Chicken feed contains all the essential nutrients required for optimal growth and function of its flock, including carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals.
Sprouted wheat or growing a green crop (not technically feed) are alternative solutions for feeding your flock. Many people also add calcium-rich supplements like aragonite or egg shells for additional nourishment.
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Shop Around
Just a little planning can go a long way towards cutting down your chicken feed by the ton costs. Check with local farms about selling bulk grain by pickup load or tote bag, significantly cutting costs in terms of chicken feed costs.
Don’t forget that chickens are omnivorous animals capable of gathering protein from various sources beyond just commercial feed. Chickens who can freely roam and free range, peck at insects and dig for bugs can produce healthier eggs than those only receiving nourishment through commercial food sources.
Store your chicken food in feeders that hold two types of feed: whole grain in one and the rest in another. Chickens often throw away what they don’t want by tossing it aside or grabbing at other options, so by feeding in separate feeders you can save some money and reduce wastefulness. Incorporating low sodium chicken broth, apple juice or herbal tea into their diet for additional nutritional support may also help.
Make Your Own Feed
Homemade chicken feed can be easy and more economical than buying pre-mixed feed, however it may not be suitable for confined flocks who cannot free-range. Homemade mixes often lack minerals and vitamins necessary for healthy laying hens that rely heavily on soil nutrients; some owners supplement these supplies with products like Nutri-Drench or Poultry Nutri Balancer in order to ensure that their flock are receiving sufficient nutrition.
Homemade chicken feed ingredients typically include cracked corn, oats and barley; many people also include kitchen scraps such as vegetable peelings and egg shells in their mix. If mixing your own feed, be sure to separate each ingredient using feeder troughs – otherwise chickens may waste it by throwing away what they don’t want for one they do want!
Don’t Waste Table Scraps
Relying on table scraps to supplement chicken feed dilutes its nutritional balance and could potentially cause health problems in your birds. Make sure they receive only what they require – nothing extra!
Chickens were not meant to consume grain; in their native habitats they grazed on grasses, grubs, and leaves for sustenance. Commercial feed is tailored specifically towards producing healthy, productive birds; too many scraps may lead to them not finishing off their daily ration and potentially forcing you to purchase additional feed than necessary.
Mill has invented an innovative bin that transforms food waste into feed for chickens, potentially mitigating billions of tons of greenhouse gas pollution caused by decomposing waste in landfills or growing crops for animal feed production. They also aim to save aspiring chicken farmers money on purchasing expensive bagged feed – it remains to be seen if their efforts will succeed or fail.
Compost Your Waste
There are various methods for composting table scraps. One option, for gardeners specifically, would be using the compost as fertilizer for plants; that way they’ll receive nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium essential for growth.
Create a worm bin or another vermicomposting system and feed your kitchen scraps directly to the worms; in return they’ll turn the scraps into compost which you can then use in your garden.
Mill is another option, providing members with high-tech bins to collect scraps instead of sending them straight to landfill. Once filled, members return it through a pre-paid box to Mill so it can be turned into chicken feed.
Establishing this kind of system takes some effort, but can save a great deal in feed costs over time – as well as keep your chickens happy and healthy.
