Chicken Feed Recipes, Articles and Systems

[Lauravonsmurf]

The text goes on to state some poultry farms put wheat bran and beef scraps in separate hoppers and that and greens from free ranging is what they fed. The heavy use of meat scraps in these old recipes is probably where a lot of nutrients are coming from nit found in grains.

The text points out the need for greens to get eggs. Suggest a kettle be kept in which using a meat grinder, the family grinds up all table scraps and feed it to the hens. Mentions mustard and salt being added to mash. The need for grit, and oyster shell. Charcoal was considered important to offer. Alfalfa and clover are mentioned as excellent greens. There is a page missing in the text I read, but based on the remaining text, it appeared to be instructions for building something to sprout the greens in probably related to the photo of the sprouted… the goes on to talk about “lengths and boiling water over them.” So I think it discussed growing the sprouts harvesting them and drying them for use during winter especially since the text goes on to explain who to harvest grass for the same. Basically spread your lawn clippings out on burlap or feed bags in the Sun and let it dry till the crackle in your hand. Then store in barrels or bags for winter, steam or soak and feed.

Suggested plants to grow for different seasons lettuce, cabbage, mangel wurzel beets, Dwarf Essex rape, Swiss Chard, and kale.

It suggested sowing some oats within a box with meshing on top that as the oats grow tall enough the chickens can access.

Frequency of feeding; text suggested 2 to 3 times, though mentioned some farms up to 5 times.

Note as pointed out in previous posts on this thread… some of these feeding plans may be in need of nutritional adjustment or not practical.

The Home Poultry Book by Edward I. Farrington, 1913

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

This is a great thread!
I have been studying poultry nutrition for a few years now. The first book I read was Feeding Poultry by G. Hueser.

https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.139923

I like Principles of feeding Poultry. Principles are more useful than recipes that are unlikely to suit the ingredients I have available. Three things stick out for me, one the use of meat and bone scraps no longer used in commercial feed. I use Hi Pro all vegetable ration. It relies on soy, canola and pea protein with added synthetic methionine to create a balanced and complete amino acid profile. I know chickens are not vegetarian but I am. So I have no meat that I can or will feed them!
The Principles article correctly points out the role of insects in furnishing animal protein in the diet. It also correctly identifies the fact that there are NO insects available in the winter. Two no green feed is available either. So my chickens get a vegetarian diet all winter on commercial ration! They clearly do not prosper in the same way as during the growing season.
Three skim milk is identified as being an animal protein source that can replace meat scraps in a ration. This is the first time I have seen this stated so succinctly. The only downside to milk is its water content which tends to over dilution of the protein.
This winter I am feeding a fermented mash of 18 % laying ration blended from cracked wheat, oyster shell and Hi Pro 36% poultry supplement. One third of all the chicken feed in Canada is made by blending grain with this product. I mix the ration with skim milk powder to add another 2 % protein and 1% protein added in the form of alfalfa pellets that furnish green feed without the drawbacks of sprouting grain. That’s a 21 % ration, something that I cannot buy here. Through the months of December and January my three hens have been laying 2-3 eggs a day. I think it’s working!

Thank you for the information and resource link. Yes I’ve come across milk and buttermilk in some old texts as well. I have also heard of yogurt and cottage cheese bring added to diets too.

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

Currently the purchased feed I use and tweak as needed

The ingredients of the feed I buy

​

Organic Wheat,whole, Organic Canola Meal, Organic Peas, Organic Sunflower Seed,whole, Organic Sesame Meal, Organic Oats,whole, Organic Barley,whole, Ground Limestone, Organic Milo,whole, Organic Sun-dried Alfalfa Pellets, Organic Wheat Millrun, Organic Flaxseed, Monocalcium Phosphate, Diatomaceous Earth, Organic Kelp,dried, Hydrated Sodium Calcium Aluminosilicate, Sodium Aluminosilicate, Salt, DL-Methionine, Organic Flavors(Garlic, Horseradish, Anise Oil, Juniper Berries Oil), Choline Chloride, Hydrolyzed Yeast, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Niacin Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, d-alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Riboflavin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride Dried Talaromyces Versatilis Fermentation Product, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Menadione Nicotinamide Bisulfite, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Folic Acid, Biotin.

