- Jan 4, 2016
- 50
- 89
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After years of trying to make an affordable homemade layer ration I finally hit on a recipe that is working smashingly well for my small flock. The key, for me, is using animal proteins and fats rather than plant-based ones and it just happens that I have identified sources for meat and fish for free. We have always fed our chickens meat scraps from the kitchen and butchering scraps when we have had them, but we have never had a good method for portioning them out. What usually happens is that I bag up the scraps during butchering and then dole them out in large quantities which is very imprecise in terms of the chickens' nutritional needs.
We finally purchased an electric meat grinder this year for early deer season and that made all the difference! All of a sudden I can grind the meat, fat, and organs and then mix them together in small plastic containers in amounts suitable for 1-2 days of meals. Total game changer! I fill the freezer with as much of this mix as I can fit in it and then take out one container at a time to thaw for the next days' feeding.
I was already raising mealworms, dubia roaches, composting worms, and isopods as pets and as feeders for other pets and the chickens have been getting some of those along with fermented grains and seeds but it has been difficult to raise enough insects to feed all eight of my chickens consistently, but with the grinder I can now mix and match depending on what meat/fat I have on hand to ensure that the chickens get exactly what they need.
The grain/seed portion of the ration consists of some combination of the following- corn, field peas, wheat, barley, oats, triticale, rye, and sunflower seeds. I use a feed calculator to balance the ration and I do not always use every ingredient in every mix. I like to change things up in order to ensure that my birds don't get bored with the food, and also to ensure that they are getting a nice variety of nutrients. I measure out a little under 1/4 pound of this mixture for each bird and ferment that- except sunflower seeds, which I add in at feeding time. When I get ready to take the feed out to the barn I add in the day's ration of meat/fat/insects in whatever amount they need in order to get them to the correct levels of protein and fat. I do not try to calculate other nutrients like amino acids, vitamins, and minerals because while I was researching poultry nutrition it became apparent that all of those would be present in sufficient quantities once I mixed everything together, especially with the animal proteins.
The animal proteins that I use most often include venison, beef, chicken (cooked), and fish. I get all of those for free. In the winter I have an abundance of animal parts because after hunting season I collect deer heads and other body parts and store them in a 55 gallon barrel out in my barn- this only works when the temps are cold enough to freeze them right away. Some years it is too hot during hunting season and I cannot utilize this fabulous resource. But in a good year....
The beef portion consists mostly of bone marrow along with some suet and occasional meaty bones. I use the meaty bones to make bone broth and then save all of the meaty bits for the chickens. I also make a lot of chicken bone broth so same deal- I save the cooked bits of chickens for the flock. The fish component is used in smaller quantities, unless the flock is molting, at which time I add more fish. I save whatever fish parts are left when our family goes fishing and I also get a few carp and catfish for free from other fishermen so no cost for this great source of protein. One other source is crayfish, which I trap- for human consumption, not chickens, lol, but like the beef and chicken bones, I boil the crayfish shells and save any bits and pieces for the chickens.
The biggest limiting factor for me in providing this ration inexpensively is lack of freezer space in which to store meat at the time of year when I can get lots of it for free. I have thought about canning some meat to feed later in the year when I run out of what is in the freezer, but that is more effort than I want to put in at this time. That could change, but more likely is that I will simply adjust the ration to include more insect/bug protein and fat during those times, and maybe more from plant sources- although I believe that the animal parts are more easily and thoroughly digestible for the chickens, plus they offer more of the nutrients that I want my flock to have. But I think I can figure it out if I am resourceful enough!
This is the recipe for this weeks' ration-
2 parts corn
2 parts wheat
2 parts field peas
1 part oats
1 part venison muscle meat
1 part deer liver
1/2 part barley
1/10 part venison suet
** 1/2 part +/- fruit/berries
I have sources for free fruits and berries for "most" of the year. I add them when I have them, in whatever combination I get, but that is probably 75-80% of the time. The rest of the time they just go without. This all works out to a little under 18% protein and a little over 4% fat (not including the fruits/berries), which is perfect for this time of year in our cold climate (Minnesota). I have just shut the flock in the barn for the winter so this is mostly what they will be eating for awhile. If we have a nice sunny day here and there I will let them back out, but for all practical purposes they are finished with foraging until snow melt. During warm weather they have outside access at all times so they can come and go at their leisure.
