Made my own feed

[U_Stormcrow]

I'm interested, though. I've looked into raising larger fish in tanks. That idea is in a lot of homesteading information sources. Frankly, I'm not interested in eating (or feeding my chickens) the species that can survive in that environment. Minnows seem likely to be different in that regard.


I think it can be done. I think very, very few people who try it manage to do it. And even fewer do so at less cost.

I'm researching aquaculture - keeps getting kicked down the project list - but when I finally give it a go, I'll be certain to post here.

 

[saysfaa]

Just curios, is it more cost effective to make your own feed? I hate that I'm buying the crappy stuff but stuff is really expensive up here

There is a good chance of it for you because of the shipping costs to and within Alaska.

Can you grow or find locally grown barley or rye? Potatoes, carrots, chard, radishes? Even if they need to be combined with something shipped in that is more expensive than typical chicken feed it could total less from the savings on shipping costs.

 

[saysfaa]

hopefully you can get some use from my articles and threads. If people are not bent on growing their own cereals, they really don't need a lot of land to provide a lot of diverse forage. I only have about 1 acre, for a flock of 20-30 birds.

It also takes a lot less land to grow enough cereal grains for a family or a small flock than most people think it does. Think garden rather than fields. And no special tools for that amount.

 

[MamaPoult]

There is a good chance of it for you because of the shipping costs to and within Alaska.

Can you grow or find locally grown barley or rye? Potatoes, carrots, chard, radishes? Even if they need to be combined with something shipped in that is more expensive than typical chicken feed it could total less from the savings on shipping costs.

I probably could.. We live near Delta which is all about growing stuff. Ok thank you!

 

[MamaPoult]

Not for me - but depending on where you are in AK, you may have no other practical choice. Or you may have to consider expecting much less (egg quantitiess, rapid weight gain) from your birds. Or you might consider an alternative protein source (rabbits, anyone?). Or some combination of the three.

Hmm I see. I raised meat rabbits and loved them! They were more cost effective and tasted really good. We recently made the choice however to only eat biblically clean meats though so sadly we had to give it up.

Close you eyes. Imagine your local feed store, farm store, whatever. Now empty the aisle of all commercially blended bagged feed.

What's left? Corn? Wheat (if its coming from Washington state area, good chance its selenium deficient, FYI)? Oats? Barley? Are there any dried peas (preferably yellow, fewer tannins)? Beans? Do you have soy meal, alfafa meal, or another processed legume product as a low fat high protein source? What else might be used as potential chicken feed?

Price it all out per pound.

Do the same with your current chicken feed.

If the price per pound of your lowest cost ingredients (typically corn, oats) are close to the cost of your commercial feed (as it is for me, and for most), you can stop there - the cost of making your own will exceed the cost of buying, and will be less certain nutritionally as well. Unless there is some cost you can almost completely remove by producing it on your own (admittedly unlikely).

If the numbers are in the right area on cost, let us know what you have available, and at what pricing. Also your current feed, and its pricing (so we have a target). Maybe we can kick the tires, come up with something acceptable to your situation.

I see this is helpful thank you! We order from The Azure Market who should have all of that so I'll talk to my parents and see if we should consider it. Thank you for your time!

 

[MamaPoult]

It is for me. This is what I wrote in my 2023 article:

"Quantities and Costs

On average, my flock find about half their daily feed foraging. On average a 20 kg sack of mixed grain lasts about 3 weeks, while a 20kg sack of mixed peas lasts about 5 months, and with about 20 birds, that means they are each eating about 55g of combined grains and peas per day. The supplements I supply, like mealworms, milk products or sardines, add a couple more grams per bird per day. A large fowl is said to need about 110g (1/4lb) feed per bird per day, therefore, averaged through the year, they must each be finding about 50-60g per day by foraging. And if the flock were confined, I would need to buy about twice as much as (and therefore spend significantly more than) I currently do.

It is sometimes claimed that making your own feed is expensive, a claim based on several assumptions, not least of which is that you’ll be trying to do what feed companies do but without the economies of scale that come from making it by the lorry load. This assumption is not applicable if, as in my case, you don’t want to copy what big ag does to maximize egg output from the chickens at minimal expense between the ages of 16 and 72 weeks old, and then discard the chicken and start afresh. Since I’m not making a living from my flock, I am not subject to the same economic imperatives as a commercial egg farm. I am happy to enjoy as many or more eggs over a longer period from hens who don’t suffer reproductive tract disorders brought on by such intensive exploitation, and I aim simply to cover my costs.

