Topic of the Week - "Off-grid" Feeding - Homemade feeds, etc.

[sumi]

Pic by @theoldchick
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Due to lack of availability of feed at times, or out of choice, some chicken keepers feed their flocks on alternatives to regular, formulated poultry feeds. Be it homemade feed mixes, or whatever is on hand at the time, this week I would like to hear your thoughts and practices on feeding the flock "off-grid". Specifically:

- Suggestions for short-term alternatives to regular feed
- Homemade feed recipes, flock blocks, etc
- Calculating and providing adequate nutrition in homemade feeds
- Feeding through different ages, feeding laying hens, etc.



For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

 

[jeffnolan]

I applaud your choice and love the meta-narrative of a vegan raising chickens, but chickens are omnivores. As a vegan, I’m sure you are aware of the importance of the amino acid Methionine. Without it, the birds (like humans) will suffer and they will turn on each other. This amino acid is not found in some cereal grains, a few tree nuts, and in meat. Legumes have none of it. In nature, chickens will get methionine from insects, crawlers, and from other animal sources. In farming, synthetic methionine is proscribed by USDA organic guidelines. It is unethical to force upon any animal a food choice that is outside what they would experience in a natural environment and chickens are simply not vegetarian.

 

[1cock2hens]

the govt has brainwashed people when it comes to protein sources. I'm vegan and people always ask me where I get protein and calcium and i say the same place as you, from my food. for example 6 cups of spinach has the same amount of protein as an egg.. here is a small list of grams of protein per cup of different veggies for an example // http://www.theholykale.com/plant-based-protein-chart/

 

[Ahavati]

I make our own feed. It's very simple and I make it in big batches so I'd only have to mix every couple of months. What I was mixing before was:

30% Corn
30% Wheat
20% Peas
10% Oats
10% Fish Meal
2% Poultry Nutri–Balancer
Kelp provided free choice

They did great on that. I also fermented it so they ate way less. They also got our daily kitchen and garden scraps and I'd sometimes sprout barley fodder for them.

Now I a trying to streamline as I mix the goats feed too. I also don't want to do much corn. So now I do:

Barley
Oats
Alfalfa
Beet Pulp
BOSS

I'll ferment that for the chickens as well as all the kitchen and garden scraps and occasional fodder. I was raising mealworms too as well. I do add nutri-balancer to their ferment and I still give kelp.

My goats, turkeys, chickens, peafowl, and rabbits all get this feed. Each animal (poultry, caprine, etc) get their own minerals suited to them. Goats get hay and alfalfa hay as well as the rabbits.

I tend to prefer things that aren't so convenient anyway. If SHTF, I don't want to be stuck relying on something I can't get. But that is just me. Plus I know everything that they are eating (aside form their free range stuff, but that's still natural and what they were meant to eat) and I know what we are eating. We have a garden as well and buy bulk grains to mill and turn into flour and such. I think I was born in the worng century LOL.

 

[PirateGirl]

On my to do list is to make my own feed. When I bought my pullets last spring from an organic chicken farmer, he mixed all his own feed. He had a lot of chickens though and buying seeds/grains in bulk was practical for him. He also sold bags/buckets of this feed to locals and other customers like myself who were buying birds from him which I'm sure helps offset the cost. Many will argue the benefits of formulated and processed pellets, but I liked the look of whole grain feed. When you buy wild bird feed it's seeds. When you buy parrot or parakeet feed it's seeds. I try not to eat highly processed foods myself, why would I feed them to my chickens? (ok ok, I know why people do, but I also don't see why a whole grain/seed diet with fruits and veggies can't be sufficient) One of the things I liked about the seed feed I'd purchased from the organic farmer was it's versatility. I could feed it as is, I could ferment it, I could sprout it, and I could grow fodder from it. The same feed provided some sort of variety, and spilled seed in the run if not found right away did not seem to mold, but to sprout and the chickens would be thrilled to find the green shoots later. I have found many recipes online, some are more complex than others with more ingredients to source, and I do not live somewhere I source these ingredients without purchasing online. To get good prices on grains you must buy in bulk, the more you buy, the better the price, however, the higher the weight the higher the shipping. I have yet to find a formula that prices out close to that of a commercial pellet, however it seems you can mix organic feed that would be cheaper than say Scratch and Peck, but more expensive than something like Purina Flock Raiser. Garden Betty offers a nutrition calculator, Metzer has a calculator on their website, and Storey's Guide suggests using Pearson's Square, however with the www I like to think there are others out there who have crunched the numbers. I'm probably going to give one of the recipes on here a try this summer. Hopefully others have done the nutrition math and will share some recipes in this thread and I can order some seeds!

https://www.gardenbetty.com/homemade-whole-grain-chicken-feed-updated-and-now-corn-free/

 

[Chicken-lovebirdchihuahua]

I don't make my feed but if they are out of food I will give them veggies and fruit and I'm going to start making my fermented feed

 

[BantyChooks]

Free ranging is what I would have thought more 'Homesteaders" do so their feed Bill is tiny. Well, compared to city folk-stuck in a run all the time- chickens.

I free range my flock of ~45 to 50 all summer. I still go through about 60--70lbs lbs of feed per week.

Good topic, sumi! I don't know anything about proper nutrition for mixes, but I have used cracked corn in place of feed when I didn't have a single other thing to give them and I wasn't going into town due to being sick. They survived, lol.

Here's a link to a PDF with a link about feeding non-processed food.
http://www.exhibitionpoultry.net/images/ep_2-8.pdf

 

[jeffnolan]

Yes, chickens will eat anything but they require a source of protein. I don’t have a problem with feed availability in my area, but I do feed my chickens a steady source of vegetables, dairy products (cheese), carbs, starches, and left over meat. They will eat everything from old deli meat to shredded chicken. As long as it is cooked and can be picked at, they eat any meat I give them.

The advantage of feeding them from you kitchen is that food which would otherwise go to waste gets used and your feed bill (processed feed is expensive) comes down. My hens are healthy, active, and strong egg layers even through the winter months. We get a lot of sun in my area but even when the temps drop, they still lay eggs. The extra protein also really helps when they are moulting.

 

[lazy gardener]

Victory style gardening is a perfect subject for this thread. The original premise is how to feed your flock "when you can't get to the feed store". But, in the back of almost every person's mind, is the what happens if a TSHTF scenario should happen. What then? How do I feed my flock, so they can continue to feed my family, and how do I feed my family??? Every one who can, should: keep a small flock, and keep a garden of what ever size suits their space, energy, and time. Learn to process your own food. Become debt free so you WILL have more resources available long term. Learn to use, reuse, and recycle.

 

[tigger19687]

Wouldn't this also depend on the time of year?
Free ranging is what I would have thought more 'Homesteaders" do so their feed Bill is tiny. Well, compared to city folk-stuck in a run all the time- chickens.