When I could not get corn free feed (note I am not anti corn but birds I was keeping corn is linked to a medical issue that kills so I had to get creative as at the time no one in the area carried corn free)

Wild Bird with Sunflower seed mix, no corn
Black Sunflower
Alfalfa (if using pellets I had to make sure it had no corn)
Paddy Rice
Cooked Rice various types
Wheat
Barley
Oats
Kelp
Oyster Shell
Flax Seed
Red Pepper
Lentils
Peas
Dried and Fresh fruit
Fresh Vegetables
Egg Shell
Cooked Egg
Cat Food
Fish
Meat Scraps
Table Scraps
Poultry Vitamins
Herbs
Worms/Insects
Pasta

There’s more as the feed mix was based on what I could find at any given time from grocery store or feed store. Cooked food, table left overs where fed and is still fed. One main difference between then and now is back then the family was eating meat so chickens got meat scraps too. Now we don’t eat meat so if I had to mix totally from scratch I would be reformulating what I used. Also I keep learning new stuff.

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

Use of Palm Oil Study in Broiler Feed

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

Palm wine yeast and yogurt Broiler Diets

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

Are you not allowed to feed meat meal/blood meal to your back yard chickens in the US/Europe?
Most bagged feed here doesn't have it (except one brand) but it is readily available to be added to own-mixed feeds. I use it as an essential component in my feed recipe.

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

Are you not allowed to feed meat meal/blood meal to your back yard chickens in the US/Europe?
Most bagged feed here doesn't have it (except one brand) but it is readily available to be added to own-mixed feeds. I use it as an essential component in my feed recipe.

I feed my birds what I want, they get to hunt down all the worms and bugs they want. If they need more protein I find something that works and give it to them. I have not heard of any big law issue where I am, but people are always trying to over regulate everything to the point of absurd.

Once an inspector shut down a kid’s summer lemonade stand and ticketed them for not having a license or proper facilities to make lemonade, in my area. Yes, they traumatized a little elementary kid, adults polity had been buying the lemonade, driving off and dumping it, including the police, sherif and fire department. So no one was in danger over a Dixie cup of 25 cent lemonade. Needless to say it made the news, everyone here was peeved off over that nonsense as it was a clear bonehead misuse of authority and regulations. Everyone started calling and complaining including other county departments that it was a misuse of the law. The county department responsible actually tried to defend it, even tried dragging in the tax revenue people in when the public was not swayed by health and safety risks… apparently the tax folks where smart enough to say they wanted no part of auditing kid lemonade stands. No one is sending kids to first offender programs or willing to take kids to court over juice stands or be the tax guy making an eight year old cry because they made 5 dollars selling lemonade and didn’t know how to do taxes.

I attempted to find laws on the USA end, didn’t find anything really. I figure it is cheaper and easier for everyone if the mills make animal free feeds. There maybe an issue with Kosher feeding rules too for the chicken meat to be considered Kosher. I think the chickens can not be fed animal meats for it be Kosher. I think there is a rule against feeding or eating stuff made of animal blood for example. So it is probably easier for all parties concerned to not use certain animal byproducts anymore.

I think it depends on your country though.

Guess the UK thinks backyard chickens will die or get diseases if someone feeds them table scraps, when for years it was normal practice. Which if the scraps are boiled and cooked properly should not happen.

Below is a WWII poster from Great Britain. Sorry UK, but if it’s any comfort the micromanagers are everywhere, convinced they always know best and we all need to be dependent on them.

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

I feed my birds what I want, they get to hunt down all the worms and bugs they want. If they need more protein I find something that works and give it to them. I have not heard of any big law issue where I am, but people are always trying to over regulate everything to the point of absurd.

Once an inspector shut down a kid’s summer lemonade stand and ticketed them for not having a license or proper facilities to make lemonade, in my area. Yes, they traumatized a little elementary kid, adults polity had been buying the lemonade, driving off and dumping it, including the police, sherif and fire department. So no one was in danger over a Dixie cup of 25 cent lemonade. Needless to say it made the news, everyone here was peeved off over that nonsense as it was a clear bonehead misuse of authority and regulations. Everyone started calling and complaining including other county departments that it was a misuse of the law. The county department responsible actually tried to defend it, even tried dragging in the tax revenue people in when the public was not swayed by health and safety risks… apparently the tax folks where smart enough to say they wanted no part of auditing kid lemonade stands. No one is sending kids to first offender programs or willing to take kids to court over juice stands or be the tax guy making an eight year old cry because they made 5 dollars selling lemonade and didn’t know how to do taxes.

I attempted to find laws on the USA end, didn’t find anything really. I figure it is cheaper and easier for everyone if the mills make animal free feeds. There maybe an issue with Kosher feeding rules too for the chicken meat to be considered Kosher. I think the chickens can not be fed animal meats for it be Kosher. I think there is a rule against feeding or eating stuff made of animal blood for example. So it is probably easier for all parties concerned to not use certain animal byproducts anymore.

