YO GEORGIANS! :)

[JennD08]

That would be AWESOME!! I am so tired of reading label after label and still not finding anything I am truly happy with so far. Sign me up!!

 

[JennD08]

Wish I had a farm. I'd do the same thing. Would love to be self reliant.

We are on a little over 2 acres and are dying for the day we can have a small farm ourselves and become as self-reliant as possible. We are pushing it right now in our neighborhood with our chickens - but I plan to bribe the neighbors with fresh eggs )

 

[Tabasco Jack]

Operation Incubation Update:

In other news, Lisa checked with our local feed store, and they carry 50# sacks of the grains we need to make our own feed blends, and they carry premix as well, all at a very reasonable prices. I plan to work up some feed formulas that use a balance of amino acids from legumes and grains to produce complete proteins at percentages our birds need at various stages of their lives. We will also be able to produce blends specific to quail. The blends will contain a grit-and-oystershell blend that will aid in digestion and in bone and eggshell growth and production. The various blends will have varying amounts of the grit and oystershell. Once I come up with these blends, I'll post them in case others want to use them with their flocks.

We will also produce our own chick starter well. We have a gristmill, but I think we'll get something just for the birds that can grind a coarse feed. Instead of using a medicated additive, we plan to add a small amount of soil to the chick starter in order to get beneficial microbes introduced to the chicks at an early age.

Our hope is that by making our own feeds that we can (1) eliminate the dust produced with commercial crumbles, (2) provide fresher feeds for our birds, (3) have more control over the nutritional quality of the feeds, (4) have more control over the true protein composition of the feeds, and (5) have grain available that we can consume as well.

Check out Union Point Custom Feeds - http://unionpoint.com/ They are on Facebook also. I have seen in the past where Alice has posted some recipes for custom feeds. I'll look when I get home and see if I saved any of them. Also, Robert Plamondon has written some pretty good stuff on it also. Resaca Sun Feeds make non-gmo feeds from locally sourced grains. Don't know if they sell the individual grains or not.

 

[Flowerbh]

Just read where if you add Baking Soda to your boiling water when you process your chickens, the feathers fall out better. Anybody do this?

 

[brucifer]

Check out Union Point Custom Feeds - http://unionpoint.com/ They are on Facebook also. I have seen in the past where Alice has posted some recipes for custom feeds. I'll look when I get home and see if I saved any of them. Also, Robert Plamondon has written some pretty good stuff on it also. Resaca Sun Feeds make non-gmo feeds from locally sourced grains. Don't know if they sell the individual grains or not.

I checked out the Unionpoint website, and they seem to have a good concept, but they're all the way in Oregon. Is there anyone locally that you know that does something similar?

After doing some research, the one ingredient that I don't like is the soybean meal, which is the main source of protein in most poultry feeds. What I learned is that soybean meal is actually a byproduct of the soybean-oil extraction process. The meal is loaded with nutrients; however, it's what is left over after the soybean oil has been extracted by using hexane as a solvent, and there is residual hexane in the meal. Not good.

Hexane is a petroleum-based solvent also used in quick-dying glues, gasoline, and many other products. After reading about it, it's not the kind of chemical I feel good about my birds consuming, especially since we eat a lot of their eggs each week. If you want to read more about hexane, here's a link: http://www.toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/Hexane

Although we plan to start our feed formulas using soy meal, I'm already looking for alternative sources such as actually soy beans, field peas, and other dried legumes. Hopefully I will find some inexpensive, healthier alternatives that the chickens can digest and readily utilize.

 

[Tabasco Jack]

Just read where if you add Baking Soda to your boiling water when you process your chickens, the feathers fall out better. Anybody do this?

Never heard of using soda. I add dawn dish soap to the scalder. And it doesn't really matter what you do, old birds don't pluck easy.

 

[Tabasco Jack]

I checked out the Unionpoint website, and they seem to have a good concept, but they're all the way in Oregon. Is there anyone locally that you know that does something similar?

After doing some research, the one ingredient that I don't like is the soybean meal, which is the main source of protein in most poultry feeds. What I learned is that soybean meal is actually a byproduct of the soybean-oil extraction process. The meal is loaded with nutrients; however, it's what is left over after the soybean oil has been extracted by using hexane as a solvent, and there is residual hexane in the meal. Not good.

Hexane is a petroleum-based solvent also used in quick-dying glues, gasoline, and many other products. After reading about it, it's not the kind of chemical I feel good about my birds consuming, especially since we eat a lot of their eggs each week. If you want to read more about hexane, here's a link: http://www.toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/Hexane

Although we plan to start our feed formulas using soy meal, I'm already looking for alternative sources such as actually soy beans, field peas, and other dried legumes. Hopefully I will find some inexpensive, healthier alternatives that the chickens can digest and readily utilize.

Tucker Milling over in Alabama makes a non-gmo, non-soy chicken feed that I use and they use pork as a protein source.
Check out the Resaca Sun site. They make a variety of feeds but it sells pretty local to NW GA.

 

[brucifer]

Tucker Milling over in Alabama makes a non-gmo, non-soy chicken feed that I use and they use pork as a protein source.
Check out the Resaca Sun site. They make a variety of feeds but it sells pretty local to NW GA.

I know a lot of folks like Tucker feeds, but I'm not a big fan. Our preferred feed store carries their line. However, Tucker's crumbles are super dusty compared to Faithway which is milled in the same town. The only Tucker feed that I would consider is their Super Lay 22.

Resaca Sun seems to make some nice feeds. They're not far from @katsdar . I wonder if she has tried them?

I may be wrong, but I think I can formulate a fresh, cost-effective feed with a high-protein content without the added binders. Lisa's picking up the grains and soybean meal tomorrow, and I'll post my first feed formula, a cost analysis, and possibly some photos. This feed will be for all the adult birds, and I'll supplement the girls' feed with additional oystershell and grit. My target protein percentage is 20%. We still have just under 200 lbs of starter/grower on hand for the young birds, so they can wait for their new feed for now.

 

[livhatcher]

I've decided to go soy free. My brother & SIL did a challenge diet and learned a lot of the problems people have with eggs have to do with the soy they are fed. I am going to try Tucker Milling's new Nature Crest formula. Time will tell, but I'm not happy with Nutrena, Dumor, or Nature's Best and I certainly will never buy a medicated chick starter again after the problems related to wryneck & thiamine blocking I've read about.

The south is a particularly hard place to try to find quality feed in which is terribly ironic given the amount of poultry we produce.

 

[brucifer]

I've decided to go soy free. My brother & SIL did a challenge diet and learned a lot of the problems people have with eggs have to do with the soy they are fed. I am going to try Tucker Milling's new Nature Crest formula. Time will tell, but I'm not happy with Nutrena, Dumor, or Nature's Best and I certainly will never buy a medicated chick starter again after the problems related to wryneck & thiamine blocking I've read about.

The south is a particularly hard place to try to find quality feed in which is terribly ironic given the amount of poultry we produce.

You need to keep looking if you want to avoid soy or soy meal. Tucker's NC Starter is loaded with it. Also, wheat is digested VERY slowly and not recommended for chicks, and it's the first listed ingredient. The second ingredient (powdered corn meal) isn't much better.

NC Layer is soy free and a better product, but I bet it's pricey.