Please don't give me a lot of grief, I'm just starting out, love my hens and want the best quality for them. I have been researching and researching feed options for the winter, right now my flock free ranges with our kitchen waste as and end of day treat. As a family, we eliminated wheat and soy and processed food for serious health reasons. In getting our own chickens, one of the reasons was to keep our diets as clean as possible. I love farm raised eggs, but around here, you never know what the farm feeds the chickens. I have called our AG office and discussed feed protein ratios, talked to several organic, soy free manufacturers. I think that this blend of wild bird seed seems to fit the bill for the bulk of their nutrition, and it is the cheapest alternative to some of the pre made organic feeds I can get. I am already mealworm farming and plan to add soaked lentils and split peas along with dried kelp and bone meal for the rest of the recipe. Can someone please explain why this bird seed could not fill the void for the rest of their diet? And, if I feed it, should I soak it first, some of it seems quite big (pistachios and peanuts). http://www.aspensongwildbirdfood.com/go/get/page/ultimate-blend
"Can someone please explain why this bird seed could not fill the void for the rest of their diet?" The question should be, "Will this fill the void in their diet?" If it does, then you are all set. Chris
I would assume that the high fat is coming from the black oil sunflower seeds and possibly hemp seeds if the feed contains them. I have heard that too much fat can cause the egg yolk to taste funny, but I am not sure what "funny" means as I have not been raising chickens long enough to come across this problem myself. If you balanced their diet with say, oatmeal which is low in fat, then I don't see a problem. I have been supplementing my girls layer mash with kitchen scraps and more recently I have been sprouting black oil sunflower seeds and (rewashed) whole oatmeal. I am rethinking the oatmeal as I have had to rinse this often due to the heat we've been experiencing in my area. The oatmeal tends to get a fermented smell if left too long without rinsing and I do not want to have the girls eat spoiled food. I have also not been covering the containers so that they do not mold. The sunflowers sprout in about two days and the girls love them.