I think it depends on your country though.

Guess the UK thinks backyard chickens will die or get diseases if someone feeds them table scraps, when for years it was normal practice. Which if the scraps are boiled and cooked properly should not happen.

Below is a WWII poster from Great Britain. Sorry UK, but if it’s any comfort the micromanagers are everywhere, convinced they always know best and we all need to be dependent on them.

View attachment 2983956

Love that poster! Ok so it's more of a guideline thing and not an actual rule. I'm pretty sure even commercial flocks are legally allowed to feed animal by products here (New Zealand, sorry realized I didn't clarify that). They don't do that, I'm sure due to cost, but you can if you want to. However you are considered a commercial flock once you have 100 or more birds and sell the eggs, and that comes with so much regulation you'd best be careful to only keep 99.

 

[raingarden]

It doesn't matter if it is allowed or not when there is no way to access blood meal, bone meal, feather meal, dried meat scraps and such for backyard use.

I'm thinking it is possible up-cycle our vermin like mice, rats, sparrows, doves, etc. That plus the waste from butchering chickens could provide enough animal protein to mix with various grain meal and a vitamin/mineral premix to create a complete ration. All that's needed is a process that is safe and not too disgusting. It would require masceration, heat sterilization, extrusion and drying.

Do you remember the old Bass-O-Matic skit from Saturday Night Live? Grind up the carcasses and heat/cook that slurry with grain meal to kill microbes and glutenize the starches until it is a stiff mash. Mix in the vitamins and minerals as it cools. The mash can be extruded through a meat grinder to make pettets and then sun dried. Or, it could be refrigerated and fed as a moist pellet. It works for homemade fish food and can work for poultry.

Someday, poultry feed could be made with synthetic meat grown in a tissue culture lab. It is already technically feasible but is far from cost effective.

One thing we already have is nutritional yeast grown in a bioreactor. It is pretty amazing stuff. Nutritional yeast is almost 50% protein. By comparison, beef steak is 26% protein. Nutritional yeast can be engineered to have any amino acid profile desired. It tastes like cheese to me and birds seem to like it as well. Nutritional yeast is expesive too, but not so expensive that it can't be sprinkled on feed to boost protein and palatability.

 

[Perris]

I feed my birds what I want, they get to hunt down all the worms and bugs they want. If they need more protein I find something that works and give it to them. I have not heard of any big law issue where I am, but people are always trying to over regulate everything to the point of absurd.

Once an inspector shut down a kid’s summer lemonade stand and ticketed them for not having a license or proper facilities to make lemonade, in my area. Yes, they traumatized a little elementary kid, adults polity had been buying the lemonade, driving off and dumping it, including the police, sherif and fire department. So no one was in danger over a Dixie cup of 25 cent lemonade. Needless to say it made the news, everyone here was peeved off over that nonsense as it was a clear bonehead misuse of authority and regulations. Everyone started calling and complaining including other county departments that it was a misuse of the law. The county department responsible actually tried to defend it, even tried dragging in the tax revenue people in when the public was not swayed by health and safety risks… apparently the tax folks where smart enough to say they wanted no part of auditing kid lemonade stands. No one is sending kids to first offender programs or willing to take kids to court over juice stands or be the tax guy making an eight year old cry because they made 5 dollars selling lemonade and didn’t know how to do taxes.

I attempted to find laws on the USA end, didn’t find anything really. I figure it is cheaper and easier for everyone if the mills make animal free feeds. There maybe an issue with Kosher feeding rules too for the chicken meat to be considered Kosher. I think the chickens can not be fed animal meats for it be Kosher. I think there is a rule against feeding or eating stuff made of animal blood for example. So it is probably easier for all parties concerned to not use certain animal byproducts anymore.

I think it depends on your country though.

Guess the UK thinks backyard chickens will die or get diseases if someone feeds them table scraps, when for years it was normal practice. Which if the scraps are boiled and cooked properly should not happen.

Below is a WWII poster from Great Britain. Sorry UK, but if it’s any comfort the micromanagers are everywhere, convinced they always know best and we all need to be dependent on them.

View attachment 2983956

this is the official UK position, with reasons
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/...craps-to-farm-animals-because-of-disease-risk
Lots of people are trying to get it changed now we're out the EU and can make our own laws again, but it's a slow process and the commercial feed makers are probably lobbying hard against it.