Chicken Feed

[homesteadmomma]

I am not trying to cause any problems by posting this and am hoping I will totally different answers on this forum than I would on BYC.

My dh and I were discussing money last night and he pointed out how much animal feed we go through each month. I was wondering if there is a cheaper option than laying pellets out there. Right now they get free choice laying pellets but between the chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese it is really adding up.

I have an ad out trying to find new homes for some of them but until then.......

 

[ksalvagno]

Do they free range?

 

[homesteadmomma]

For the most part yes they do, except right now because dh planted new grass seed and he doesn't want then to eat it. I can't imagine why not!!!

 

[homesteadmomma]

I also want to add that I don't want to cut corners at the expense of the health of the birds.

 

[BarredBuff]

I free range constantly and I used to buy top quality feed, but I came to the conclusion that if they free range and eat lower quality feed that it would even out.

 

[homesteadmomma]

I free range constantly and I used to buy top quality feed, but I came to the conclusion that if they free range and eat lower quality feed that it would even out.

Well I am buying the Purina Home Grown pellet feed and basically wondering if I could a cheaper alternative. What? I don't know but like whole grain or something?

PS. I love your sig line.

 

[Beekissed]

Freemotion makes her own whole grain mix that looks yummy and I think is less expensive than layer mash/pellets.

I only feed once in the evening for my free ranged flock. They waste less and the rodents don't pack it away...you'd be surprised how much you may be losing to rodents.

I also cut laying rations with some cheaper whole grains in the winter time of slow laying. I will mix in cracked corn, oats, alfalfa pellets ($6 for 50 lb here and it helps replace the greens they don't get in the winter) and a little BOSS. I throw the BOSS into the deep litter so they will keep it fluffed and turned for me.

I also cull strictly in the spring and fall. I realize some birds slow down in molt but I like to keep birds that still lay occasionally in the winter. I refuse to keep free loaders out of sentiment...well...except one old BA that I really like.

My older flock, mostly 3 year olds, are being turned into breast filets and raw dog food shortly, as they have slowed down tremendously. I am currently getting 2-3 eggs from 13 hens.

All of these things keep my expenses down.

 

[freemotion]

Let me guess....you got totally flamed for not providing for your chickens at the expense of your mortgage/rent and food for your kids....

I started on the whole grain path due to my philosophies (no soy and no trust in what goes into anything that is in the form of a pellet or mash! A lot of garbage can be hidden in there, as all the recalls have proven) and my love of a good experiment but now the bad economy has really hit my family hard so I am very thankful that I am positioned to save and have the confidence that my animals are actually BETTER OFF NOW.

Whole grains are cheaper for most people...they are hard to get here! But cheaper than layer feed. In short, you need a carbohydrate source and a protein source. The carbohydrates should be a mix of at least 2-3 grains to balance nutrient issues in certain grains. The protein can be a number of things...what can you get ahold of? It can be field peas, soy if you are ok with that, meat, and bugs in a free-range situation. You can raise live protein with things like soldier fly larvae.

Or you can sprout barley. I do this and add animal protein as often as I can get it in the winter when no bugs are available. This means mashed bones from broth and catfood making, old milk and kefir, cooked eggs that were cracked or too soiled, fat scraps from rendering lard and suet.

You can get even more creative with foraging. I've picked and chopped dandelion greens for my more confined birds (broody hens and chicks, for example) as well as grass. Most veggie scraps will also be eaten, better if run through the food processor.

I recently got a lot of overripe sweet corn in the husks for my pigs....a group of young cockerels in my flock no longer comes to eat when I feed the rest of the flock. They eat corn right off the cob with the pigs.

Another thing I do that saves a tremendous amount of feed....almost cut my feed bill in half the first year I did this...I toss the feed to the flock twice a day, and that is what they get. Period. No food left in feeders for the vermin to take away and store underground somewhere. I scatter the grains a handful at a time until they lose enthusiasm. I make sure the shy ones get a chance before I stop.

If I will be late in the winter, I leave something for them like an apple or a squash or pumpkin to peck at in their coop where the goats can't steal it and the vermin aren't really interested.

And glean, glean, glean. There are opportunities all around you. Many farmers and gardeners hate to see stuff go to waste.

 

[freemotion]

IMPORTANT!!!! I almost forgot!!! It takes three weeks to switch them over, as they need to develop crop strength to handle whole grains. Maybe a little less time if you were generous with the whole grain scratch. If they are confined, then will need to be provided with a source of grit. Crushed granite. Some stores sell oyster shell labelled as grit...it is NOT GRIT! (Ticks me off! )

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

I also want to add that I don't want to cut corners at the expense of the health of the birds.

HA! spoken like a refugee from BYC! come on in, honey, we're the "new" normal.. all farmy and such
;-)

here's how we do it:

1. open coop door in the morning
2. yell: hey you b*tches! get out there and free range because its FREE

end of story
;-)

actually i feed layer mash (way WAY cheaper at the local feedstore) in the evenings. during the day, especially in summer, its corn+goat milk and all the bugs they can find. we were DROWNING in eggs all this summer.

i also throw some scratch out there and sometimes a scoop of corn. today i had a big tub of weeds from the garden. believe me, no one is suffering out there.

sorry you had a bad time of it over there. i'm convinced that BYC is now entirely peopled by teenage girls who carry their chickens around in their purse. and vegetarians. for heavens sakes how many posts do they need to cover the "how can you eat your own chickens" issue?

golly.

you'll do just fine, honey. if they start bullying you over there you just let us know and we'll saddle up the posse and come on in.