Glad everyone has found some good use of this video! Just wanted to clear up some thing since making this video prices of everything has doubled! (Not great) plus our new flock never seem to enjoy this much so we have switched to commercial feed for the time being til we figure out a way to make a homemade recipe that the price can be closer to the commercial feed per pound. Thank you all for watching and trust me your chickens will love this!
I give mine pellets plus whole seed. In the winter when they can't you out foraging for themselves due to the Avian Flu I sprout the seeds and that makes the feed a lot healthier and last longer. I dump some grains into a bucket and fill with water over night and then I just rinse it twice a day. I have at least two or three buckets going at the same time since I got 45 chickens. The big pellets I have begun to soak in water to make them tastier but have decided to keep to the small ones since I've discovered that my smaller chichens e.g. Cream Legbar have trouble eating them because they're too big. They can't eat whole corn either unless they're sprouted. I think my chickens have been healthier since I begun to sprout seed. In the Summer, however, there were too much greens for their digestion so I paused the sprouting and will start again soon.
My chickens won't eat the whole oats. Research showed me that unless you buy organic oats, it is most likely contaminated with glyphosate. Farmers spray it on oats as a desiccant to dry it out for faster harvest. I've noticed if we use non contaminated grain that they like it much more. They like the black oil sunflower seeds the most and corn second. They seem to do better with cracked corn instead of whole corn.
What about the fat content with the flax and BOSS? We will stick with feed from the farm grainery, but I think I will grind up a few of those items and mix in the feed
Some of the best eggs I ever had came from chickens that were given a square bale of alfalfa in their chicken house. The chickens would peck and pick that bale down to stems. Then you just sweep everything into the compost and start over with a new bale. The eggs we got totally stood up and were as orange as a piece of salmon. Good stuff.
I don't have any chickens yet. I am trying to learn before getting them. But, my recent experience with my dog is that the commercial dogfood, even the highest rated is about 50% carbohydrates. As a species, dogs really have no need for carbohydrates. Fiber can be from sources other than high carb foods. My sweet border collie died of hemangiosarcoma, cancer of the blood vessels. The incident of cancer in dogs and even cats is skyrocketing. Carbohydrates fuel tumors and cancer growth. I will never trust a commercially made dog food again. Once your sweet innocent pet gets an aggressive and always fatal cancer, you find that making their food is not a hassle. I had never heard of feeding animals species specific diets before. Keeping chickens for eggs was never on my radar until recently. So, now I hope to learn what is species specific food for a chicken. I really would like to have them around the yard and garden to eat pests and hopefully click beetles and slugs. If there are more websites or books to help a novice learn about chicken keeping, I would appreciate the insight. Thanks
@@fionag8869 Try getting some alfalfa pellets, pour some boiling water to soak/soften (you can add your layer pellets too) and make them a nice warm "slop" especially in the colder months. Add some stale bread, scratch, any refrigerator leftovers, to thicken a bit, plus crushed eggshells, etc.
40 lbs whole oats, 20 lbs whole corn, 20-25 lbs black oil sunflower seed, 10 lbs of split peas, 5 lbs flax seed, plus sprinkling diatomaceous earth, with side bowls of shell and grit. Sounds good - thanks!
Thank y'all for the prayers for my hubby Brian. He passed away unexpectedly almost 3 weeks ago to be with Jesus. I know I'll see him very very soon but am struggling without him. Prayers are REALLY appreciated. 🙏✝️❤️🕊️💜🌹
Lord, bow your head and listen to all the prayers made for this person to be healed, please raise your healing hand and give him healing in the precious name of Jesus of Nazareth! Amen and Amen!!! 🙏
Great mix :) I'll add grit and diatomaceous earth as well. I have 12 hens and collect on average 11 eggs a day. The least amount we had was 9. Yesterday my black Australorps shocked me by laying 2 eggs each! I spoil them also almost every day with chopped up parsley or comfrey or dandelion leaves from my garden. I also give them meal worms as a treat once every 2 weeks. Also mix plain yogurt with oats, they love it! I didn't even know you can give them a sardine tin once in a while! Yes my girls are so spoiled and loved. They are also free ranged. I know not everybody can do what we do but we are thankful we are able to. Blessings to all the backyard chicken keepers :)
This is all GREAT advise for a lot of people. Sounds like you love your chickens and they have someone who takes great care of them. Thanks for watching!
@Thomas 🇺🇸 I am no liar and I just checked on the internet, there are confirmed cases where hens laid 2 eggs a day. It's not common but definitely not rare. Have a nice day :)
I have seen on several channels to use “whole corn” in the winter. My son-in-law worked for a huge hog farm. One of the daily duties was “clean up detail”… sweeping up the spilled corn onto the concrete “walkway”. My son-in-law asked me if I needed any corn for my chickens. He explained that they get 5 gallon buckets upon buckets of the cleanup corn and it would be OK to bring me a couple of buckets to feed the chickens. I had a flock of approximately 25 hens and two roosters. One of the roosters was a beautifully marked Arcana. I was so looking forward to hatching some eggs from him, he was just beautiful to look at and had a great personality too. He started making a loud pitched whistling noise and stopped eating. I had mixed the whole corn in with other feed and didn’t think anything about it. There was an old guy that lived close to me that had chickens his entire life. I explained what my rooster was doing and asked him if he knew what it was. He looked very sad and said yes I know what it is. He said your rooster has a few kernels of whole corn down in his craw (gizzard)and can’t get it moved. He explained that whole kernel corn takes forever to break down and if too much of it gets in the craw it will kill the bird because they can’t eat because the corn has got everything stopped up, so they literally starve to death or die from not being able to breathe. I learned the hard way and I try to watch while pouring cracked corn to remove any whole kernels.
@Life-is-a-mist ,I have begun “fermenting” their food. I have 3 buckets and put all of their food in there. Then I cover it with hot water and let it soak up. Are usually have to add water a couple of more times. Do you want to keep it submerged underwater so that it doesn’t mold. I read about that somewhere, and I thought you a bit that’s nasty. It does kind of have a homebrew type smell that’s what I wanna say I guess. But they absolutely love it love love love it. Yes cooked corn would be OK, It is just a hard CORN can’t get past their gizzard and ends up killing them.
@@daihy7889 ,I had not heard of it either. But the old chicken farmer knew immediately what the problem was,so it evidently has been around for a long time.
@Acres Of Adventure Homestead I'm especially enchanted by the magical mixing song that must be sung in order to ensure proper mixing of the feed. 🧚🏼♀️🪄🌽🫛🐔✨️🥚🥚🥚🐤🐤🐤
Man my grandmother cooked 3 big meals a day. The chickens got the leftovers. We never bought chicken food..now I am 71. My chickens were getting commercial food.. they stoped laying.. I got beans and noodles and rice, I make a big pot cooked. They love it. Egg production is up. I give my nabors eggs. I also free range them. I put mothers vinegar in there drinking water . Oyster shells . Also Damascus earth. This kills parasites. I like watching a hen bring out a bunch of little babies. They are so cute.
I give my chickens cooked white rice, oatmeal, yogurt, diced apples( no seeds), berries, bananas, cooked corn or raw corn on the cob, cabbage, greens, DE and calcium in their laying feed. I add sardines, tuna and a great quality small bits dry dog food.
