Homemade chicken feed can be both fun and economical; you just need to know which ingredients will provide your flock with optimal nourishment.
Broilers require high protein requirements that may be costly to satisfy with homemade diets, while layer breeds require calcium supplementation in order to build strong egg shells.
Contents
Protein
Chickens require protein for growth and egg production. Unfortunately, their bodies cannot produce the amino acids lysine and methionine naturally so they must get them from their diet.
Home made feed mixes may contain more protein than commercial rations; however, to reduce sudden changes to their diet it’s essential that these new additions be gradually mixed into their old one.
Premade feeds such as pellets and crumbles undergo processing such as cracking, mashing and heating that compromise their nutritional value. Whole grain diets that have not been processed tend to be easier for flocks to digest.
Sprouting the grains unlocks their nutrition for easier absorption by your body. You can do this in a bowl or make them into an easily mixed meal that you can add into feed mixes.
Carbohydrates
Carbs are essential to chicken nutrition, providing energy needed to walk, feed themselves and maintain stable body temperatures. Cereal grains such as wheat, corn, rye, barley and millet provide sufficient carbohydrates.
Chickens require protein for healthy growth. Since chickens cannot produce amino acids that make up protein on their own, it must come from food.
Chickens require other essential nutrients as well, including vitamins and minerals. Brewer’s yeast provides protein and B Vitamin richness while sunflower seeds contain magnesium and copper for maximum efficiency in homemade poultry feed recipes. Both sources make excellent additions.
Fats
Making homemade chicken feed is an outstanding way to ensure the wellbeing of your flock and provide them with natural and nutritionally dense diet. Depending on their breed or nutritional requirements, key components should be included when creating their formula.
Peanut meal is a popular ingredient among poultry farmers, providing both protein and carbohydrates. Furthermore, peanut meal provides essential linoleic acid which supports cell membrane health as well as hormone production.
Brewer’s yeast provides an excellent source of protein and B vitamins. Laying hens require calcium supplements for healthy egg laying; oyster shell or crushed up eggshells provide this supplementation option to save you money when supplementing chicken feed products with calcium supplements. By recycling waste, this allows you to save both time and money!
Minerals
Chickens need various minerals in order to remain healthy, such as calcium (from eggshells, limestone, oyster shells or aragonite), iron, magnesium phosphorous and potassium.
Addition of ingredients like kelp meal, molasses and sunflower seeds can help meet the mineral needs of your flock. When possible it is advantageous to shop local for grains and feed components as these may be cheaper or contain fewer chemicals.
Domestic poultry of non-picky breeds will generally accept homemade feed with little fuss, depending on its quality and ingredients available to you. Proper storage requires placing it somewhere cool, dry, vermin free; for ease of storage use an airtight container placed in your fridge in order to slow spoilage.
Vitamins
Chickens need a healthy balance of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals in their diet to thrive; the exact amounts depend on the breed (broilers or layers), age and environment of each flock member.
Broiler flocks require higher protein and energy than laying flocks, which will dictate how the grains in their feed mix are distributed.
Vitamins found in poultry feed include fat-soluble Vitamin A, D and E and water-soluble B vitamins such as Biotin, Riboflavin and Niacin. Biotin plays an essential role in carbohydrate metabolism as well as hormone production while Niacin helps cellular health, bone development and blood-clotting processes. Thiamine provides carbohydrate metabolism support as an antioxidant – typically found in brewer’s yeast cereal grains soybean or peanut meal products.
