Mixing your own feed

At this point in time I am just giving my layers that 17% layer ration from coop and some food scraps. I hadn't even heard of oyster shells until I joined up on these chicken forums. The grit was something that had slipped my mind through our flooding basement dilemma. But I figured the girls were spending some time (quite a bit of time) outside that they'd be good to go until the snow flew. Which is just so happened to do this weekend.

I did find one recipe that looked pretty promising. Came with pricing per pounds of each ingredient and the amount of pounds the batch made. Problem is, this lady is down in the states (go figure). ChickenTeam, roughly how much (lbs) of each of your ingredients do you get when you go about making your feed? And how long (roughly) does it last you?


Here is the chicken feed recipe I found. I am hoping to have it priced out for November as I am thinking that's about the time the girls will need more food anyway.


– 12 cups organic, feeder oats
– 8 cups organic, soft white wheat
– 8 cups organic, hard red wheat
– 6 cups organic corn
– 4 cups organic lentils
– 4 cups organic split peas
– 2 cups organic flax seed
– 1 cup sesame seeds
– 3/4 cup kelp granules
– 2 tablespoons olive oil, coconut oil, or molasses

This makes almost 18 pounds of feed.

Where do you buy the supplement that you mix with the grains? Odd question but the local feed stores don't seem to carry a lot of stuff. Our main ag. sector is crops so our feed store carries products geared to that sector of ag.

I am a small-time chicken keeper, and only have about 50 chickens (35 hens, 9 roosters, and 11 chicks, or something like that).  I go through about 3 bags of wheat, half a bag of oats with molasses, half a bag of cracked corn (winter), 1/4 (40 lb) bag sunflower seeds,  1.5 small (10 lb) bags of millet, and less than half a bag of flax every two weeks.  My budget is $160 per month.  I throw in lentils or split peas when I found a good sale on them, but it isn't economical any more.  I put my grit right into the pail I mix every morning, along with a homemade mix of garlic powder, tumeric, DE, and kelp granules (from a place in Edmonton).  I think I have healthy chickens, but being only in my third year, I know things could happen that I don't expect.  I seldom see a bug on them, and they are happy and spoiled.  Oh, and the oyster shell I give once or twice per week, depending on time of year and how much they are laying (which is hardly anything during their molt, which is going on right now).  I also give them protein heavy scraps and greens and fun things like pumpkins and cauliflower.  Chicks will get quinoa and sesame seeds to up the protein.  I don't know of any organic producers around here, so this is just basic grain from the feed store, but people can taste the difference even from farmer's market eggs, which are better than the store's eggs.  I hope this answers your question.

I don't know if anyone is interested in this but I occasionally get sacks of chicken scratch from Fieldstone Granary in Armstrong. It is organic and gmo free. I confirmed the gmo bit today with a quick ph call. I also asked what the little black seeds in there were (this time there are what look like small small black lentils) and the woman said if it was about half a cm in diameter it would be lentils and if smaller it would be wild seed of unknown origin but ok for the chickens. It is varied and no set combination - just what is left over (falls through the grader) from the processing of the grains they are working with - right now it has all diff seeds/grains in it and seems to have some chalf-like stuff, cracked grains, oats maybe barley - I don't know my grains well enough yet. She said that if a sack of lentils falls on the floor and splits it gets thrown into the mix, sunflower seeds . . . whatever sort of thing. She said also that they check to be sure nothing bad for chickens goes in like kidney beans. It is something like $14 per 20kg bag. She didn't know where to get gmo free corn  . Here is their website, pricing on there too

http://fieldstoneorganics.ca/

Magdelan wrote:I don't know if anyone is interested in this but I occasionally get sacks of chicken scratch from Fieldstone Granary in Armstrong.  It is organic and gmo free.  I confirmed the gmo bit today with a quick ph call.  I also asked what the little black seeds in there were (this time there are what look like small small black lentils) and the woman said if it was about half a cm in diameter it would be lentils and if smaller it would be wild seed of unknown origin but ok for the chickens.  It is varied and no set combination  -  just what is left over (falls through the grader) from the processing of the grains they are working with  -  right now it has all diff seeds/grains in it and seems to have some chalf-like stuff, cracked grains, oats maybe barley  - I don't know my grains well enough yet.  She said that if a sack of lentils falls on the floor and splits it gets thrown into the mix, sunflower seeds . . . whatever sort of thing.  She said also that they check to be sure nothing bad for chickens goes in like kidney beans.   It is something like $14 per 20kg bag.  She didn't know where to get gmo free corn   .  Here is their website, pricing on there too

http://fieldstoneorganics.ca/

I buy these mixed screenings as well from the local seed cleaning plant. They are $5 a bag and the tiny black seeds are canola. No...at $5 a bag they are not organic!

