[Castle Farm]

I have fed a pellet free diet for years. I get rolled barley as the kernal is easy to get at and it absorbs the cod liver oil better.
God alone knows what they put in pellets.

[Fowlman]

As for them preferring corn to layers pellets, well yes they certainly do. I prefer icecream to meat and cabbage too but it doesn't mean I should be eating icecream all the time 

Dont believe the propaganda these feed companies put out, free ranging birds find everything they need out foraging, pellets make your birds lazy, its fast food for chooks. I dont feed pellets and my birds lay fine and are healthy as can be. These feed companies want you to believe grain is bad for them Its not a treat it should be their staple diet. Makes you wonder how fowl survived for hundreds of years before these feed companies came along. We must remember the word corn describes all grain (wheat, barley,maize etc) Wheat is the main ingredient of pellets yet these companies tell you too much grain is  bad for them    very clever marketing.

[jaykay]

I based icecream my comment on the carb/protein content of corn versus layers pellets - truthfully I've never seen layer pellets advertised, but if I did, I'd still try to make up my own mind by finding out the facts and discussing it with other experienced people.

[FiB]

Great thread thanks - echoing my own experince this year - layers pellets barely touched and mad scramble for 'mixed corn' at start and end of day.  They fully freerange, so I expect that are getting all the protein they need.  I too will stop the layers once this bag is finished.  So Q for those that do - is mixed corn in a bag OK or do I need to investigate buying wheat barley etc and doing own mix (basically whats the difference - is it for nutition reasons or price reasons that you do your own mix?)    Many thanks, Fi 
Interestingly, if I get them to eat mixed corn from my hand,  they peck all the grains at amazing spead - completely avoiding and leaving the black sunflower seeds!!!

[Fowlman]

I based icecream my comment on the carb/protein content of corn versus layers pellets - truthfully I've never seen layer pellets advertised, but if I did, I'd still try to make up my own mind by finding out the facts and discussing it with other experienced people.

Sorry jaykay didnt mean to get on my soap box and start preaching or sound patronising just pointing  out free ranging birds will do equally well if not better on a grain fed diet, of course what you feed your birds is your choice.




FiB most feed suppliers will stock bags of whole wheat, mite be an idea to mix it with the mixed corn because some brands seem to contain a lot of maize. Mine are on just wheat this time of year.

[SteveHants]

The only reason I feed pellets as opposed to wheat is that whenever I put wheat in the feeder it gets bloody mobbed by doves - on the plus side, I then shoot and eat some of the doves.


My neighbours chickens only get wheat, but then, being the keeper all the wheat is 'for the pheasants' *ahem*.

[Womble]

Yes, ours only get wheat at this time of year and they all seem fine.

What I want to know is where I can buy wheat in at a tonne a time, since that could save me a fortune compared with individual sacks.  Any ideas where to try folks?

[Fowlman]

Try your local arable farmer womble, harvest time is the time to ask usually get spillages for nothing 


I never use feeders i just scatter feed x-amount each morning, keeps them busy scratching and searching the grain out, once thats gone they find their own food.

[Womble]

Thanks Fowlman.  You know, I have no idea where my local arable farmer might be. It's all sheep and cows near us.
 
Sorry if this is really ignorant, but would it need drying or anything before storage?

[SallyintNorth]

What I want to know is where I can buy wheat in at a tonne a time, since that could save me a fortune compared with individual sacks.  Any ideas where to try folks?

Ask your local feed supplier about dumpy bags of straights.  Ours won't deliver less than 4T but if you have a pickup or appropriate trailer you can go and get a dumpy bag (c. 1/5T) full from their stores, or if you can take 1T in your trailer, they'll tip that directly into the trailer for you, which is cheaper still.

[goosepimple]

I've always fed mixed grain Rosemary but they leave the barley until last - I don't put out more until it's eaten, so it's the least popular grain.  I alternate with bags of pure corn - my hens have never become fat, are all ancient and laying like troopers, in full health (they're all nearly 7yrs now), so haven't really paid attention to that thing about corn as a treat.  You can't give it to your pigs as it goes through them whole as I remember (don't have piggies now).
How about home brew?

[Oneeyedhen]

Hi, my hubby is an arable farmer and he tells me that barley is 12% protien and wheat possibly a little more. From what your all saying I think I'll try giving my hens more wheat. At the moment they get a roughly 50/50 mix of wheat and layers pellets but i have noticed that they pick the wheat out first.

[chrismahon]

Wheat is 10% Oneeyedhen, if I remember correctly from when I last looked it up. Lots of Carbohydrate in wheat so a good winter evening feed which digests slowly overnight. To get the protein up most feeds use soyabean. Cockerels outside the breeding season only need 9% according to Storey's Guide, laying hens 16% -18%.

[Fowlman]

Lots of grubs and insects soon bump up the protein level.

[katog]

my bag of wheat has a lot of dust in it this time - thought about rinceing it with water first - how about spreouting it - maybe even better for the hens.