Making chicken feed

[pricefarm]

Does anyone that have chicken grind and mix there own feed? Iam going to get some day old chicks and plan on buying chick feed to start with but once they get a little older I would like to make my own feed. I aready have a hammer mill and raise corn so I would like to grind the ear corn and add soybean mill or something for added protein. Does anyone do this?

 

[branguscowgirl]

I do not make my own feed, but I do know that you need to limit corn in their diet. (supposedly it is like pure sugar to them, and only fed as a treat.) I feed layer crumbles as a complete feed. Apparently chickens need a proper balance of minerals to be healthy and productive, just the same as out cattle. If you value your chickens, do the research on nutrition. They have really fussy little systems. They may eat it, but it may not keep them very healthy or producing eggs. :roll:
Until I had chickens as an adult, I did not realize how many diseases and ailments they could get! They are a pain in the butt!

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I feed my chicken cow shyt.

Smells like chocolate.

 

[M5farm]

I feed my chicken cow shyt.

Smells like chocolate.

:clap:

 

[sim.-ang.king]

I feed my chicken cow shyt.

Smells like chocolate.

Then you could feed your cow the chicken poop. We'll call it Poocycling!

 

[branguscowgirl]

I feed my chicken cow shyt.

Smells like chocolate.

Then you could feed your cow the chicken poop. We'll call it Poocycling!

:lol2: Seriously, my chickens do a lot of pecking around in the horse and cow litter! Is this also wrong? :shock: Now, I mean, it is just reversing the shitz consumption.......... :roll:

 

[slick4591]

I do not make my own feed, but I do know that you need to limit corn in their diet. (supposedly it is like pure sugar to them, and only fed as a treat.)

I have chickens and one breed of them are mostly white with black lacing. I feed sack feed, but had a sack of cracked corn I would throw out as a treat. I noticed one day that one girls breast feathers was turning pink. Confused the heck out of me and I found out that too much corn will do that. Don't remember the reasoning I was given but it had me concerned.

 

[CottageFarm]

I don't make my own feed either, but I too would like to hear from anyone who does.
Whitewing has an interesting thread going where he is going to start formulating his own feeds based on soybeans, so you might keep an eye on that threads as well Pricefarm. http://www.cattletoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=90726

As for corn in their diet, it comprises more than 50% of what I feed. I use a Game Bird/Turkey ration that's 27% protein, (that I'm pretty sure also has corn in it). That gets mixed 1:1 with corn chop. They also get alfalfa, kitchen & garden scraps as available and grass clippings in season. and of course free choice oyster shell. I've been using this mix for over 3 years without any issues. The key, I was told, is to have the high protein ration to balance the lower protein corn, and keep the avg protein at about 16% for layers.

 

[branguscowgirl]

I get a lot of chicken information on chicken crossing chat forum. I am sure that "making feed" can be done nutritiously. I just know they are complicated little buggers, so you have to be careful.
Let us know what you find out.

 

[Limomike]

We take some ground wheat and soybean meal that we pick up at a local port, and mix it with water, and the chickens & guineas love it. It seemed to make them lay better in the winter too.
That being said.. they also love to find the closest and freshest pile of cow poop to peck around in. I think its like desert to them.

 

[CottageFarm]

They are really only complicated when you're looking for maximum production in a confined environment.
Lots of people in the world successfully raise chickens on forage alone. They don't get optimal production, and probably have a shorter life span, but they have $0 input costs. In warmer climates, pasture with good bug numbers and breed selection, you could get great production with no significant inputs.

That said, I am looking for optimal production and free ranging isn't an option for me because of predators. Their trace nutrient requirements are the most complicated, which is the reason I stick with the ration that I'm using. I have around 60 layers most of the time, so creating my own mix is something that I eventually want to do.

 

[TexasBred]

They are really only complicated when you're looking for maximum production in a confined environment.
Lots of people in the world successfully raise chickens on forage alone. They don't get optimal production, and probably have a shorter life span, but they have $0 input costs. In warmer climates, pasture with good bug numbers and breed selection, you could get great production with no significant inputs.

That said, I am looking for optimal production and free ranging isn't an option for me because of predators. Their trace nutrient requirements are the most complicated, which is the reason I stick with the ration that I'm using. I have around 60 layers most of the time, so creating my own mix is something that I eventually want to do.

A high quality Turkey/Gamebird feed is great for raising chicks. You're adding the corn dilutes the protein down to about 18% mixture which is what a lot of companies formulate their complete lay ration at. But adding the corn also dilutes all the vitamin and mineral levels by 50%. Might check for a vitamin/mineral supplement that can be added to the drinking water. A bit pricey but if you could add some corn gluten meal (not CG Feed) to the mix it would really turn the egg yolks from light yellow to gold !!! But bugs will do that as well.

All good chicken feed contains a high percentage of corn. Seldom hurts a thing. Most feather loss is caused by parasites or before a hen is about ready to begin to incubate eggs. Diatomaceous earth is good for the parasite control.