I was in tears yesterday as I simply can not afford the extra feed in the winter. I am going to give this a go and maybe save myself from becoming a failure here at raising chickens. thank you
There are so many good ideas here in the chat to help. We bought commercial feed and they don't like it. I chop cabbage and parsley every morning with their feed. Chop up all the kitchen scraps, sunflower seeds etc crushed egg shells and they have the run of the garden. They love it when we bbq......love hamburger and bits of steak lol. They also love pasta and rice......all in moderation and it's fun to watch them running around with spaghetti dangling like a worm from their beak. Oh and they love the compost......it's the candy shop.
I have a compost tumbler and it gets loaded with fly larvae. I give them a shovel full every few days for a free source of protein. I am thinking about growing my own meal worms as well as the fly larvae might not be there during the winter months. Given a choice, chickens always seem to seek protein first. Maybe concentrate on BOSS which has both protein and good fat and vegetable scraps. I am suspecting that an assortment of grains isn't as critical.
For those wanting to get chickens... I have at least 3 local Amish farms (southern Ohio) that buy 12-15,000 chicks every summer (1 June) so they HAVE to sell ALL their 1 year old chickens (already laying) by the 3rd week of May and they usually give a good price.
@@donnawojdacz6969 A couple questions... Where are you located? Do you have Amish near by that have chicken egg farms? The ones near me are around the West Union OH area. I can give more info if you still need.
@@ret9546 A couple questions... Where are you located? Do you have Amish near by that have chicken egg farms? The ones near me are around the West Union OH area. I can give more info if you still need.
I have been looking for a homemade feed for a long time. You explained about the protein content and now I feel confident about it. Great Job! Thank you! Your daughter is precious. Blessings on your family!💚
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! I want to ensure my chickens are eating clean, healthy food, and making my own feed sounds like the perfect solution
It makes me cold, just watching you stand there in the snow. Down here in Texas. Some cold weather just arrived and we shut down school for two days. Seriously… We are so rural that our frozen two-way highway with no shoulder will be a real danger. liked your protein explanation.
Side note: if you can afford it, it is best to purchase a good commercial feed for your chickens to ensure they have a balanced diet. The above listed recipe would be a great scratch grain recipe to give them in the afternoon. Do your due diligence and come to your own conclusions. This is the EXACT same recipe that Off Grid with Doug and Stacy use. I saw their old video on this from like 6 years ago. Your written out list of proteins even matches hers. And, someone had to correct her on her math, too. Yes, you can give lentils to chickens. Give them cracked corn in the colder months because it helps their body produce heat. I wouldn't give them any corn in the hottest months for the same reason. Fermenting this feed will help them get the most nutrients from the food, better digestion, and provides them with probiotics. To ferment this feed, you need to use non-chlorinated water. Put the feed in a jar and cover it completely with the water. Let it sit for 3 days, stirring every day. It will start getting bubbly and smell like sourdough. Make sure the feed stays covered in water so it doesnt mold. Now, some folks reuse this water for their next batch. I would start fresh. It's okay if they drink the water, too. The food grade de is to help them with internal parasites and whatnot. I would also put a small amount of de in their nest bedding, coop floor litter and dust bath. Not much. It isnt good for their respiratory system to inhale a lot of de. I'll be using ashes from the wood stove in the Spring as part of their dust bath. You can also put 1 tbs ACV to a gallon of water for them about once or twice a week. Sometimes you might want to put some crushed garlic in their water to help with internal parasites. Be sure the ACV is raw, not pasteurized. I recommend Braggs. This is not for any metal waterers, either. I would also replace it with fresh water after about 48 hours. You can also sprout certain seeds to give your chickens a nice protein treat in the winter.
Why a cloth over the top? I started fermenting a week ago but saw quite a few videos using a lid. I use a gallon glass jar with a plastic lid with plenty of headspace....like more than half.
@@onemoredoll5791 Ah! My mistake! That's for making vinegar. Lol. I want a pickle pipe. It's a special type flat that allows the gas to escape so you don't have to burp the jar.
@@TeresaV awesome comment!! You really know your stuff. But do u really think corn warms them too much during summer? Wouldn't climate zones come into this factor?
Hello from the thumb! Don't forget about the oyster shell. You can clean their egg shells and crush them to give it back to them and cracked corn works better for them. Great job! Also you have to have locations for them to avoid disease. You have to transfer them once a year. Even if you have a ground coop you can just move it. You can try to get molasses added to your feed. Some people use day old bread from the bread store to fill out their feed. If you tell them it's for livestock, they'll give you a great deal! If you go to the feed elevator, it's best and they can add molasses for you. Tell them you want layer feed. I hope this helps!
Been hearing a lot of chicken owners having problems with egg laying lately with commercial feeds...thanks for the great info! My chicks will be arriving tomorrow!
I feed mine a commercial feed, and they are still laying well. I feed mine a mixed flock feed because I have ducks as well,.not sure if that makes a difference. Also, the laying production may just be a seasonal thing. As days go shorter, they stop laying as well. As days get longer in spring, that should pick up We put a lamp on them, not only for some heat, but for more sunlight. I have the light on a timer for 5-9 am and pm which gives them summer hours of light. (There is a window in the cool, and they have access to outside every day over 30 degrees) However, keeping light on them year round can actually shorten their lives...laying eggs takes its toll. So I give them a break for a couple months after September. I add light to them after Thanksgiving, so they get a break, but by Christmas baking, we have eggs again. I have a couple hens that are 8 years old and they are still laying, so that break must be working.
Thanks for the information about chickens taking a time out Paula 🎯🔥🔥 Some folks don't understand this and think something is wrong with their old girl's. 😙
We live in Michigan also, but we get our feed from a Co-Op. They will mix the feed however we want & it's Alot better than commercial feed. We can adjust the ratio however we want, plus we know what goes into the feed, & it's usually cheaper in the long run & we use larger quantities. REALLY loved the video. Have a blessed day. Prayers, peace, and luv to y'all.✝️🙏❤️🕊️💜🌹
@@AcresOfAdventure EXACTLY!!! That's why we use a co-op as we can order exactly what we want in our chicken feed. Have a blessed day and thank you sooooo much for sharing your wonderful videos. Prayers, peace, and much love to you.✝️🙏❤️🕊️💜🌹
@@AcresOfAdventure, what Co-ops are you looking at? We go down to Indiana right now, but found out they were bought out by a mill from NY and may or may not continue to sell to the public.
I have my WHOLE seed mix on a 3 day ferment. You can also sprout whole seeds or...even grow food plots from them! I put the whole corn I have thru a blender to crush it because my younger chickens were leaving it behind. I also add crushed cat kibble that my cat didn't want to supplement the protein when winter and no bugs. Meal worms are excellent too. Fantastic video
That's the answer I was looking for. I was wondering how they'd get much nutrition out of whole kernels. Also, what about putting the sunflower seeds into the blender too? How much nutrition would they be getting if they're not splitting the shells off? When I give them stuff like oats and other stuff, sometimes I'll soak them first, too. I've sprouted my own organic, non gmo barley for them as well.
Really appreciate this. I have had chickens for over a year now and while they are doing well with commercial food I think its time to start making my own. This was a really clear and full description and explanation. Thanks.
Glad it helped you out Dayle! This feed worked very well for us but if you still want to buy a brand of food I suggest new country organics. They are pricey but it is great quality!