Along with their daily ration the flock has grit, powdered eggshells and ground up crayfish shells for calcium, Redmond Conditioner, Redmond Mineral Salt, kelp, and garlic powder available free choice inside the coop. I do not include any of that in their ration because I prefer to let them select what they want/need when they want/need it. Because I have a greenhouse and can grow herbs and salad greens all winter my flock often gets trimmings from those plants- mainly as a treat and not enough to throw off the values in the ration- much, lol. And of course, kitchen scraps, which I don't even try to figure in because they are so random and change all of the time- and they get small quantities because we don't have a lot of food waste to give them.
Aside from free meat/fish/fruit/berries I am able to save some $$ by purchasing all of my grains/seeds direct from farmers in our area. I have not calculated the cost yet, partly because the ingredients change so much, but also because I originally purchased some grain products (mainly rye, triticale, oats, and wheat) to sprout for my six guinea pigs. I discovered that the wheat sprouts much better than the other grains and so I stopped growing the others for the guinea pigs and gave what was left of those other grains to the chickens, and I did not weigh the bags at that time so no idea of how much I have spent this time around. When I buy more I will work out the cost. But I can say that I pay between $8 and $12 for a 50 pound bag depending on what the grain is. This is for some organic and some transitional (grown organically but not certified organic) grain and this is quite a bit less expensive than buying a bag of commercial layer pellets, and I believe that the quality is much higher.
If I was going to give any advice on making homemade chicken feed it would be this- find or create a good feed calculator and use that to plug your ingredients into to make sure that your flock is getting the correct nutrients in the correct ratios. I love mine and it affords me the flexibility of making rapid changes as my available ingredients change. I use it almost weekly in order to utilize whatever ingredients I have on hand or need to get out of my freezer.
eta: almost forgot to mention treats. I don't really give my flock treats, unless it is a handful of live mealworms or a few bits of greens/herbs, which I can give without completely throwing off the ratios of their ration- it just raises the percentages of fat and protein by a little- but still within what I consider to be an appropriate range.
We finally purchased an electric meat grinder this year for early deer season and that made all the difference! All of a sudden I can grind the meat, fat, and organs and then mix them together in small plastic containers in amounts suitable for 1-2 days of meals. Total game changer! I fill the freezer with as much of this mix as I can fit in it and then take out one container at a time to thaw for the next days' feeding.
I was already raising mealworms, dubia roaches, composting worms, and isopods as pets and as feeders for other pets and the chickens have been getting some of those along with fermented grains and seeds but it has been difficult to raise enough insects to feed all eight of my chickens consistently, but with the grinder I can now mix and match depending on what meat/fat I have on hand to ensure that the chickens get exactly what they need.
The grain/seed portion of the ration consists of some combination of the following- corn, field peas, wheat, barley, oats, triticale, rye, and sunflower seeds. I use a feed calculator to balance the ration and I do not always use every ingredient in every mix. I like to change things up in order to ensure that my birds don't get bored with the food, and also to ensure that they are getting a nice variety of nutrients. I measure out a little under 1/4 pound of this mixture for each bird and ferment that- except sunflower seeds, which I add in at feeding time. When I get ready to take the feed out to the barn I add in the day's ration of meat/fat/insects in whatever amount they need in order to get them to the correct levels of protein and fat. I do not try to calculate other nutrients like amino acids, vitamins, and minerals because while I was researching poultry nutrition it became apparent that all of those would be present in sufficient quantities once I mixed everything together, especially with the animal proteins.
The animal proteins that I use most often include venison, beef, chicken (cooked), and fish. I get all of those for free. In the winter I have an abundance of animal parts because after hunting season I collect deer heads and other body parts and store them in a 55 gallon barrel out in my barn- this only works when the temps are cold enough to freeze them right away. Some years it is too hot during hunting season and I cannot utilize this fabulous resource. But in a good year....
