Thoughts on this feed combo?

[seventreesfarm]

I'm thinking about supplementing my flock's pelleted feed with a cooked mash of beans (yes, cooked enough to neutralize the bad enzyme), whole wheat and corn, and dried nettles.

I grow all of these things so I know they are fresh and organic.
I am looking to boost nutrition in my breeding flock before I start pulling eggs for hatching, so heavier on the protein. Maybe just adding the grains in to make it interesting.

I've looked at the feed calculating page on Lionsgrip, but not really sure how to figure protein percentages for a cooked mash.

 

[chooks4life]

What sort of beans? That would be necessary to know before anyone could offer an estimate.

The nettle will do wonders, it's one of the very topmost tier of highly nutritional land plants. You might want to keep an eye on them for symptoms of over-nutrition if you're feeding a "nutritionally complete" food as well as nettle. Depending of course on how much nettle you give them.

Best wishes.

 

[seventreesfarm]

Pinto and kidney beans. And probably enough nettle to make green bits in a mash, like parsley in a soup. Just crumbled into the wet mash. I've had good luck feeding cooked beans as a 'treat', maybe 1 cup for 12-15 hens. It seemed to help keep laying up in winter. I'd like to see if I can keep the nutrition up with a mix, and maybe pull back some on the pellets. They also free range on 1/2 acre, but they don't go out much when the weather sucks.