@@Sinju88 Hi Elizabeth. You have put this query under my comment and it has come to me instead of the RUclips owner. You might want to go back and redo.
Love the idea of peas and flaxseed! I add in oyster shells and occasionally mealworms and red pepper flakes. I already mix the whole corn, oats and BOSS.
I am in C. FL and have yard birds that are out picking thru sand and weeds each day. I have started adding puppy dog food for higher protein content. I also dry and crush used egg shells and add into mix. My egg shells are firmer and I am getting more eggs. Your presentation was very well done, thank you for sharing.
I came over to learn how to make chicken feed. As you know the cost of eggs are now. I watch homesteaders. Most of what I am hearing is how hard it is to find and the cost. I look 👀 at your ingredients and see that much of what you are using are not cheap. I can see you love your chickens. Now it leaves me to think much of the feed you are using can be grown on the homestead. And do you use oyster shells? Thank you for sharing.
Hey Tom, love the video and will be using this recipe for our chickens. However, just want to let you know that your homemade chicken feed has 3% more protein content than you calculated. Your calculation was spot on, but you forgot one little step. When you are calculating the amount of protein per 30lbs of oats which on average is 15% protien. That means that out of 30lbs of oats in a perfect world, 4.5lbs of the oats is protein while 25.5lbs is carbs. (4.5lbs protein)+(25.5lbs Carbs)=30lbs of Oats.... So after you calculate the average amount of protein per/weight of grain you add "Corn, peas, oats etc." you add up all those numbers like you did. Then you divide that number by the total weight of all the grains you added. Which then gives you an average protein content of your feed of 19.35%. I'll do my best to type it all out below to hopefully make more sense.... Oats. Average amount of Protein 15% (30lbs)x(15% or .15)= 4.5lbs of protein/30lbs of oats Corn. Average amount of Protein 9% (20lbs)x(9% or .09)= 1.8lbs of protein/20lbs of corn Black oil sunflower seed. Average amount of Protein 26% (20lbs)x(26% or .26)= 5.2lbs of Protein/20lbs of Black sunflower seed Flaxseed. Average amount of protein 37% (5lbs)x(37% or .37)= 1.85lbs of protein/ 5lbs of flaxseed Split pee Average amount of protein 25% (10lbs)x( 25% or .25)= 2.5lbs of protein/ 10lbs of split peas Now that you calculated the total average weight of protein for each grain, you then add up all the protein theoretical weight. (4.5lbs Oat Protein)+(1.8lbs Corn Protein)+(5.2lbs of Black sunflower seed Protein)+(1.85lbs Flax Protein)+(2.5lb Pea Protein)=15.85lb protein (4.5lbs)+(1.8lbs)+(5.2lbs)+(1.85lbs)+(2.5lbs)= 15.85lbs of protien Now you add up the total weight of each grain added. (30lbs Oat)+(20lbs Corn)+(20lbs of Black sunflower seed)+(5lbs Flax seed)+(10lbs Pea)= 85lbs total grain weight. (30lbs)+(20lbs)+(20lbs)+(5lbs)+(10lbs)= 85lbs total grain weight. Now you take your Protein weight and divide it by the total grain weight. (15.85lbs of protein)/(85lbs of total grain weight)= 0.1865 or 18.65% protein content for the total 85lb grain mix chicken feed.
Hi, Loved the video. We just started keeping chickens and this is helpful. Just wanted to point out that the protein is lots higher than you are thinking. 30 pounds of corn at 15% protein per pound is 4.5 pounds of protein from corn, so you last column is pounds of protein. I think you have 85 pounds of feed with 16.45 lbs of protein so a little over 20.5% protein. The hens should be very happy!
I have 11 silky chickens, and they are prone to vitamin deficiencies... So for myself it is important to find a good food for my chickens. With your information I am now on the Internet to learn more about each grains as to give my chickens better quality feed in bulk...thank you so much for the information.
Good info ! Thanks for the video. I have 40 chickens here in South Texas, and I barely have to feed them since they are free range all day... But, like you said, homemade has got to be better than commercial bought ! I love my girls, they deserve everything good !
SUPER video. You've done the math and saved us out here the work! Great to know now that we are having to deal with the new and "deproved" feed at our beloved TSC.
This has been a great learning video, thank you! I would suggest that all of your viewers read all the way through the comments! You have revamped some of your idea's and there are many other great ideas that seem pretty significant to me!
Go Spartans! My husband was from Michigan and went to that school . Love the snow and seeing your dogs and daughter helping. Great healthy recipe. Prices of eggs are so Outrageous now. You're blessed to have your own.
My recipe is similar to this, but I only use 5 lbs of boss and one pound of flax seeds. I also throw in half a bag of chopped alfalfa, which is high in protein, and my chickens love it. when I soak my feed, I leave the alfalfa out of that batch and put the chopped alfalfa directly in the run. My chickens usually eat the alfalfa first, then they go for the boss, then they scratch at the rest later because they will be full of alfalfa.
Thank you thank you thank you. In the last couple weeks trying to figure out how to do this without jeopardizing the health of my girls (hens). I almost did what you did but I appreciate the list you gave. Thank you thank you thank you. You were a Godsend.😊
Thank you so much. I am going to go to the feed store tomorrow and start making my own feed for my babies. Awesome video and exactly what I was looking for. And your daughter is absolutely precious thank you again
Hey Tom. I’ve been raising chickens for about six months now. This feed looks so much healthier than what I’ve been buying. I’m gonna give this recipe a shot and see what happens. Thanks for the video and God bless.
Thanks for sharing the video, with all the issues with tractor supply feed it was a good starting point. I really appreciate your honesty stating that you went back to commercial feed. After doing some research I think the amount of oats your using is too high. One quick alternative is to give them the commercial feed and supplement with the black oil sunflower seeds to boast the protean and get them laying.
My, how the prices and quality of feed has changed in 11 months!! From Tractor Supply pelleted chicken feed being detrimental for laying hens ,to not being able to get flaxseed at all here in Arizona! I,too have been mixing my own feed. Thank you for this video! Now I’ll try to find peas.
Thanks for this great video! But I have some info for you on your % protein calculation. When you multiply the weight by the % protein, you get the weight of the protein, not the % protein. Add up those weights and divide by the total weight(85 lbs) to get the % protein of the whole mix. This way your % protein is actually over 19%!
Sunflower seen is one of the top 2 best sources of natural Viamin E. Really good for skin, nails, hair, feathers & eyes. Makes the eggs so much healthier for us. Flax seed has a short shelf life, you don't want to stock up on extra flax seed. I bag at a time or it goes rancid.
I add 1-2 cups food grade diatomaceous earth to my mix. Keeps bugs out of the feed mix & is a natural dewormer. I do that for all my livestock feeds. I gave my horse 1/2 cup in his feed daily. Will add this to new goats' feed. Here in NW Florida we battle bugs & parasites all year long.
The instructions on my bag of food grade do is to NOT use more than something like 2% of dot to total feed weight…because it is not very palletable to the animals in general…but it is beneficial…I use it but very sparingly
Many people feed the cheapest pellets and now have NO EGGS! I have never fed pellets. Meal worms, seed mix and oyster shells. Now I have your menue and will update my feed. Thank you!