Magdelan, the small small black seeds - post a picture? They may be canola, which would almost certainly be GMO.

[/quote]the tiny black seeds are canola.  No...at $5 a bag they are not organic![/quote]
$5 a bag is great buying. If the tiny black seeds are canola this means not gmo free - am I right about that?

From what I understand most canola in Alberta is GMO as it is mostly Roundup ready. However, I tend to ignore anti GMO propaganda and have no compunctions about using non-organic and GMO foods.

The chickens like the canola seeds and they are a good source of fat.

Most likely, any canola will be GMO.

Throw some of the little black seeds in some dirt and water them and see what you get! That would be fun!

authenticfarm wrote:Magdelan, the small small black seeds - post a picture? They may be canola, which would almost certainly be GMO.

I just love posting pictures :-).  There is a quarter in there for scale.  (guess what, my son has Thriftshop cranked up on the stereo  -  dish washing music, so glad he likes this tune).  He said "are we really taking pictures of grain?"

Hmm, can't say for sure if they are canola from the picture. I showed farmer husband and he couldn't say with absolute certainty, either.

Canola is usually kind of glossy in appearance, but these may have picked up dust from the other grains.

Or they may not be canola at all.

they are the shiniest bits in the bunch. I just ate one, super hard and crunchy and tastes a bit like .. . maybe wheat? has a clean flavor.

Maybe it's rat poo?

Just kidding Magdelan - couldn't resist when you'd already eaten some!

heda gobbler wrote:Maybe it's rat poo?

Just kidding Magdelan - couldn't resist when you'd already eaten some!

too funny Heda, my son has just taken the bowl off me cause he was worried about the same thing! there are sunflower seeds in there, sort of like trail mix! whoops, straying off topic.

Not canola

Sue, when you go to the plant do you just ask for this mixed screenings in particular or do they call it something else?

I have a question (or four ahaha) about mixing a person's own feed and chickens health and all that... figured this was a great spot instead of starting my own thread...


so heres my deal. I used to have a LOT of chickens, used to mix my own feed. *I* thought they were healthy, seemed it anyhow.
had to downsize a few years ago, finally got back into it, just used commercial layer ration. not a bad option, but somehow I am not entirely convinced a great one either.
I would love to get them back on a self-mixed ration, but I am limited to what I can find right?? and I also find that they are super picky. especially from having just the ration for so long that they dont really like eating the grain only. so right now I offer both-- not economical I am sure, but I figured its a great way to slowly reintroduce them to grains only (the grain and ration are in seperate feeders to save me on the "lets kick out all the grain on the coop floor so we can have the ration and never clean up the floor" troubles)

some of the info in this thread alone can make a mind swim. never knew some of that with the oats and ?wheat was it, that the hulls were harmful for them... really??

I really want to start feeding them the grain ration mix I can buy from Healthy Herds.... I have seen this stuff in person and it looks amazing!! it looks balanced, well thought out, and really a decent price! (but it is by the mini tote which is not that big of a deal for me, I can store it--- I generally rebag it all into smaller bags and store in the shed because then the kids have an easier time helping me if I need them to)

I am not even sure where my question is in all this.

maybe is my question will the birds switch to a full grain diet? will they suffer in the meanwhile, while their bodies are making adjustments to the different feed or the self induced "I'm not eating that" I am sure will happen?? does a person add vit to the water full time, once a week, only when they think there is a problem??

this is the whole area of my memory that was wiped when i got sick. I just cant remember what I used to do, and its frustrating me to no end.

oh sunflower seeds. can they eat them right out of the bag?? they dont need to be hulled?? I love the idea of it

so many thoughts. I want the most healthy way to feed the animals, but also the most ECONOMICAL. I wont lie. we are not broke by any means, but I also am NOT in the position where I can waste money on my animals either. it has to be balanced very very carefully with our other expenses ---like just this week. Mister needed new tires for our highway truck. $8000.   lets just say I am still getting over that one but it also means I need to make adjustments to other parts of my "program" --kids, house, animals-- to help pay that bill. make sense? I dont want anything to suffer while I have to make these adjustments, but I know I can feed the chickens for sure cheaper and healthier if they were on grains, and I guess just want to do it properly...

and is this really the right time of year to be screwing with their feed??? with winter fast coming on? and most of my chickens right now are literally coming into laying any time now. I have almost two dozen that are coming of age and I dont want to screw up any egg laying potential at this point!!

such a long winded post. I'm sorry!

Like most animals and changing there feed, I think a gradual change is what you would do with your current feed. I know that is my plan as it will give them time to get used to it and adjust accordingly.