The beef portion consists mostly of bone marrow along with some suet and occasional meaty bones. I use the meaty bones to make bone broth and then save all of the meaty bits for the chickens. I also make a lot of chicken bone broth so same deal- I save the cooked bits of chickens for the flock. The fish component is used in smaller quantities, unless the flock is molting, at which time I add more fish. I save whatever fish parts are left when our family goes fishing and I also get a few carp and catfish for free from other fishermen so no cost for this great source of protein. One other source is crayfish, which I trap- for human consumption, not chickens, lol, but like the beef and chicken bones, I boil the crayfish shells and save any bits and pieces for the chickens.
The biggest limiting factor for me in providing this ration inexpensively is lack of freezer space in which to store meat at the time of year when I can get lots of it for free. I have thought about canning some meat to feed later in the year when I run out of what is in the freezer, but that is more effort than I want to put in at this time. That could change, but more likely is that I will simply adjust the ration to include more insect/bug protein and fat during those times, and maybe more from plant sources- although I believe that the animal parts are more easily and thoroughly digestible for the chickens, plus they offer more of the nutrients that I want my flock to have. But I think I can figure it out if I am resourceful enough!
This is the recipe for this weeks' ration-
2 parts corn
2 parts wheat
2 parts field peas
1 part oats
1 part venison muscle meat
1 part deer liver
1/2 part barley
1/10 part venison suet
** 1/2 part +/- fruit/berries
I have sources for free fruits and berries for "most" of the year. I add them when I have them, in whatever combination I get, but that is probably 75-80% of the time. The rest of the time they just go without. This all works out to a little under 18% protein and a little over 4% fat (not including the fruits/berries), which is perfect for this time of year in our cold climate (Minnesota). I have just shut the flock in the barn for the winter so this is mostly what they will be eating for awhile. If we have a nice sunny day here and there I will let them back out, but for all practical purposes they are finished with foraging until snow melt. During warm weather they have outside access at all times so they can come and go at their leisure.
Along with their daily ration the flock has grit, powdered eggshells and ground up crayfish shells for calcium, Redmond Conditioner, Redmond Mineral Salt, kelp, and garlic powder available free choice inside the coop. I do not include any of that in their ration because I prefer to let them select what they want/need when they want/need it. Because I have a greenhouse and can grow herbs and salad greens all winter my flock often gets trimmings from those plants- mainly as a treat and not enough to throw off the values in the ration- much, lol. And of course, kitchen scraps, which I don't even try to figure in because they are so random and change all of the time- and they get small quantities because we don't have a lot of food waste to give them.
Aside from free meat/fish/fruit/berries I am able to save some $$ by purchasing all of my grains/seeds direct from farmers in our area. I have not calculated the cost yet, partly because the ingredients change so much, but also because I originally purchased some grain products (mainly rye, triticale, oats, and wheat) to sprout for my six guinea pigs. I discovered that the wheat sprouts much better than the other grains and so I stopped growing the others for the guinea pigs and gave what was left of those other grains to the chickens, and I did not weigh the bags at that time so no idea of how much I have spent this time around. When I buy more I will work out the cost. But I can say that I pay between $8 and $12 for a 50 pound bag depending on what the grain is. This is for some organic and some transitional (grown organically but not certified organic) grain and this is quite a bit less expensive than buying a bag of commercial layer pellets, and I believe that the quality is much higher.
If I was going to give any advice on making homemade chicken feed it would be this- find or create a good feed calculator and use that to plug your ingredients into to make sure that your flock is getting the correct nutrients in the correct ratios. I love mine and it affords me the flexibility of making rapid changes as my available ingredients change. I use it almost weekly in order to utilize whatever ingredients I have on hand or need to get out of my freezer.
eta: almost forgot to mention treats. I don't really give my flock treats, unless it is a handful of live mealworms or a few bits of greens/herbs, which I can give without completely throwing off the ratios of their ration- it just raises the percentages of fat and protein by a little- but still within what I consider to be an appropriate range.
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