Homemade chicken feed can be an economical and hassle-free way to ensure that you know exactly what’s going into the diet of your flock, while providing you with an opportunity to create personalized recipes just for them.
Most hens won’t mind transitioning from commercial feed to homemade, though certain breeds may require patience and encouragement to eat it.
Contents
Protein
Chickens require a nutritious blend of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins in their diet to remain healthy. Utilizing recipes which incorporate all five building blocks is the ideal way to ensure that your flock receives all the nutrition it requires.
Proteins are complex molecules made up of amino acids. Since chickens don’t produce their own amino acids, they must ingest them from food sources in order to live and thrive.
Protein-rich grains like wheat, corn and fish meal provide your chickens with essential nutrition. Flax seeds provide omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins and minerals. Oyster shell calcium supplement is another great addition that promotes strong eggshells. You may also wish to provide free-choice grit containing minerals – particularly phosphorus for maintaining strong bones and teeth in their flock.
Carbohydrates
To ensure the wellbeing of your laying hens, they require a balanced diet consisting of protein, carbohydrates and minerals. Protein plays an essential role in growth and repair processes and should account for approximately 16% of their diet (for optimal hen health).
Oats provide energy to your flock and are an excellent source of carbs – you can use any combination of groats, steel-cut oats and rolled oats without worrying about nutritional differences – they all work equally well!
Minerals are also essential, and your feed should contain calcium supplements like aragonite or crushed egg shells to support healthy eggshells for laying chickens. You could also supplement their meal with additional minerals from kelp, fish meal, or fish kelp meal for even more minerals and added support for their eggshell health. Water plays an essential role in keeping them hydrated as well as cooling them when stressed or panting occurs.
Fats
Chicken feed should contain five essential elements to provide your flock with essential nutrition: carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. When you make your own feed for your flock, you can be certain they’re getting all of these vital elements.
Homemade chicken feed remains more nutrient rich and fresh compared to commercially made pellets or crumbles which undergo cracking, crushing and heating processes, saving both money and giving you the chance to add supplements such as kitchen scraps or mealworms to their diets.
As you put together your chicken feed ingredients, keep in mind that laying hens require 17 percent protein in their feed. However, you can easily increase this percentage by including food items like mealworms, pasture grass or kitchen scraps as part of their daily regiment.
Minerals
Chickens need a balanced mix of minerals for optimal health, from legumes and oilseeds to animal sources like meat.
Feeding your flock yourself can save money while also providing them with top quality ingredients. In addition, making homemade feed allows you to ensure their diet remains free from chemicals and fillers for an overall healthier experience.
When making homemade chicken feed, it’s essential that the mix includes protein-rich legumes and oil seeds, vitamin-B-rich brewer’s yeast and calcium-rich sunflower seed for calcium intake, plus grit for digestive aid. This homemade ration should ideally suit layer chickens but it can also be fed to broilers.
Vitamins
Chickens require a range of essential vitamins for good health. These can come from their feed or supplementation from kitchen scraps; among the most essential are:
Chickens will get many of their necessary vitamins from their feed, but supplementation may be beneficial during harsh winter conditions or when flocks begin laying eggs. Vitamin deficiencies or excesses can be dangerous to poultry.
There are various vitamin premixes on the market which will supply all of the necessary vitamins to keep your chickens in top condition, such as:
