Is vegetable oil safe for chickens?

[rosemarythyme]

Thank you! I’m going to try this. Do you follow the 1/2 cup per chicken rule?

I don't actively measure. I have 4 dishes of varying sizes (I'll guesstimate and say it's a total of 3 cups in volume, and I have 10 hens) and my girls seem to take about 2-3 hours to finish them off, so I figure that's a good amount to set out in the morning.

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

85% of vegetable oil is from soybeans, if you're trying to get away from soy, that is something to keep in mind. It may be unavoidable if all feed contains vegetable oil though, labels are often misleading.

 

[Sally PB]

Do make sure they eat the fines in your feed. If they don't then i would wet or preferably ferment the feed.

I save that and use it for "Chickie Snack," which is the fines wetted into a mash. They love it.

It's the part they didn't want, with water added. Silly chickens!

 

[Bereshit]

I blitz the wet / fermented whole grains and serve twice a day. I live in the tropics. The feed doesn't go bad.

 

[GrAnnie624]

HI there!
Coyote Creek Feed Mill has a soy free layer pellet, in case managing moistened feed (which can go rancid if left too long) won't work out for you.
https://www.coyotecreekfarms.org/

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

With any whole-grain feed, chickens tend to pick out their favorite parts, leave the rest,

Does anyone else sometimes just want to pick them up and sit them at a table with a personal bowl and the instruction:

"Now you eat everything in your bowl, and then you can go play outside"

Yes pellets are easier, but the texture grains looks so much healthier... I make mash from the texture feeds, they pick less.

But I try to give pellets so the top and bottom pecking order birds are not getting very different nutrition

 

[aynesidea]

Interesting. Thank you for sharing! I'll make sure to watch for that. Do you know what I should watch for specifically that would indicate they may be malnourished?

I think if you see them leaving the same stuff and eating all the rest that would make for an unbalanced diet.