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

[HollowOfWisps]

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

I’m just here to say that if you want your chickens to a live long and healthy life do NOT follow advice on YouTube or blogs.

 

[Sic]

Beach Beaks.

Lol, now I have a new nickname for them, thanks!

 

[Shadrach]

Lol, now I have a new nickname for them, thanks!

Back to the food topic, I imagine they get quite a high proportion of seafood in their diet. Have you noticed any preferences?

 

[Sic]

Have you submitted this picture for the BYC chicken calendar? That’s probably the prettiest chicken picture I have ever seen. Sorry to go off track…

I'm not sure a picture of chicken butts is going to get a lot of love

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

I’m just here to say that if you want your chickens to live long and healthy life do NOT follow advice on YouTube or blogs.

ok, I will take that advise

 

[Sic]

Back to the food topic, I imagine they get quite a high proportion of seafood in their diet. Have you noticed any preferences?

Yes, they eat an astronomical amount of amphipods, aka beach bugs, mostly those commonly referred to as beach fleas, found in the seaweed at the high water mark - that is the favored spot.

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

Yes, you can use that for laying hens. So many of the simpler' recipes don't account for the micro nutrients- only macros and the fiber and digestibility are obsolete.

I have been hearing from chikcens owners in clinic and in the lab for over ten years- they always say 'I am going to free range' (and there is a difference between pasture raised, free range, and cage free).

• Pasture-Raised: Chickens live mostly outdoors with access to fresh pasture, where they can forage naturally. This is the most natural and spacious option, but it's not not often possible for 'backyard chickens'.
• Free-Range: Chickens are kept mostly indoors or in the coop but have some access to the outdoors. Outdoor time may be limited and space can vary greatly.
• Cage-Free: Chickens are not kept in cages, but they live entirely indoors or in a coop, usually in large barns. They can move around but have no outdoor access.

In short:

• Pasture-raised = outdoor life
• Free-range = limited outdoor access
• Cage-free = no cages, but indoors only

People end up building coops, that are by definition the 'cage free/free range' variety (2ish sq ft per bird of space) with the intention of allowing the birds to graze.

What ends up happening, 6ish times out of ten, is the 'free range' becomes more and more limited, especially when human life gets complicated with work, school, kids, relationships, emotional turmoil, predators, etc. My husband jokes that my chickens especially are like goats- they will mow and destroy plants to the root. Then dig up the roots for bugs. So the grazing area needs constant replenishing.

The diet I am working with above, has been put through rigorous testing, and is being implemented in three backyard chicken keepers for application. Their major complaint? To make your own feed, and follow proper protocol with replanting fodder, etc is expensive and more time consuming than picking up a back of feed. In essence, a combination is great of a simpler feed recipe (but lacking in micronutirents however, and not balanced in macros), feeding safe chicken scraps (those with good sources of magnesium like legumes (cooked or 'sprouted'), dark leafy greens etc but those are anti-nutrients.... which is a whole different story and why simple recipes are inadequate), sprinkling a little commercial feed on occasion and keeping a wide range of fodder and calcium rich grit.

Because as someone mentioned- I am complicated, because as a scientist who specializes in avian nutrition- we are perfectionists to a fault

so, to be clear, I could feed my hens the recipe (with calcium) above as their only source of food (apart from foraging and kitchen scraps)? Providing fodder is best but not required? Let me know if I got anything wrong!

 

[Shadrach]

Yes, they eat an astronomical amount of amphipods, aka beach bugs, mostly those commonly referred to as beach fleas, found in the seaweed at the high water mark - that is the favored spot.

Hmmm, high protein, 35% average and medium fat. When I cared for free range chickens the fat intake was way above the fat in commercial feeds, but there are good fats and bad fats and from what I could see, good fats were what they tended to favour.

 

[Shadrach]

so, to be clear, I could feed my hens the recipe (with calcium) above as their only source of food (apart from foraging and kitchen scraps)? Providing fodder is best but not required? Let me know if I got anything wrong!

It really isn't that simple. One needs to start with the chicken. Are they high production birds?
As mentioned above there is ranging and free ranging and what they range on has a massive impact on the nutrients they can get from forage. So, how much room do they have and what types of vegitation is there they can access?
Your chicks need some calcium, less than 1% of their total feed intake is a fair estimate. At point of lay pullets they'll need to boost that to around 4%.
If they lay large eggs then they'll need more food and more calcium.

The best advice given by HollowOfWisps with a small addition, is don't take advice from Utube, blogs, or chicken sites like this.
Do your reasearch. Learn about nutrition and then decide whether to make your own feed.

I don't feed commercial feed.

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

It really isn't that simple. One needs to start with the chicken. Are they high production birds?
As mentioned above there is ranging and free ranging and what they range on has a massive impact on the nutrients they can get from forage. So, how much room do they have and what types of vegitation is there they can access?
Your chicks need some calcium, less than 1% of their total feed intake is a fair estimate. At point of lay pullets they'll need to boost that to around 4%.
If they lay large eggs then they'll need more food and more calcium.

The best advice given by HollowOfWisps with a small addition, is don't take advice from Utube, blogs, or chicken sites like this.
Do your reasearch. Learn about nutrition and then decide whether to make your own feed.

I don't feed commercial feed.

I have 2 high production hens (ISA Browns) who are 4 years old and then I have all other heritage breeds who lay large eggs but not as big as my ISA Browns lay.
The only vegetation they have access to in the summer is grass, sprouts from their spilled feed, strawberry bushes, and a large raspberry bush. They also have access to a compost that they can dig and forage in.
Here are some pictures of their run (in the winter):