Making your own chicken feed can save money and boost independence – homesteaders have long relied on homemade feed rather than buying prepackaged layer pellets!
Chicken feed comes in different forms to meet each chicken’s individual dietary needs, including grower pellets for growth; layers mash or crumble for laying hens; breeders pellets aiding in reproduction cycles. All chickens require insoluble grit to digest their food properly.
Contents
Ingredients
While chickens are generally hardy creatures, they do need a nutritious and well-rounded diet in order to thrive. This should include grains as energy sources, protein for egg laying needs and calcium as a source, along with vitamins and minerals which support immune systems and other functions.
Finding ingredients that fit with the specific needs of your flock is the key to mixing your own feed, and this recipe was specifically developed for small backyard flocks using various grains as nourishment sources for their chickens.
This mix consists of wheat and kamut grains, both boasting high levels of protein (about 15%) that provide energy-rich nutrition to chickens. Rye provides more challenging digestibility; however, its fiber is excellent for digestive systems and good overall health. In addition, this recipe includes plant-based proteins like peanut meal which is made by grinding up dry peanut flakes with water to form a paste; chickens love it! This economical way of adding protein boost is highly appreciated!
Preparation
Picking out ingredients suitable for your flock’s specific type and life stage can be difficult, since different chicken breeds and stages require differing amounts of protein, energy, vitamins, and minerals.
Laying hens require 16-18% protein in their diets, which can be achieved by supplementing with such sources as soybean meal, fish meal or even meat scraps.
Food grinders can also help lower the costs associated with chicken feed by creating homemade pellets from raw grain, although you need to be mindful not to produce fine flour-like consistency that may cause digestion issues for your birds.
Calcium is another essential element of a balanced diet for chickens, and should be added either directly into their feed mix or offered freely as free-choice through recycled egg shells or grit. Calcium supports bone development and produces beautiful eggshells; additionally, you can supply vitamin-rich foods like fresh whole vegetables and insects such as mealworms or crickets as additional sources.
Storage
Buy ingredients in bulk can save money and require less storage space, however this requires large metal trash cans with lids to secure against rodents and the elements as a storage solution. Stackable containers may be beneficial in saving space.
Many of the foods we throw away, like lettuce, mushy berries and stale bread that end up in our compost piles can actually provide valuable nutrition for chickens! Feeding these items to your flock could reduce feed costs significantly!
Growing sprouts in your own kitchen using an easy sprouter is another fantastic source of protein for your chickens! Not only can they add extra vitamins that they may not otherwise get, they are an easy and convenient addition to their feed and also offer extra vitamin supplements they might be missing otherwise.
Feeding
Chickens require an array of essential nutrients in order to thrive. Protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals all play an essential role in their wellbeing. Making homemade feed mixes to meet these nutritional requirements for your flock is straightforward – chicks require higher protein concentration than mature hens for example.
Homemade chicken feed contains high-protein grains, kelp and flax seeds with an approximate protein percentage of 17 percent for laying hens.
To increase protein in your feed, try including quinoa, spelt, wild rice, buckwheat or kamut in its formulation. Roasted soybeans provide plenty of protein as well as essential fatty acids and vitamins; meat scraps and whey are also excellent sources. For soy-free diets, switch out soybean meal for canola or hemp meal instead.
