Homemade feed for my hens?? Better than commercial feed? More affordable? I need the truth!

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

Hello all, I have 11 hens (6 are pullets) and I want to make them a home-made feed but I want to be sure that it is balanced. All of my hens are used for eggs, not meat, and I want a feed that does not include calcium in the recipe because I want to be able to feed it to my pullets when they reach 8 wks of age, and to the older hens who aren't laying anymore. I will provide calcium sources in another feeder for all my layers. Does anyone have any recipes that have worked for their flock? I give them black soldier fly larvae as a treat a couple times a week and they have a large run with a compost they can eat bugs from. Also, is homemade feed generally more affordable than commercial feed?

Just comment if you need any other info about my flock

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I don’t know the answer to this question but I think I know someone who does and I will tag them for you. @U_Stormcrow

 

[ChaosMom]

Hello all, I have 11 hens (6 are pullets) and I want to make them a home-made feed but I want to be sure that it is balanced. All of my hens are used for eggs, not meat, and I want a feed that does not include calcium in the recipe because I want to be able to feed it to my pullets when they reach 8 wks of age, and to the older hens who aren't laying anymore. I will provide calcium sources in another feeder for all my layers. Does anyone have any recipes that have worked for their flock? I give them black soldier fly larvae as a treat a couple times a week and they have a large run with a compost they can eat bugs from. Also, is homemade feed generally more affordable than commercial feed?

Just comment if you need any other info about my flock

Will they have any opportunity to free range at all, even for just a couple of hours in the backyard with supervision?

 

[ChaosMom]

Also tagging @Perris

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

Will they have any opportunity to free range at all, even for just a couple of hours in the backyard with supervision?

I do let them out sometimes, but I live in a neighborhood so I worry about cars and I have two dogs, one chases them but never hurts them and the other has tried to kill them, so I have to be careful when I let them out. I am working on training my dogs with the chickens so when I finish with that, they will be let out a lot more. They do have a very large run, though.

 

[Perris]

Hello all, I have 11 hens (6 are pullets) and I want to make them a home-made feed but I want to be sure that it is balanced. All of my hens are used for eggs, not meat, and I want a feed that does not include calcium in the recipe because I want to be able to feed it to my pullets when they reach 8 wks of age, and to the older hens who aren't laying anymore. I will provide calcium sources in another feeder for all my layers. Does anyone have any recipes that have worked for their flock? I give them black soldier fly larvae as a treat a couple times a week and they have a large run with a compost they can eat bugs from. Also, is homemade feed generally more affordable than commercial feed?

Just comment if you need any other info about my flock

this is what I do, for a mixed breed and age flock
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...eat-tears-a-calculator-or-deep-pockets.78655/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/wholesome-homemade-feed-2.79307/
and this is what it cost me (and their eggs earned me) last year
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...g-money-keeping-poultry.1162786/post-28476623

 

[CabritaChicks]

My two cents?

Feathers are made almost entirely of a tough, fibrous protein called beta-keratin, the same material found in beaks and reptile scales. While calcium is not for feather development in pullets, they need it to produce feathers as the body works in sequence.

While feathers don’t require calcium, a bird’s skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems do, and this is especially true for growing chicks and pullets, or young hens preparing for lay. A calcium-deficient diet can lead to rickets, skeletal deformities, weakness, poor development and even the whirlies, and in laying birds, soft-shelled or shell-less eggs, egg binding, and even death.

Yet, in some small-scale or budget-conscious chicken-keeping communities and food comapnies who dont want to dish out the dough...there's an unfounded fear surrounding calcium-rich feeds (note the studies on this subject, are subject). Some avoid offering proper calcium out of worry it’s expensive or unnecessary. This misunderstanding is not only dangerous—it’s inhumane.

You can’t have a diet void of calcium—I would know—I'm a scientist currently studying this, and I’m actively working to debunk the myth that calcium is a costly or optional part of a chicken’s diet. In truth, properly balanced feed—whether layer, grower, or chick formula—is carefully calculated to provide what birds need without

Depending on your soil- it may contain adequate calcium- and there is a tiny bit in insects exoskeleton. But you need to let them out often.

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

this is what I do, for a mixed breed and age flock
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...eat-tears-a-calculator-or-deep-pockets.78655/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/wholesome-homemade-feed-2.79307/
and this is what it cost me (and their eggs earned me) last year
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...g-money-keeping-poultry.1162786/post-28476623

Does this specific recipe look good to you? I found it on Youtube.

• 20 lbs Whole Oats
• 20 lbs Black Oil Sunflower Seeds
• 10 lbs Flax Seeds
• 10 lbs Split Peas
• 5 lbs Sesame Seeds

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

My two cents?

Feathers are made almost entirely of a tough, fibrous protein called beta-keratin, the same material found in beaks and reptile scales. While calcium is not for feather development in pullets, they need it to produce feathers as the body works in sequence.

While feathers don’t require calcium, a bird’s skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems do, and this is especially true for growing chicks and pullets, or young hens preparing for lay. A calcium-deficient diet can lead to rickets, skeletal deformities, weakness, poor development and even the whirlies, and in laying birds, soft-shelled or shell-less eggs, egg binding, and even death.

Yet, in some small-scale or budget-conscious chicken-keeping communities and food comapnies who dont want to dish out the dough...there's an unfounded fear surrounding calcium-rich feeds (note the studies on this subject, are subject). Some avoid offering proper calcium out of worry it’s expensive or unnecessary. This misunderstanding is not only dangerous—it’s inhumane.

You can’t have a diet void of calcium—I would know—I'm a scientist currently studying this, and I’m actively working to debunk the myth that calcium is a costly or optional part of a chicken’s diet. In truth, properly balanced feed—whether layer, grower, or chick formula—is carefully calculated to provide what birds need without waste, and calcium is non-negotiable for life and welfare.

Im totally open to feeding my chicks calcium, I have just heard it's not good for them. They currently eat the Cluck and Co. Chick Starter (they are 5 wks old). How my calcium would they need in addition to that?

 

[CabritaChicks]

Im totally open to feeding my chicks calcium, I have just heard it's not good for them. They currently eat the Cluck and Co. Chick Starter (they are 5 wks old). How my calcium would they need in addition to that?

If you are feeding chick starter, then it has calcium. But if you are making 'home made' then it needs a balance