I have switched my chickens over to whole grains but I go to local farmers to get my ingredients. I ferment 3-4 days and feed dry 2-3 days. About once every couple of weeks i will get a bag of commercial feed and mix in with my mix but my birds have gotten to where they eat the commercial feed last. I save all of my egg shells to air dry and crush to add back to their feed.
I've ground flaxseeds when I had constipation. Man, only use about 1/2 tsp cause it gave me massive diarrhea. Hopefully it doesn't do that to the hens. Thank you SO MUCH for this video it was so helpful! I am so glad to have found your channel
yes , all grains have increased in price but commercial feed has gone up to. what you have here I use as a treat feed A plus to their diet. It's an extract 20 for me. What I get in return is always healthy and quality. Thanks for your video.
You actually have 16.45 lbs protein in 85 lbs of feed, or 19.35% of protein. For my chickens I've been feeding them regular chicken feed from the store as well as lots of table scraps and plants from my garden I don't want to compost. Thanks for the video, I'll try some of these ideas.
It's actually around 15.85 lbs protein in 85 lbs, or 18.65% protein. Lbs ÷ Total lbs x %protein (30 ÷ 85 x 15) + (20 ÷ 85 × 9) + (20 ÷ 85 × 26) + (5 ÷ 85 × 37) + (10÷85×25) = 18.64705... or 18.65% protein Best wishes to all!
Just a tip u mite try instead of oyster shells or the like, we ended up getn eggs occasionally that smelled like rotten fish. A better option is to throw your egg shells in w/your kitchen scraps for them, thats been workn for us for 15+yrs.
I make my own chicken feed but I had never considered the flax seed but I will be adding it. I sprout my lentils and give them to my chickens a couple of times a week as treat.
Great video! There's a reason commercial feed looks alike, little pellets of similar shapes and sizes. Its because Dr Joel Wallach and Meryll Perkins spent years doing genetic research to find out why livestock would experience particular disease. What they found is that it was all related to diet. Non migratory animals cannot always get all the nutrients they need to stay healthy, hence the development of 'diet specific' feed for all variety of breeds. It may give us warm fuzzies creating all this delicious, eye appealing feed, but I would include some of the commercial feed just to ensure my animals got what they needed. Dr Wallach's book is called Epigenetics. Excellent read!
I'd run it through a grinder set to coarse. I think all those big chunks are hard on the gizzard. I'd also add thistle and dandelion seed if you can find it.
The first list you showed included milo which is technically grain sorghum and very high in protein and easy to grow. If you want to grow a high-protein ingredient without having to pay a lot, sorghum is a good grain. Also, stinging nettles Urtica Dioica are high in chlorophyll and protein but you have to cook it slightly to knock out the formic acid. My boss used to have a farm and fed that to their turkeys because they loved it. I know turkey protein needs are very high compared to chickens. Also easy to grow. They are perennial and will survive winter to grow back again in the spring.
My uncles always grew millet, sunflowers and corn in the 'garden' for the hens and pigs. They also got leftovers from family meals. We live down South so, some cold weather but much more hot.
Hi. New subscriber here. This is a great video. I think the rations are perfect. I wouldn't change a thing. Going out tomorrow to purchase all these items to make it. I've been raising chickens for 13 years. I wish I started this sooner . Thanks for your time!
Thank you so much for sharing!! I am new to chickens and doing what I can to better provide their nutrients. I make them a breakfast brunch of sorts, that I shared on a video, that I give to them as a treat a few mornings a week. I top it off with a mix similar to what you put together here. What I found with the store bought, and there are some good brands, is that the cost is high yet when I see artificial flavorings and preservatives I then desire to feed them better. Hence why I started a brunch of sorts in addition to their feed. I appreciate the info. Now with my list in hand, I need to make a trip to the grain store. Thank you!! ~ Laura 🐔
Wow this chicken business looks more complicated than I thought. Iam happy to see people are helping each other bc we must stick together & Pray 🙏! I don't have chickens, but my grandparents had a farm mostly corn & cattle sometimes chickens & hogs. I did not pay attention to anything they did & wish I did with gardening or crops people need farmers & all you people who have this knowledge to survive the problems our gov caused with WHO mandates. Thank you all for sharing your in my prayers.
Transitioning my chickens from commercial to whole grain. This recipe is similar to what I’m creating. Found a lot of items cheap at a local grain store and a few items online that is organic. Also, Michigander here too 😉
@@cperkin6880 chickens have a harder time with whole corn. Cracked is better. Ducks are more apt at being able to handle whole corn. I do have all mine cracked tho and it's always in moderation as there isn't much nutritional value in it and in the summer may cause them to heat up unnecessarily because it's harder to break down than other grains so therefore their bodies work harder at that = being a little warmer. I found with my flocks that since I've had the corn cracked they have a more consistent feed year-round.
I was feeding laying feed from the feed store. My birds free range and we’re looking rough. I was told that because they free range they are eating a lot of plants which is diluting their % protein further. They were looking rather ragged. It happened that I hatched turkeys out and my chickens had access to turkey starter for a few weeks as well it’s their laying feed. I noticed their feathers coming back and they looked much better. I’m thinking I may try out your feed or at least add some flax and boss to my existing feed to bump up the protein. Thanks for your video!
Thanks. I'm going to try this. My free range chickens won't eat crumble,, they just shove it on the ground and it rots and smells bad. In the winter I want to make sure they have enough to eat. Great video you covered it all I think. I liked the kid the dogs the whole bit. God bless you.
I'd be curious to know a cost breakdown of this compared to commercial feed. I'm guessing this would only cost slightly more (10% maybe?), but I really don't know. I'm gonna look into sourcing this stuff here in NC, and try to see if it's feasible for my family.
I have been fascinated with someone's setup in Vermont that I thought was absolutely brilliant. I cannot remember the gentleman's name but he runs the Vermont Compost Company. He never feeds his chickens grain; he just turns them loose on the compost pile. I'm sure I have some neighbors who would be interested in trading their biodegradables for eggs. My husband and I haven't started our flock yet because we got behind this summer with the heat wave, and unless we can find some full-grown chickens for an affordable price we are not likely to have a flock until spring which is really going to suck. We are also currently looking for rabbits but dang we have to drive a long way to get them, the chickens too. My husband and I are trying to do this on a shoestring budget already but we have started to have a bit of luck. We recently acquired three buildings, one for our coop/rabbit house and two of which we are recycling for lumber, the previous owner was ready to burn them down so we got them for free.
Stephanie I hope that you and your husband get it all figured out because although it is work it is so much fun to learn about all of this way of living. Wish you guys the best, god bless.
@@AcresOfAdventure thank you very much, things are moving so fast and we should have an older flock in a couple of weeks. After further research, I learned that chicks hardened off in the spring end up being hardier birds where I live so we'll be raising chicks in an in-coop brooder this winter to help them transition to the existing flock easier... whether we're ready, or not, here they come! 😄 God bless you as well. I look forward to learning more from your content.
I feed corn to my chickens because they love it and for the meat birds it produces a rich yellow fat that greatly improves the flavor of the chickens. The broth is so rich and flavorful.
Great video. Thanks for sharing 👍💯 fermenting is great, it doubles if not triples your feed and the animals love it. They also love them as microgreens 😁
Sooo helpful! Thnk u! Had a question about Grit, but u covered it at end.....😊🐥🐤 New about DE for their dusting places and bedding but never heard of putting it in their feed?
