[Andy1982]

I plan on getting my first lot of chickens when I move in a couple of months,but my question would be about the best make your own chicken feed?

Alot of the range of feed is geared towards smallholders in the name of the one thing I hate to give companies which is profit.They take our good natures and the fact that we want the best for our animals and we are prepared to pay through the nose for it. Now I know I'm setting myself up for some backlash but £6 a bag of pellets over lets say 60 chooks is taking the mick on my pocket.

So, I was planning on buying sacks of grains from whoever I can find giving them a diet of whole grains or rolled grains depending on the types I'm able to source in Ireland. The grains I will try to include in a best case would be corn,barley (wheat?) and for grit I would either get ground oystershell or depending on how much land I can spare they may well be able to find the grit on their free range travels.I would also supply some fresh greens how ever many bugs they can shake a stick at.

Can anyone advise if this diet would be good enough for POL birds,if I am missing anything or anything I could add.

Thanks in advance


Andy

[oink]

I haven't done it myself yet but I'm planning on growing some comfrey next year.  I've attached an article on its merits and if you scroll down to ANIMAL FEED at the bottom it may be a little help.  Not really something you can buy in but i thought it might help a little.

Good luck

[bamford6]

iff you worked it right it would work .iff you bought birds 3 or 4 months old it would work here is the plan iff you bought mixt grain in a ton bag it would cost £90 pond cash no visa pound notes then get 5 bags off maze mixe in with that and then give pellets as a treat you also need the right birds say you went dawn the sale and got 10 at 7 pound each in 12 months they could be bad layers pic up disease etc .but iff you bought vaccinated birds and a good breed they could last 8 yeres black rock marran  etc  it costs me 8 pound to get to point off lay each bird that has to be done with chick crumbs growers pellets as well as a wormer and a coxed spray you need a good plan .get it wrong and it will cost you pounds .iv got birds that the farther and mother cost £2000 uros from Germany i had 3 chicks from them and it is so hard to keep an eye on them 24 7 at 300 pound you Carnot find them dead the heat lamp went off with the thunder etc a rat got them

[Andy1982]

Thanks for the replies and the link is a big help. Bamford, thanks for the meal plan, sounds good.

I was planning on buying some Rhode Island and maybe some blackrock from a breeder i know not far from the holding we are buying who one was of the people I was going to buy her house from but we went for the less expensive, fixer upper holding to put our own stamp on. So they will have come from a good home,would'nt be too sure if they have had the correct jabs and i hope to breed myself once my feet are wet. I have to source out some decent grain supplies in Ireland as i would'nt be too keen on the delivery charge from the mainland .

£90 a tonne sounds more like the thing and working on the basis they eat approx 2cups of food a day per bird,I will achieve alot more if I buy the seperate componants and mix it,just have to worry about the storage now

[supplies for smallholders]

Hi,

Also depends on how many eggs you want, because grain alone will keep the birds going - but you need to add something to up the protien levels.

You need to be looking to get to 16 % protein if you can for a laying bird.

Obviously they will get some of this from bugs and worms, but if you can get thm try peas in with the grain to up the protien level.

[Castle Farm]

I have kept poultry for over 50 years and I never feed anything else but a grain diet. There are a number of reasons why I take the trouble to mix my own and the main reason is I know what the birds are eating and subsequently know what I am eating in the way of eggs and meat.

Birds allowed out on free-range get as much protein as they need on top of the 10% or so they get from the corn. The wise folk who suggest a protein level of 15-17% are either those who are selling the pellets or those who advise the commercial poultry industry that a bird locked up in a shed without the chance of grass, bugs and sunshine or feed to produce as many eggs as possible.

If you ever take the time to read the labels on the bags some contain up to 4% calcium and this assumes the bird uses most of it producing eggs. If a bird isn't laying a lot of eggs to use it up it can cause kidney problem. There are chemicals in there that I cannot see the need for and besides which, do you think a Pekin bantam needs the same feed mix as a Brahma or hybrid layer?

Have a look at my web site I have an explanation of my feeding method on there.

