Anyone feed chickens a simple mix of whole grains?

[animalfarm]

I feed whole grains. Wheat, peas, boss, flax, corn with free range and raw clabbered milk. Chickens do very well. It is easy to make up a recipe with the appropriate amount of protein. Use any grain you like; you just need to know the protein content and how to keep it at around 20% if you have duel purpose birds.

 

[lorieMN]

OMG !!! I have found normal people..I was beginning to think I was the weird one for not taking my chickens to the vet and carrying them around like babies all day and letting them live in my house..AWESOME !!!! I am looking into going with whole grains also,,thanks for the advice..

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

yay lorie! welcome!

and guess what... sometimes... we even use chickens for *gasp* .....

FOOD!

i know i know.. shocking.... come on in and join us!


my birds are doing great on the whole grains we started them on a couple of months ago

 

[FarmerDenise]

We let our chickens out in the field in the winter, since we are in california and don't grow much food stuff in the winter, but the weeds grow well.
Our chickens just get about 1/2 gallon of mixed grains. I don't use a special formula. I just try to give them variety. I get something different each time I go to the feed store and mix it in with what is in the can already. I feed the same mix to the goats.
Our chickens have access to the compost pile also. They "help" us when we are weeding or turning the soil in some part of the field or other. They also get assorted leftovers.
In the summer when they are cooped up in the hen yard, I do give them pellets as well as whatever greens I can gather from the garden.
Sometimes we go out of our way to make something for them, like sprout some grains or gather a particular good weed somewhere.
I also give the chickens yogurt or kefir every now and then.
I don't worry about calcium, since they get their eggshells back and they have access to so much good stuff from the field. I also give them the bones after making broth (using ACV), I crush the bones with a mortar and pestle I keep in the hen yard. The mortar is an old indian one and the pestle is a rock I found that works just right.

We also grow lots of grains for all our critters. It is really not that difficult. I found that the chickens like our home grown corn better. Pop corn is a smaller kernel and they like it better than the big dent corn. They also like dried sweet corn. We have a hard time keeping enough sunflowers for the chickens. If we manage to harvest enough, we have to make sure it dries without getting moldy and we have had problems with rats getting into it.
Last year I grew amaranth for the first time. The chickens are so-so about it. The rabbit likes it and so do the goats. The chickens like the assorted millet and broomcorn.
Our wheat that I planted last summer never grew seeds, but all the animals seem to like the greens on it, which is probably why it didn't go to seed. the dog, goats and chickens keep eating it.

All our critters like the mustard, that grows wild. I save the dried seed heads in late april and may and feed it to them in the summer.
We continue to experiment with what we can grow and harvest for all our animals. I try to take advantage of what ever grows wild and supplement with what I plant. We grow everything organic as possible. Some of our seeds have been in the family for many years. Other seeds I get at an organic farm stand or from Baker Creek.

This winter we planted a mess of seeds in the hen yard, while locking the chickens out of it. We are hoping that they will have a nice stand of greens and seeds, when they get put back in the yard in May. I fI can supplement with enough greens and produce from the field, maybe I will feel comfortable enough not to get them any pellets this summer.

 

[Wifezilla]

There is a house across the street that got repo'd. They got free lawn care because the dandelions were so huge, I was running over there and grabbing them for my ducks. The other neighbors appreciated I wasn't letting them spread to their lawns and the ducks loved the fresh salad. It hasn't sold yet, so I will see how much free duck food I can get from that lawn before it finally sells

My transition to whole grains for the ducks is going slow, but they seem to like them. So far I have crimped oats and milo and their grain bin and they still have their game bird feed. Next time I go to Big R I will see if they have wheat berries. I wish I could get field peas. I will have to ask them about a special order.

In Spring, the pond will get set up again. It's one the ducks don't have access to. I grow rosy minnows and duckweed in it. The ducks get the extras.The minnows live on mosquito larvae and algae so I don't even have to feed them

 

[lorieMN]

yay lorie! welcome!

and guess what... sometimes... we even use chickens for *gasp* .....

FOOD!

i know i know.. shocking.... come on in and join us!


my birds are doing great on the whole grains we started them on a couple of months ago

LOL..your funny!! sometimes I even give the extra birds to my dogs,I do cull them first..I was born and raised on a working farm,mom had a huge garden,like 4 acres worth,6 kids to feed,,and so I think as a kid I hated gardens because I had to work out there..so when I moved away,always on a farm but not a working farm I got away from my roots,,and now I want to get back to the basics.Hubby and I are going to get a ration of mostly oats,some corn,,and I dont know if I can get anything else here,nobody grows wheat or barley,,this I can feed to the horses also,,and for the chickens I am going to supplement with BOSS,peanut pieces,millet,garden stuff,and I know the wal-mart here sells pumpkins for .50 each after halloween,,I may end up using soybean meal for protien,but I am also going to give the cheapest high protien catfood I can get,,does this sound like a good plan,,I have B/B/S and lav orps,,so they are a dual breed and really good at getting there own meals in warmer months.Oh,I also will be sprouting oats.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

So can I ask a honest question? What is the point of feeding whole grain to chickens? Are people trying to avoild bagged pellets and crumbles from large stores like TSC? Or are they trying to avoid soy? I feed a layer mash from a local mill- they grind everything themselves. I can't see what the difference is in me buying it already ground or feeding it whole, other than it's a lot less work for me.

So, why do those who feed whole grains do so? I'm really curious. I can understand why Free sprouts hers, but other than that I'm having a hard time thinking of any benefits (in my situation, that is).

 

[Wifezilla]

Avoiding gmo corn and soy is a big one. Also whole grains are what the birds would be getting in nature.

 

[Marianne]

Now, where did I just post my last response about this????

I stopped buying layer food several months ago. I just offer scratch grains with crushed eggshell to my girls in the coop, and let them free range most of the time. They also get leftovers. I figure they know what they need to eat, so who am I to tell them differently?

I love BYC, got a lot of info there when I was first considering chickens, but as with all forums, there is the fanatical fringe.

 

[lwheelr]

I do it so I know what they are eating, and so that I can gradually swap purchased grains for home grown.

I want more control over the ingredients than commercial feed provides also - less chemicals, cleaner sources, etc.