Hey, thanks for the info, I knew there was something wrong with a certain coporate farm and tractor chain, my chickens would not eat the pellets, nor would the birds, the squrriels nor the ants. So I googled other feed stores in my area, one feed store (at that time) was 1 1/2 hours away from my home. So I went to Wal-mart just bought bird seed, but they haven't eaten very much of it,( they do eat bugs and seeds from yard) My friend told me of a little known feed store in an unlikely place and was able to get 1 bag. So I really appreciate the receipe to keep chickens healty. Thanks
A couple years ago, my chickens refused to eat the corn in the scratch… we are here in Arizona don’t know where the corn is coming from. I started buying cornless scratch. Sounds like a good combination of things you are using.
I have only 4 hens, I buy organics scratch but then give them everyday fresh produce. Napa cabbage, different type of salads, spinach, cucumber, watermelon, honey dew, fresh corn. I grow some salads for them. They also like parsley and scrap carrots etc from my cooking. I got some black sunflower seeds but they don't like it much. I also going the egg shell and give it back to them (they like it 10x better than oyster shell)
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Glad everyone has found some good use of this video! Just wanted to clear up some thing since making this video prices of everything has doubled! (Not great) plus our new flock never seem to enjoy this much so we have switched to commercial feed for the time being til we figure out a way to make a homemade recipe that the price can be closer to the commercial feed per pound. Thank you all for watching and trust me your chickens will love this!
I give mine pellets plus whole seed. In the winter when they can't you out foraging for themselves due to the Avian Flu I sprout the seeds and that makes the feed a lot healthier and last longer. I dump some grains into a bucket and fill with water over night and then I just rinse it twice a day. I have at least two or three buckets going at the same time since I got 45 chickens. The big pellets I have begun to soak in water to make them tastier but have decided to keep to the small ones since I've discovered that my smaller chichens e.g. Cream Legbar have trouble eating them because they're too big. They can't eat whole corn either unless they're sprouted. I think my chickens have been healthier since I begun to sprout seed. In the Summer, however, there were too much greens for their digestion so I paused the sprouting and will start again soon.
My chickens won't eat the whole oats. Research showed me that unless you buy organic oats, it is most likely contaminated with glyphosate. Farmers spray it on oats as a desiccant to dry it out for faster harvest. I've noticed if we use non contaminated grain that they like it much more. They like the black oil sunflower seeds the most and corn second. They seem to do better with cracked corn instead of whole corn.
@@traciperkins637 Maybe you could sprout the oats and see if they like that.
What about the fat content with the flax and BOSS? We will stick with feed from the farm grainery, but I think I will grind up a few of those items and mix in the feed
If you start your chicks out on your homemade blend that's all they will know and that's what they will eat for the rest of their life
Some of the best eggs I ever had came from chickens that were given a square bale of alfalfa in their chicken house. The chickens would peck and pick that bale down to stems. Then you just sweep everything into the compost and start over with a new bale. The eggs we got totally stood up and were as orange as a piece of salmon. Good stuff.
I don't have any chickens yet. I am trying to learn before getting them. But, my recent experience with my dog is that the commercial dogfood, even the highest rated is about 50% carbohydrates. As a species, dogs really have no need for carbohydrates. Fiber can be from sources other than high carb foods. My sweet border collie died of hemangiosarcoma, cancer of the blood vessels. The incident of cancer in dogs and even cats is skyrocketing. Carbohydrates fuel tumors and cancer growth. I will never trust a commercially made dog food again. Once your sweet innocent pet gets an aggressive and always fatal cancer, you find that making their food is not a hassle. I had never heard of feeding animals species specific diets before. Keeping chickens for eggs was never on my radar until recently. So, now I hope to learn what is species specific food for a chicken. I really would like to have them around the yard and garden to eat pests and hopefully click beetles and slugs. If there are more websites or books to help a novice learn about chicken keeping, I would appreciate the insight. Thanks
My grls wont eat alfalfa?
That's good to know. I'll use it.
@@DonnaMM6361 Off Grid with Doug And Stacy also cover a homemade chicken feed recipe...
@@fionag8869 Try getting some alfalfa pellets, pour some boiling water to soak/soften (you can add your layer pellets too) and make them a nice warm "slop" especially in the colder months. Add some stale bread, scratch, any refrigerator leftovers, to thicken a bit, plus crushed eggshells, etc.
40 lbs whole oats, 20 lbs whole corn, 20-25 lbs black oil sunflower seed, 10 lbs of split peas, 5 lbs flax seed, plus sprinkling diatomaceous earth, with side bowls of shell and grit. Sounds good - thanks!
One person said to use white millet. Any I ne we l se hear I f tgat?
Corn is just a filler though. 😕
Corn is calories/fat.
@@amandacurtis7245 Which is needed in the winter, especially. Birds have higher metabolisms than mammals, so they burn through those calories quickly.
lack the proper minerals and calcium and recipe is too much fiber.
Thank y'all for the prayers for my hubby Brian. He passed away unexpectedly almost 3 weeks ago to be with Jesus. I know I'll see him very very soon but am struggling without him. Prayers are REALLY appreciated. 🙏✝️❤️🕊️💜🌹
Cancer be cursed and destroyed in the name of Jesus. I release life, healing, protection, freedom and blessings over him in Jesus ' name. ♥️🇺🇸
Sending positive energy your way. I hope you both are doing well 🩵🙏🙏🙏
The lord is your strength
Lord, bow your head and listen to all the prayers made for this person to be healed, please raise your healing hand and give him healing in the precious name of Jesus of Nazareth! Amen and Amen!!! 🙏
❤may God Heal you In the name of Jesus
That "thanks Daddy" from your daughter was the sweetest hallmark moment
Great mix :) I'll add grit and diatomaceous earth as well. I have 12 hens and collect on average 11 eggs a day. The least amount we had was 9. Yesterday my black Australorps shocked me by laying 2 eggs each! I spoil them also almost every day with chopped up parsley or comfrey or dandelion leaves from my garden. I also give them meal worms as a treat once every 2 weeks. Also mix plain yogurt with oats, they love it! I didn't even know you can give them a sardine tin once in a while! Yes my girls are so spoiled and loved. They are also free ranged. I know not everybody can do what we do but we are thankful we are able to. Blessings to all the backyard chicken keepers :)
This is all GREAT advise for a lot of people. Sounds like you love your chickens and they have someone who takes great care of them. Thanks for watching!
@@AcresOfAdventure We never stop learning ❤️ Nasturtiums are a great source of vit C too and don’t forget the humble dandelion. ❤️❤️
@Thomas 🇺🇸 I am no liar and I just checked on the internet, there are confirmed cases where hens laid 2 eggs a day. It's not common but definitely not rare.
Have a nice day :)
@@CocoJoubert Yes it happens! 🌸🌸
Do free ranging chickens need grits?
I have seen on several channels to use “whole corn” in the winter.
My son-in-law worked for a huge hog farm. One of the daily duties was “clean up detail”… sweeping up the spilled corn onto the concrete “walkway”. My son-in-law asked me if I needed any corn for my chickens. He explained that they get 5 gallon buckets upon buckets of the cleanup corn and it would be OK to bring me a couple of buckets to feed the chickens.