This was also covered in depth on the Practical poultry website under commercial feeds.

[knightquest]

I have kept poultry for over 50 years and I never feed anything else but a grain diet. There are a number of reasons why I take the trouble to mix my own and the main reason is I know what the birds are eating and subsequently know what I am eating in the way of eggs and meat.

Birds allowed out on free-range get as much protein as they need on top of the 10% or so they get from the corn. The wise folk who suggest a protein level of 15-17% are either those who are selling the pellets or those who advise the commercial poultry industry that a bird locked up in a shed without the chance of grass, bugs and sunshine or feed to produce as many eggs as possible.

If you ever take the time to read the labels on the bags some contain up to 4% calcium and this assumes the bird uses most of it producing eggs. If a bird isn't laying a lot of eggs to use it up it can cause kidney problem. There are chemicals in there that I cannot see the need for and besides which, do you think a Pekin bantam needs the same feed mix as a Brahma or hybrid layer?

Have a look at my web site I have an explanation of my feeding method on there.

This was also covered in depth on the Practical poultry website under commercial feeds.

That's really interesting. Gonna look into that myself. Biggest problem for me is that my chooks are in a pen thanks to Mr Fox and don't have grass to live on. They do get greens every day tho'. Any thoughts Castle Farm?

Loved the website by the way.

Ian

[Andy1982]

Hi castle thanks for posting!

I'm glad to hear that you can maintain a healthy chicken on grains and I will of course be able to chuck in a few greens but they will have plenty of grass to forage along with any bugs. I am a big, big believer in they say what they say on packets to make you THINK that you not giving your animals the right (perfect blend) of what they need. They want us good folk to feel ........AWwww shi% im not giving my birds what they need i'd better pay 3-10times as much for something i can make myself with the best thing I can offer LOVE. It always tastes better if someone has taken the time and sourced out the right balance.

I'm getting into this to make the best life for my family and the best for everything kept on my holding. Thanks for the website! My angle to a tee.

Thanks ,

Andy

[doganjo]

Well done Andy!  Excellent sentiments.

[shetlandpaul]

are these for your use or selling eggs. rodent free mixing station needed plus a record of what you feed. but go for it the chucks love maize and if you can get mixed corn at anywhere near 90 quid a ton then your saving a fortune. it would even be worth a slight drop in egg numbers. were quoted 330 for a ton of layers. when adding your costs don't forget the oyster shell and any vit sups.

[Andy1982]

Thanks for the comments,

Thank you for reminding me about the vit supplements and the oyster shell i will get on the case,but is there not alternatives to this such actual grit? or crushed eggshells?. I have only read this somewhere so I'm not sure on the truth strands there.

They will have a decent area to cover to make what they can themselves. As for the rodent free zone, when i build my coop I will include a section within it with 3 or 4 big black bins for the mix and will hopefully be investing in some old deep freezes for the outbuildings to store the remainder of the feed which should cover me but you never know untill you do it i suppose,but that's the plan. As a side note I can't stand fecking rats so there will be a bird,dog,cat friendly bait box in every place i can think of to keep the numbers down plus my new air rifle needs the sight lining up on her

Andy

[lesleysprite]

Hi, I'm trying to work out what to feed my chickens also right now I save up veg peelings and other scraps and boil it up with comfrey, a high protein thing like lentils or peas, their own egg shells and a bit of porridge, they seem to love this, plus they get some wheat and corn mix. They are laying fine on this. At the moment though I am at home all the time so they are free ranging and getting a lot of their own food, won't be the case when I am working away 3 days a week again, and I don't want to make more boil up than I am right now, so I want to find a simple mix I can make up with wheat, corn and one or two protein sources (may be sunflower seeds or peas?) and feed that along with the boil up. I also need to find somewhere to get animal grade lentils...is getting expensive feeding them mine!
I am kind of relying on their own foraging skills and the wide variety of things I give them to get all the micro nutrients they need, just making sure I give them a reasonable amount of protein. Don't know if that helps, but it's good to hear what other people are doing sometimes. I am a beginner but they seem to be doing fine on it.