Anyone feed chickens a simple mix of whole grains?

[Icu4dzs]

If you clip one wing (not all the way to the quick) she won't be able to fly that high due to the asymmetry of her wing and that will stop this; assuming you want to stop it...

 

[Our7Wonders]

I'm bringing this back up again as I'm trying to find acceptable protein sources BESIDES soy. I found fish meal locally, but goodness! it's about $100.00 for a 50# bag - that's not going to work at all!

I bought 25 pounds of each green split peas, yellow split peas, and lentils in the hopes of using them, however I don't know if getting the main protein from just legumes is ok - anyone know?

I'm planning on starting a meal worm bin. I have red wigglers, but there aren't enough of them at this point to keep my chickens going every day.

We have oats, barley, a chicken wheat mix (wheat berries and misc. seeds/grains from Azure Standard) and BOSS - I intend to soak these daily along with my goats soaked grain. But I need protein sources to fill their feeder with so they can self regulate with it.

What are some acceptable protein sourcse for chickens? If need be I can start a new post on this but thought I'd start here.

Thanks,
Debbi

 

[Wifezilla]

I am giving growing quinoa a try. It is pretty spendy to buy though. Worms and meal worms are a good idea. How do you feel about growing crickets?

Two other protein sources I use are duck weed and rosy minnows. I just reset the pond up and I need to go to the pet store and get the rosies as soon as I see more bug activity (they live on the larvae so I don't have to feed them). I also snag duckweed from a local pond.

As for the legumes, you may need to soak them first. I know for people you do. Not sure about chickens though.

 

[animalfarm]

They will be fine with legumes as the base until you get your meal worms going full steam.

The quality of your eggs and your chickens health will improve with the bugs but even without the bugs they will be fine. Wheat is 18% protein all on its own so protein comes in many forms. Chickens will be that much better with animal protein even though it is not totally necessary.

I use peas as my protein base but peas like everything else is getting expensive. I am getting 30 eggs a day now, so they get boiled eggs; I sell the large ones and boil the small ones. If I can't get the price I want for eggs I feed them to the chickens and pigs since the nutrients are valuable and it saves the cost of buying more feed.

I have the luxury of giving them meat in winter. Summer they scrounge their own.

I just bought a feed grinder since the chickens were sorting through the grain and wasting said peas. I now have the ability to stock pile whole grains and grind fresh for what ever purpose I need. By pouring some milk over the ground grain, I get a feed that doesn't get picked over or dumped out. Now that spring is coming, the chickens don't eat much grain; they are out finding their own I don't know what, as the ground is still frozen but they aren't spending much time at the feed bin.

 

[lwheelr]

I was told you need to either cook or sprout legumes for chickens. Most non-ruminants don't handle them well otherwise (including dogs).

Chickens also like alfalfa sprouts. In fact, they think they are candy. I sprout them in dirt, and let them get up to the second or third tier of leaves for this, then pull them and feed them roots and all.

We also give them bones with meat on them. Raw or cooked either one is fine.

We are looking at getting a black soldier fly bin, and we'll need to replace our red worms. Red worms will do better in the cooler months, BSF in the hot months. I like the BSF because they harvest themselves. Don't have to sort the crawly things.

Right now, the kids are shoveling up grubs from the garden for the ducks and chickens. Little poultry sausages...

 

[Our7Wonders]

animal farm: What kind of peas are you using? Field peas? I'd love to find a source of field peas. My local grainery uses them as the protein in their layer mix that they make but he won't sell it to me individually - he wants me to buy his feed mix.

I ordered split peas and lentils from Azure Standard, but it's the regular people grade. I'd like a feed (cheaper) source. I don't have a grinder that will crack them. I have a grain mill, but the coarse setting is going to make it like corn meal, that's finer than I'd like to have it.