I had a flock of approximately 25 hens and two roosters. One of the roosters was a beautifully marked Arcana.
I was so looking forward to hatching some eggs from him, he was just beautiful to look at and had a great personality too.
He started making a loud pitched whistling noise and stopped eating.
I had mixed the whole corn in with other feed and didn’t think anything about it. There was an old guy that lived close to me that had chickens his entire life.
I explained what my rooster was doing and asked him if he knew what it was. He looked very sad and said yes I know what it is. He said your rooster has a few kernels of whole corn down in his craw (gizzard)and can’t get it moved. He explained that whole kernel corn takes forever to break down and if too much of it gets in the craw it will kill the bird because they can’t eat because the corn has got everything stopped up, so they literally starve to death or die from not being able to breathe.
I learned the hard way and I try to watch while pouring cracked corn to remove any whole kernels.
@Life-is-a-mist ,I have begun “fermenting” their food. I have 3 buckets and put all of their food in there. Then I cover it with hot water and let it soak up. Are usually have to add water a couple of more times. Do you want to keep it submerged underwater so that it doesn’t mold. I read about that somewhere, and I thought you a bit that’s nasty. It does kind of have a homebrew type smell that’s what I wanna say I guess. But they absolutely love it love love love it. Yes cooked corn would be OK, It is just a hard CORN can’t get past their gizzard and ends up killing them.
Soak your feed the day before not only is it better for their digestion but the fermentation is so good for them!
45 yrexperiance w chickens.Never witnessed or heard o whole maiz-coen causing a peoblem.
I blend my graings to corn meal in my vitamix, yes, 2 cups at a time, a 30 min job for 10 lbs, once a week. Fermenting foods in water helps too!!
@@daihy7889 ,I had not heard of it either. But the old chicken farmer knew immediately what the problem was,so it evidently has been around for a long time.
Your daughter is such a happy child, it's wonderful to see kids in self sufficient homes.
She LOVEs being are big helper here!
@Acres Of Adventure Homestead I'm especially enchanted by the magical mixing song that must be sung in order to ensure proper mixing of the feed.
🧚🏼♀️🪄🌽🫛🐔✨️🥚🥚🥚🐤🐤🐤
She is super cute
Man my grandmother cooked 3 big meals a day. The chickens got the leftovers. We never bought chicken food..now I am 71. My chickens were getting commercial food.. they stoped laying.. I got beans and noodles and rice, I make a big pot cooked. They love it. Egg production is up. I give my nabors eggs. I also free range them. I put mothers vinegar in there drinking water . Oyster shells . Also Damascus earth. This kills parasites. I like watching a hen bring out a bunch of little babies. They are so cute.
Really makes me happy to see a dad spending time with his babygirl...
I give my chickens cooked white rice, oatmeal, yogurt, diced apples( no seeds), berries, bananas, cooked corn or raw corn on the cob, cabbage, greens, DE and calcium in their laying feed. I add sardines, tuna and a great quality small bits dry dog food.
Your chickens may eat better than the other half of the world.
How many does this last before it spoils?
My chickens want to come to your house.
Do you leave the skin on the apples?
I was in tears yesterday as I simply can not afford the extra feed in the winter. I am going to give this a go and maybe save myself from becoming a failure here at raising chickens. thank you
So sorry to hear. I hope this can help out in some sort of way for you
There are so many good ideas here in the chat to help. We bought commercial feed and they don't like it. I chop cabbage and parsley every morning with their feed. Chop up all the kitchen scraps, sunflower seeds etc crushed egg shells and they have the run of the garden. They love it when we bbq......love hamburger and bits of steak lol. They also love pasta and rice......all in moderation and it's fun to watch them running around with spaghetti dangling like a worm from their beak. Oh and they love the compost......it's the candy shop.
I have a compost tumbler and it gets loaded with fly larvae. I give them a shovel full every few days for a free source of protein. I am thinking about growing my own meal worms as well as the fly larvae might not be there during the winter months. Given a choice, chickens always seem to seek protein first. Maybe concentrate on BOSS which has both protein and good fat and vegetable scraps. I am suspecting that an assortment of grains isn't as critical.
For those wanting to get chickens... I have at least 3 local Amish farms (southern Ohio) that buy 12-15,000 chicks every summer (1 June) so they HAVE to sell ALL their 1 year old chickens (already laying) by the 3rd week of May and they usually give a good price.
Could you send info, please?
@@donnawojdacz6969 A couple questions... Where are you located? Do you have Amish near by that have chicken egg farms?
The ones near me are around the West Union OH area. I can give more info if you still need.
I'd like the info as well thanks
@@ret9546 A couple questions... Where are you located? Do you have Amish near by that have chicken egg farms?
The ones near me are around the West Union OH area. I can give more info if you still need.
I am in Maysville, KY. I would like more information, please.
With the large companies adding chemicals to the chicken food so they won’t lay, this is a great alternative and good for the chickens.
I have been looking for a homemade feed for a long time. You explained about the protein content and now I feel confident about it. Great Job! Thank you! Your daughter is precious. Blessings on your family!💚
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! I want to ensure my chickens are eating clean, healthy food, and making my own feed sounds like the perfect solution
Your daughter.. precious! When I was little, I would hum and sing anytime I did anything, too!🥰. Doggos are adorable, too!
It makes me cold, just watching you stand there in the snow. Down here in Texas. Some cold weather just arrived and we shut down school for two days. Seriously… We are so rural that our frozen two-way highway with no shoulder will be a real danger. liked your protein explanation.
30 pd oats
20 pd whole corn
20 pd black oil sunflower seeds
10 pd split peas
5 pd flax seeds
Yes! Maybe switch the corn for cracked corn or millet though!
@GhillieGoat yo wtf?
@GhillieGoat I never had this issue brought up with me by the birds. I am bemused to say the least lol
@GhillieGoat in 2022 no less. Oh how bitter this tastes. (Though can't fault them really when they see me devouring an entire rotisserie chicken 🤷♂️)
How much oyster shell & Grits do I add to the recipe?
Side note: if you can afford it, it is best to purchase a good commercial feed for your chickens to ensure they have a balanced diet. The above listed recipe would be a great scratch grain recipe to give them in the afternoon. Do your due diligence and come to your own conclusions.
This is the EXACT same recipe that Off Grid with Doug and Stacy use. I saw their old video on this from like 6 years ago. Your written out list of proteins even matches hers. And, someone had to correct her on her math, too. Yes, you can give lentils to chickens. Give them cracked corn in the colder months because it helps their body produce heat. I wouldn't give them any corn in the hottest months for the same reason. Fermenting this feed will help them get the most nutrients from the food, better digestion, and provides them with probiotics. To ferment this feed, you need to use non-chlorinated water. Put the feed in a jar and cover it completely with the water. Let it sit for 3 days, stirring every day. It will start getting bubbly and smell like sourdough. Make sure the feed stays covered in water so it doesnt mold. Now, some folks reuse this water for their next batch. I would start fresh. It's okay if they drink the water, too. The food grade de is to help them with internal parasites and whatnot. I would also put a small amount of de in their nest bedding, coop floor litter and dust bath. Not much. It isnt good for their respiratory system to inhale a lot of de. I'll be using ashes from the wood stove in the Spring as part of their dust bath. You can also put 1 tbs ACV to a gallon of water for them about once or twice a week. Sometimes you might want to put some crushed garlic in their water to help with internal parasites. Be sure the ACV is raw, not pasteurized. I recommend Braggs. This is not for any metal waterers, either. I would also replace it with fresh water after about 48 hours.