At May 2023 prices in my area, 20kg quality mixed grain (c. 80% wheat) costs £11.49 and 20kg mixed peas £14. A sack of bran for the mealworms costs £14 and lasts about 6 months. The veg trimmings supplied to the mealworms, and the occasional tin of sardines, dairy product or banana supplied to the chickens, are of negligible additional cost to the family grocery bill. A tin of sardines in sunflower oil, for example, is about 55p for 120g/4ozs (was 40p before recent price hikes). If it is legal to feed meat where you are, note that wild animals usually eat the organ meats of their prey first because they know they are the most nutritious bit of the carcass, and since humans prefer the muscle, offal is usually cheap, so that’s a win-win.

I sell surplus eggs at £2 per carton of 6. Over the course of the calendar year, income from surplus eggs laid by my flock of heritage and rare breed birds – who lay fewer than production breeds in their first full year of laying, but who may continue to lay well until they are at least 6 years old (as with my eldest) – covers my expenditure on the flock. And selling is trivial; I have enthusiastic regular customers, and a waiting list of would-be customers. My flock’s eggs are not like shop eggs in appearance, in flavour, or in nutritional value, and my customers can tell the difference without a lab report (but see Hammershøja and Johansen 2016 if you want one).

That apart, most chicken keepers on BYC seem happy enough to spend a great deal of money on their coop. So why penny pinch on the feed? Such a spending pattern seems to me to put the cart before the horse."

The whole article is here https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...eat-tears-a-calculator-or-deep-pockets.78655/
and this year's update is here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/wholesome-homemade-feed-2.79307/

Of course it matters what is available locally to you and prices fluctuate with weather, world events, and capitalists' speculations etc.. Currently I can buy 25kg sacks of whole wheat grains for £8, and do when I happen to be passing the place that sells it, some 30 miles away. Otherwise I have to pay £11 to buy a different brand I can source closer to home. The difference in quality between the two seems negligible, and all nutritional figures are based on averages of samples anyway.

What I know for sure is that real recognizable food is better value for money than a homogenized feed whose ingredients are a mystery to all but the manufacturer, and whose length of time in storage is a mystery to most too (thanks to a deliberately opaque way of referring to the date the stuff was bagged up, which is employed by some manufacturers in the US; obvious e.g. 'Best Before' dates would be more user friendly).

Thank you for the reply! I will look into this now!

 

[saysfaa]

Hmm I see. I raised meat rabbits and loved them! They were more cost effective and tasted really good. We recently made the choice however to only eat biblically clean meats though so sadly we had to give it up. ...

If you are willing to raise rabbits just to feed the chickens, you will have a LOT more options in what else goes into your chicken feed. The rabbit would provide most of the nutrients that are hard to provide in a good balance via only plants maybe also via plants and insects.

 

[MamaPoult]

If you are willing to raise rabbits just to feed the chickens, you will have a LOT more options in what else goes into your chicken feed. The rabbit would provide most of the nutrients that are hard to provide in a good balance via only plants maybe also via plants and insects.

Ahh I see! That's a good idea!

 

[MrsWinterWheat]

For me it is easier and “cheaper” to feed grain and supplement with some commercial feed. It is easy because I live on a grain farm so I don’t have to go anywhere. We grow durum, spring wheat, winter wheat, flax, lentils, and field peas mostly. It gets milled and mixed in with screenings from when my DH cleans seed. When I offer both they are not mixed and they get to choose. This goes with free ranging, where they have access to any part of the farm.

Though I do say “cheaper” because if I didn’t feed it then it would have been sold. But it is cheaper than if I would purchase any of those grains at a local store.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

For me it is easier and “cheaper” to feed grain and supplement with some commercial feed. It is easy because I live on a grain farm so I don’t have to go anywhere. We grow durum, spring wheat, winter wheat, flax, lentils, and field peas mostly. It gets milled and mixed in with screenings from when my DH cleans seed. When I offer both they are not mixed and they get to choose. This goes with free ranging, where they have access to any part of the farm.

Though I do say “cheaper” because if I didn’t feed it then it would have been sold. But it is cheaper than if I would purchase any of those grains at a local store.

One of these days my soil will be in better shape and I'll be able to use my tractor to hopefully grow some grains. Appreciate you pointing out the opportunity cost of doing so. To which I'll add the maintenance costs on the equipment (Just finished routine service on my small tractor - about $550. WOuld have been more if I hadn't done it myself. Thankfully, looks like I will only need to do it every 16 - 18 months, and diesel costs have come down a little, too.