I've looked at various 'Homemade Chicken Feed' recipes and all of them have common ingredients - Oats (some use the oats and molasses mix), Rolled Wheat, Corn (whole or cracked and amounts change from winter to summer), Flax Seed, Millet (what I have yet to find out for this is if it's the stuff we humans eat or the stuff you can get for birds), and Sunflower seeds (these are the BOSS kind as the shells are softer then the ones we consume from my understanding). Other options are Sesame Seed, Lentils, Split Peas, and Kelp Granules. These options I think are mostly based on pricing and if one can afford to add it, though I think the Kelp Granules will be a staple in my personal mix.

Kimberly K wrote:Sue, when you go to the plant do you just ask for this mixed screenings in particular or do they call it something else?

Kimberly, you have a plant in your area!

I ask for mixed grain screenings- $5

I can also buy oat and wheat screenings -$7

The guys at the plant are very patent with my small time orders. They are used to dealing in tonnes!

Yes, Wetaskiwin! Which is rather handy. I am actually heading in Friday so I'm going to make a stop and harass them  . I'd call, but I hate the phone  

How heavy are those bags by chance?

I noticed mention of kelp and tossed up whether to make this entry.  I really like kelp, a sniff of an open bag of noori satisfies my sea side craving which rears up every now and then (miss NZ beaches).  I looked in to it for my own family as a supplement and came up against a paranoia about where it comes from.  And maybe you all are not bothered by this and I'm just "noidy" but got to follow ones instincts on some things.  I believe a lot comes from the Atlantic off the coast of Canada in the north.  But what about the stuff that comes from the Pacific where there is cause to be concerned about radioactive leakage from Fukishima.   Not all people are aware that this is a serious issue, I won't eat fish from the Pacific any more.  Here is a link that someone well meaning sent to me, if you can get past the "end is near" crap on the sidelines of this page and follow the links there is some good info  -  at least it gets ones mind contemplating.  I try not to let a good bit of quackery get in the way of becoming informed but it does get my gander when people use such freak-out titles on their books like the one advertised on this link (The Beginning of The End  -  conspiracy stuff is rampant these days).   I tend to shut off but this one is worth a look.

http://thetruthwins.com/archives/28-signs-that-the-west-coast-is-being-absolutely-fried-with-nuclear-radiation-from-fukushima

Kelp is a source of iodine which is very important of course and we metabolise it in our thyroid glands (chickens must have something that is a thyroid??  -  better go check chicken biology 101 on google .  The thyroid is interestingly enough very vulnerable to radiation.  Not sure where I was going with that . . . just thought it was curious.  Maybe the connection is that if we ingest mildly radioactive kelp, our thyroids are going to get it.  I don't know, probably need to do more reading but this is just a thought I had to share about nutritional supplements and our beloved fowl.   I don't know if kelp is harvested in the Pacific actually, the first time I looked into it it turned out the kelp supplements I was investigating came from the East and I looked no further.  There are so many things that will nail us in our often toxic environments but radiation will get us faster than some.  

I wonder if the iodine in kelp is helpful in protecting us from radiation?  that rings a bell now.

Something to think about if you are making your own feed. Chickens are omnivores and should also be provided with animal protein. Meal worms, meat scraps, there is also meat meal in different forms that can be added. It is often overlooked. They don't do as well on just vegetative proteins and benefit from some form of animal protein in their diet.

Kimberly K wrote:Yes, Wetaskiwin! Which is rather handy. I am actually heading in Friday so I'm going to make a stop and harass them  . I'd call, but I hate the phone  

How heavy are those bags by chance?

40 lbs! (Maybe 20 kg). Standard size. A warning, they only have what they have. The screenings are a byproduct of the cleaning process. Often I go in and they have nothing. Today I went in and they only had wheat or oats, but promised me mixed for tomorrow!

Schipperkesue wrote:

Kimberly K wrote:Yes, Wetaskiwin! Which is rather handy. I am actually heading in Friday so I'm going to make a stop and harass them  . I'd call, but I hate the phone  

How heavy are those bags by chance?

40 lbs!  (Maybe 20 kg). Standard size.  A warning, they only have what they have.  The screenings are a byproduct of the cleaning process.  Often I go in and they have nothing.  Today I went in and they only had wheat or oats, but promised me mixed for tomorrow!

I was in today and I am wrong..55 lbs, 25kg. I watched them fill the bags and they fill them above weight for me some times. As I say I am small potatoes to them with my $5 bags of grain so I make it up in other ways. I gave them a thank-you show photo of my winning Cornish bantam hen to display and brag about, and regularly bake cookies for them. Today they informed me that they keep all the mixed screenings for me! Happy people make good suppliers!