You can also sprout certain seeds to give your chickens a nice protein treat in the winter.
Why a cloth over the top? I started fermenting a week ago but saw quite a few videos using a lid. I use a gallon glass jar with a plastic lid with plenty of headspace....like more than half.
@@onemoredoll5791 Ah! My mistake! That's for making vinegar. Lol. I want a pickle pipe. It's a special type flat that allows the gas to escape so you don't have to burp the jar.
@@TeresaV awesome comment!! You really know your stuff. But do u really think corn warms them too much during summer? Wouldn't climate zones come into this factor?
@@ellesbells902 Sure, climate, zone, etc. plays its part, too.
@@TeresaV thanks for the precious info. One question: what is de?
Hello from the thumb! Don't forget about the oyster shell. You can clean their egg shells and crush them to give it back to them and cracked corn works better for them. Great job! Also you have to have locations for them to avoid disease. You have to transfer them once a year. Even if you have a ground coop you can just move it. You can try to get molasses added to your feed. Some people use day old bread from the bread store to fill out their feed. If you tell them it's for livestock, they'll give you a great deal! If you go to the feed elevator, it's best and they can add molasses for you. Tell them you want layer feed. I hope this helps!
That's what we do. I am always saying "Save the egg shells the chickens want them back." Lol
What do you mean transfer them? Where? What locations? Can you please be more explicit? I a, starting my coop soon and want to know.
Been hearing a lot of chicken owners having problems with egg laying lately with commercial feeds...thanks for the great info! My chicks will be arriving tomorrow!
I feed mine a commercial feed, and they are still laying well. I feed mine a mixed flock feed because I have ducks as well,.not sure if that makes a difference.
Also, the laying production may just be a seasonal thing. As days go shorter, they stop laying as well. As days get longer in spring, that should pick up
We put a lamp on them, not only for some heat, but for more sunlight. I have the light on a timer for 5-9 am and pm which gives them summer hours of light. (There is a window in the cool, and they have access to outside every day over 30 degrees)
However, keeping light on them year round can actually shorten their lives...laying eggs takes its toll. So I give them a break for a couple months after September. I add light to them after Thanksgiving, so they get a break, but by Christmas baking, we have eggs again. I have a couple hens that are 8 years old and they are still laying, so that break must be working.
Thanks for the information about chickens taking a time out Paula 🎯🔥🔥
Some folks don't understand this and think something is wrong with their old girl's. 😙
@@connietaylor345 no problem. 🙂
We live in Michigan also, but we get our feed from a Co-Op. They will mix the feed however we want & it's Alot better than commercial feed. We can adjust the ratio however we want, plus we know what goes into the feed, & it's usually cheaper in the long run & we use larger quantities. REALLY loved the video. Have a blessed day. Prayers, peace, and luv to y'all.✝️🙏❤️🕊️💜🌹
We are looking into a Co-op by us right now, it’s just good to know what is really in your feed!
@@AcresOfAdventure EXACTLY!!! That's why we use a co-op as we can order exactly what we want in our chicken feed. Have a blessed day and thank you sooooo much for sharing your wonderful videos. Prayers, peace, and much love to you.✝️🙏❤️🕊️💜🌹
Same! Been using a co-op nearby because I can pick what I want in the feed. Really cost effective as well.
@@AcresOfAdventure, what Co-ops are you looking at? We go down to Indiana right now, but found out they were bought out by a mill from NY and may or may not continue to sell to the public.
😍
I’m feeding mine oats , black sunflower seeds, alfalfa pellets, red hard wheat, puppy food plus table scraps . Great job . I subscribed
I have my WHOLE seed mix on a 3 day ferment. You can also sprout whole seeds or...even grow food plots from them! I put the whole corn I have thru a blender to crush it because my younger chickens were leaving it behind. I also add crushed cat kibble that my cat didn't want to supplement the protein when winter and no bugs. Meal worms are excellent too. Fantastic video
Thanks Thomas! Those are great ideas, and we have just started to ferment our food and we hope it will help!
Which type of blender do u use?
@@jurodiko2388 so it’s a “nutribullet”. It’s fairly powerful for the size
@@jurodiko2388
I use my Ninja Blender
That's the answer I was looking for. I was wondering how they'd get much nutrition out of whole kernels. Also, what about putting the sunflower seeds into the blender too? How much nutrition would they be getting if they're not splitting the shells off? When I give them stuff like oats and other stuff, sometimes I'll soak them first, too. I've sprouted my own organic, non gmo barley for them as well.
Thank you.
Exactly right, what they eat is what they produce and we are what we eat it's what makes our cells. Its true, we are what we eat.
Really appreciate this. I have had chickens for over a year now and while they are doing well with commercial food I think its time to start making my own. This was a really clear and full description and explanation. Thanks.
Glad it helped you out Dayle! This feed worked very well for us but if you still want to buy a brand of food I suggest new country organics. They are pricey but it is great quality!
How do I subscribe please?
@@Sinju88 Hi Elizabeth. You have put this query under my comment and it has come to me instead of the RUclips owner. You might want to go back and redo.
thanks Matthew.
Love the idea of peas and flaxseed! I add in oyster shells and occasionally mealworms and red pepper flakes. I already mix the whole corn, oats and BOSS.
Why do you add red pepper flakes? How much?
Glad this helped Misty! Red pepper flakes are a good idea!
red pepper for warmth and increase eggs in winter
Peppercorns work well too...but never give your chickens dried peas or beans!!! They can't digest them and cause crop impactions.
Why do many scratch mixes and treats include dried legumes if it’s so detrimental, seems wrong!
I am in C. FL and have yard birds that are out picking thru sand and weeds each day. I have started adding puppy dog food for higher protein content. I also dry and crush used egg shells and add into mix. My egg shells are firmer and I am getting more eggs. Your presentation was very well done, thank you for sharing.
I came over to learn how to make chicken feed. As you know the cost of eggs are now. I watch homesteaders. Most of what I am hearing is how hard it is to find and the cost.
I look 👀 at your ingredients and see that much of what you are using are not cheap.
I can see you love your chickens.
Now it leaves me to think much of the feed you are using can be grown on the homestead.
And do you use oyster shells?
Thank you for sharing.
Hey Tom, love the video and will be using this recipe for our chickens. However, just want to let you know that your homemade chicken feed has 3% more protein content than you calculated. Your calculation was spot on, but you forgot one little step. When you are calculating the amount of protein per 30lbs of oats which on average is 15% protien. That means that out of 30lbs of oats in a perfect world, 4.5lbs of the oats is protein while 25.5lbs is carbs. (4.5lbs protein)+(25.5lbs Carbs)=30lbs of Oats.... So after you calculate the average amount of protein per/weight of grain you add "Corn, peas, oats etc." you add up all those numbers like you did. Then you divide that number by the total weight of all the grains you added. Which then gives you an average protein content of your feed of 19.35%. I'll do my best to type it all out below to hopefully make more sense....