I guess I just need to try it. I'm kinda dorkish that way - I like to resarch it all, mull it over for weeks, refine it in my head, compare it to a million different sources and THEN try it. I just need to do it and see what results I get. Worst case scenario I'll need to go back to a feed mix, the whole grains won't get wasted - the goats will eat them. And the legumes can get made in to soup for my family.

lwheelr: forgive my ignorance, what are BSF? And how do you raise them? I like the idea of self harvesting.

 

[freemotion]

For info on feeding whole peas, try this: http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/current-feeding-practice.html It is a follow-up article so you may need to read the preceding articles in that section.

I sprout my small grains to up the protein and my birds do fine on it. They take a natural break in the winter which is ok with me. I get a few eggs, enough for us, but we reduce our intake. I'll be better this year about stocking up and not selling any after the spring rush.

The protein in barley skyrockets just as the sprout is emerging. All the poultry go nuts for this. I feed sprouted small grains (can't get barley right now so it is oats) in the morning, scattering what they will finish in about 10-15 minutes, then I toss one more scoop for the stragglers. I do the same with whole corn in the afternoon. I put veggies in the coop when available in the winter like mangels and pumpkins and winter squash. They have access to the goat's dropped hay, which they eat, and any carrot peels the goats lose when fighting over them.

They free-range all year so after the winter, I figure they catch up on their bodies' reserves in time for the next winter. It is working quite well.

 

[Our7Wonders]

Thanks for the article link FM - it was a great source of info. I'm curious though, when I go back to the other article he links, he says to never allow oats or barley (or a combination of the two) to be more than 15% of your chicken feed. He doesn't say why. Does anyone have any further info on this?

I was planning on using it as a good portion of their feed. My plan was to soak and feed a mix of 30% oats, 30% barley, 30% wheat and the remaining soaked mix to be BOSS and a few misc seeds. Then keeping a dry mix of legume protein available in a feeder for them to self regulate. They also get alfalfa hay a few times each week. And all the house scraps. They do not free range yet - they have a good size run, but they've already wiped out all growth from it. I'll be fencing in more area as soon as the ground is workable to allow them a large area to free range - it will also incorporate the goat run, so they'll have lots to scratch through there.

I'm just concerned over the 15% warning. I'd appreciate it if anyone has any thoughts or info on that.

Thanks!

 

[freemotion]

It is in the early part of the series of articles I think....it has to do with the antinutrients in the seeds creating deficiencies. But if you soak them, you neutralize them. Harvey doesn't soak or sprout, if I remember.

His articles really inspired me to take some of my own leaps and experiment. Your animals will tell you if it is working by their production levels and flock health. Mine are fine. I can boost cold weather production a bit more with the addition of animal protein, which usually comes in the form of mashed bones/scraps from making broth and catfood, so I freeze it in bags if I make it in bug weather....they can eat bugs when available.

You have a lot more leeway when your flock free-ranges in a large area with growing green stuff and plenty of bugs. They will balance their diet themselves.

 

[animalfarm]

animal farm: What kind of peas are you using? Field peas? I'd love to find a source of field peas. My local grainery uses them as the protein in their layer mix that they make but he won't sell it to me individually - he wants me to buy his feed mix.

I ordered split peas and lentils from Azure Standard, but it's the regular people grade. I'd like a feed (cheaper) source. I don't have a grinder that will crack them. I have a grain mill, but the coarse setting is going to make it like corn meal, that's finer than I'd like to have it.

I guess I just need to try it. I'm kinda dorkish that way - I like to resarch it all, mull it over for weeks, refine it in my head, compare it to a million different sources and THEN try it. I just need to do it and see what results I get. Worst case scenario I'll need to go back to a feed mix, the whole grains won't get wasted - the goats will eat them. And the legumes can get made in to soup for my family.

lwheelr: forgive my ignorance, what are BSF? And how do you raise them? I like the idea of self harvesting.

My local feed store custom orders field peas (trapper) for me. They are commonly used in pigeon feed. I don't know why your grainery won't sell the peas to you. It shouldn't matter to them. They still earn money.