed and noticed that a lot of chicken feed (flock feed in general) was gone. Anyway, I'd been already thinking about making my own feed but don't know if it's a good idea as I've never made feed before. I can research how to make it. But would love tips if you make your own. I want what's best for my flock. Also, what are some plants that I can plant around the coop that is safe.
Thanks in advance

 

[raingarden]

I don't think that making your own feed is a viable fall-back position. It has been disucussed here but I'm still looking for the threads. Anybody? Anyway, finding the ingredients will be just as difficult as finding the pre-made feed. Making it yourself would be MUCH more expensive too.

My guess is that they will balance supply and demand by continuing to jack up the prices. You can always stretch out what feed you can find by mixing in whole grains or scratch for a while.

If you're really worried about the pending shortage, I think it would make more sense to find ways to reduce the number of birds. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

 

[Featherlove23]

I don't think that making your own feed is a viable fall-back position. It has been disucussed here but I'm still looking for the threads. Anybody? Anyway, finding the ingredients will be just as difficult as finding the pre-made feed. Making it yourself would be MUCH more expensive too.

My guess is that they will balance supply and demand by continuing to jack up the prices. You can always stretch out what feed you can find by mixing in whole grains or scratch for a while.

If you're really worried about the pending shortage, I think it would make more sense to find ways to reduce the number of birds. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I'm not really worried about it. I've only got 2 ducks and 4 chickens. You don't eat a lot. Just trying to get ahead of the game. I'll just buy a bag as I see them if I'm able to. Thank you for your input. I'd have to agree, making it did seem a lot more expensive them getting it premade.

 

[NatJ]

I don't know if it's true, but I'm hearing word on a possible flock feed shortage. (Not exactly a shortage per say, just might get a little hard to get) I went to my local cal-ranch to get some all flock feed and noticed that a lot of chicken feed (flock feed in general) was gone. Anyway, I'd been already thinking about making my own feed but don't know if it's a good idea as I've never made feed before.

I'm not really worried about it. I've only got 2 ducks and 4 chickens. You don't eat a lot. Just trying to get ahead of the game. I'll just buy a bag as I see them if I'm able to. Thank you for your input. I'd have to agree, making it did seem a lot more expensive them getting it premade.

Storing it frozen can help it retain nutrients for quite a bit longer than it otherwise would, and will also keep mold or insects from growing in it. For that number of birds, you may want to just put 2 or 3 bags of feed in a chest freezer, and rotate to always feed from the oldest bag. That gives you a cushion in case a shortage does happen-- the shortage might be over before you run out, or you might have time to get some feed shipped from a different area, or you might use the time to figure out about making your own substitute if things are really bad.

Also, what are some plants that I can plant around the coop that is safe.

Chicken-safe plants include:
grass, clover, dandelions
peas
broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, etc.
carrots
lettuce

Many other plants are also safe, so I'm just listing some off the top of my head. For the ones I listed, ALL parts should be safe for chickens to eat. There are many other plants that have some safe parts and some toxic parts (tomato fruit safe, tomato leaves toxic; bean leaves safe, raw bean seeds toxic; etc.)

None of the plants I listed will provide very much food value to the chickens, so they will not make much difference in how much chicken food you need to buy. But they will count for a little bit, and the chickens can safely have fun eating them.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Welcome to BYC @Featherlove23 . You don't say where you are at, which makes it hard to customize advice for your environment. I also see that you have Pekin ducks, in addition to your chickens.

In answer to your first question: Can you? YES. Should you? Only in extreme circumstances.

With very few exceptions, the make at home formulations are generally worse than off the shelf feed solutions nutritionally, and more expensive as well. For a tiny or small flock, like your own, there is no value in buying bulk to mix hundreds of pounds of feed at a time - it will spoil long before your birds can eat it. Further, if pandemic related supply chain issues and Ukrainian -war related supply constraints, and other world events conspire to take commercial feed completely off the shelf, the chances of you sourcing the variety of ingredients you need to make a nutritionally complete feed during those supply disruptions is near zero.

Neither do most people have the combination of acreage, equipment, good soil, and climate to grow and store the variety needed in quantities needed for a full year of feed.
Step one - cut out the treats. Yes, I know those very expensive dried meal worms, etc are high protein, but they are also very high fat. The live feeder fish are a better choice, if you can make that system sustainable with what you save not buying the dehydrated insects.

Do some aquaculture research. A battery and some solar powered DC pumps will help insulate you from supply issues in the future.

As to what to plant? That depends on your environment, climate, soil - but I would recommend avoiding bulk grains - the sort of stuff (like corn) which are relatively low value nutritionally and are likely to remain available. Focus on the more nutritionally dense things you may be able to grow locally - legumes like clovers, alfalfa. Grains and near grains like flax, teff, amaranth, sorghum, buckwheat, sorrells, even rye. Panic Grass (the smaller, less ornamental ones) and orchard grasses work well for me too. There are others, but that will get you the start of a list to work from.

My personal preference is not to make monlithic plantings - I have things mixed throughout my "yard", so the birds have to hunt, and can't gorge on a particular crop as it comes into season w/o moving around. Even then, its not a substitute for feed, though it may mean you need less feed.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Oh, and you want more ventilation for your coop!

 

[Featherlove23]

Oh, and you want more ventilation for your coop!

Thank you! Our permanent coop isn't finished yet. It will have lots of ventilation. It will have a small window on the front that will have hardware cloth attached to it so that it can be opened. (And I don't mean glued) but if we can't get a small window put in there will a a large metal vent. Along with three more. There is a picture of the brooder pen on one of my other posts that has insulation board on it. It has since been removed 5 weeks ago now that it's warmer. The fence isn't quite done yet either. There will be a 4ft metal fence put in place of the mesh fence. Along with bird netting cover the top of the pen. The tarp is because the roof leaks a bit. It has been fixed since this picture was taken.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Thank you! Our permanent coop isn't finished yet. It will have lots of ventilation. It will have a small window on the front that will have hardware cloth attached to it so that it can be opened. (And I don't mean glued) but if we can't get a small window put in there will a a large metal vent. Along with three more. There is a picture of the brooder pen on one of my other posts that has insulation board on it. It has since been removed 5 weeks ago now that it's warmer. The fence isn't quite done yet either. There will be a 4ft metal fence put in place of the mesh fence. Along with bird netting cover the top of the pen. The tarp is because the roof leaks a bit. It has been fixed since this picture was taken.

Figure one sq FOOT (144 sq inches) of 24/7/365 free ventilation per bird inside. Metal vents don't generally offer the amount of airflow needed for even a couple chickens, being measured in square inches of ventilation.