Oats. Average amount of Protein 15%
(30lbs)x(15% or .15)= 4.5lbs of protein/30lbs of oats
Corn. Average amount of Protein 9%
(20lbs)x(9% or .09)= 1.8lbs of protein/20lbs of corn
Black oil sunflower seed. Average amount of Protein 26%
(20lbs)x(26% or .26)= 5.2lbs of Protein/20lbs of Black sunflower seed
Flaxseed. Average amount of protein 37%
(5lbs)x(37% or .37)= 1.85lbs of protein/ 5lbs of flaxseed
Split pee Average amount of protein 25%
(10lbs)x( 25% or .25)= 2.5lbs of protein/ 10lbs of split peas
Now that you calculated the total average weight of protein for each grain, you then add up all the protein theoretical weight.
(4.5lbs Oat Protein)+(1.8lbs Corn Protein)+(5.2lbs of Black sunflower seed Protein)+(1.85lbs Flax Protein)+(2.5lb Pea Protein)=15.85lb protein
(4.5lbs)+(1.8lbs)+(5.2lbs)+(1.85lbs)+(2.5lbs)= 15.85lbs of protien
Now you add up the total weight of each grain added.
(30lbs Oat)+(20lbs Corn)+(20lbs of Black sunflower seed)+(5lbs Flax seed)+(10lbs Pea)= 85lbs total grain weight.
(30lbs)+(20lbs)+(20lbs)+(5lbs)+(10lbs)= 85lbs total grain weight.
Now you take your Protein weight and divide it by the total grain weight.
(15.85lbs of protein)/(85lbs of total grain weight)= 0.1865 or 18.65% protein content for the total 85lb grain mix chicken feed.
You are correct except Black oil Sunflower seed is 20lbs x 26% = 5.2 lbs protein, so total protein content in mix is 18.65%
I am so glad you took the time to type this out. Thank you kindly☺️
Just fixed it, thanks so much for catching my error!@@dallaswholesalers8880
What a sweetheart. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. God bless you and your family.
Hi,
Loved the video. We just started keeping chickens and this is helpful.
Just wanted to point out that the protein is lots higher than you are thinking.
30 pounds of corn at 15% protein per pound is 4.5 pounds of protein from corn, so you last column is pounds of protein.
I think you have 85 pounds of feed with 16.45 lbs of protein so a little over 20.5% protein.
The hens should be very happy!
Good to know! Thank you Paul
Yeah, was looking for someone to catch that math sitch. Good eye Paul.
It's amazing how relevant this video has become!
I have 11 silky chickens, and they are prone to vitamin deficiencies... So for myself it is important to find a good food for my chickens.
With your information I am now on the Internet to learn more about each grains as to give my chickens better quality feed in bulk...thank you so much for the information.
I’ve been feeding our chickens a very similar diet for several months now as well. Good video!
Good info ! Thanks for the video. I have 40 chickens here in South Texas, and I barely have to feed them since they are free range all day... But, like you said, homemade has got to be better than commercial bought !
I love my girls, they deserve everything good !
I love all the natural varieties of feed you used. I took notes so that I can start feeding the chickens right. Thank you. I just subscribed.
Good recipe. I don't use oyster shells, but I do dry out and crush egg shells for them. Gives them the extra calcium they need for harder shells
That is a great tip for people to hear!
I agree! My chickens are wild about their eggshell snack. It's local, free and works best.
@@erah4994 nothing wasted either
I was told giving them shells causes them to peck at their eggs
SUPER video. You've done the math and saved us out here the work! Great to know now that we are having to deal with the new and "deproved" feed at our beloved TSC.
This has been a great learning video, thank you!
I would suggest that all of your viewers read all the way through the comments! You have revamped some of your idea's and there are many other great ideas that seem pretty significant to me!
Yes that is great advice! We are always learning and changing as we go!
Go Spartans! My husband was from Michigan and went to that school . Love the snow and seeing your dogs and daughter helping. Great healthy recipe. Prices of eggs are so Outrageous now. You're blessed to have your own.
This mix looks so much yummier then the store bought pellets... I'm sure the hens think so too and it looks fun for them to eat! Thank you!
Your daughter is precious, a happy wrker😍. Video is great information also.
Thanks Jennifer! She loves being right by us helping every chance she gets
My recipe is similar to this, but I only use 5 lbs of boss and one pound of flax seeds. I also throw in half a bag of chopped alfalfa, which is high in protein, and my chickens love it. when I soak my feed, I leave the alfalfa out of that batch and put the chopped alfalfa directly in the run. My chickens usually eat the alfalfa first, then they go for the boss, then they scratch at the rest later because they will be full of alfalfa.
Oh your Daughter is so precious.
thanks!
Thank you thank you thank you. In the last couple weeks trying to figure out how to do this without jeopardizing the health of my girls (hens). I almost did what you did but I appreciate the list you gave. Thank you thank you thank you. You were a Godsend.😊
Thank you so much. I am going to go to the feed store tomorrow and start making my own feed for my babies. Awesome video and exactly what I was looking for. And your daughter is absolutely precious thank you again
Thank you 😁
Thanks!
Hey Tom. I’ve been raising chickens for about six months now. This feed looks so much healthier than what I’ve been buying. I’m gonna give this recipe a shot and see what happens. Thanks for the video and God bless.
Add dry fish meal to the mix. They will eat it it has protein aminos and minerals not available in grain.
Thanks Darron, I hope. your chickens love it! I think we are going to add the fish meal to ours, it looks like it really benefits them!
@@joeyl.rowland4153 thanks 👍
@@darronmorgan4175 you are welcome.
A question? How much of the recommendations from the comments should get added to Tom’s 80 lbs of homemade feed?
Grit
Diatomaceous
Dry fish meal
Thanks for sharing the video, with all the issues with tractor supply feed it was a good starting point. I really appreciate your honesty stating that you went back to commercial feed. After doing some research I think the amount of oats your using is too high. One quick alternative is to give them the commercial feed and supplement with the black oil sunflower seeds to boast the protean and get them laying.
Thank you for this video. We are trying to avoid commercial foods so we will give this a go for the texas fall / winter months
Hope it works well for you! Wish we had the Texas winters instead of the Michigan ones here
My, how the prices and quality of feed has changed in 11 months!! From Tractor Supply pelleted chicken feed being detrimental for laying hens ,to not being able to get flaxseed at all here in Arizona! I,too have been mixing my own feed. Thank you for this video! Now I’ll try to find peas.
Why not whole food, sprouts or something
Thank you for making this video!
I just got my very own chicks for the first time and I'm extremely interested in keeping them healthy ☺️
No problem Olivia! I hope this helps and good luck with your chicks!!!
They love, and I mean love sunflower seeds.
Thanks for this great video! But I have some info for you on your % protein calculation. When you multiply the weight by the % protein, you get the weight of the protein, not the % protein. Add up those weights and divide by the total weight(85 lbs) to get the % protein of the whole mix. This way your % protein is actually over 19%!
Sunflower seen is one of the top 2 best sources of natural Viamin E. Really good for skin, nails, hair, feathers & eyes. Makes the eggs so much healthier for us.
Flax seed has a short shelf life, you don't want to stock up on extra flax seed. I bag at a time or it goes rancid.
Great information! Thank you!
Have you tried freezing your flax seed?
Keep the flax meal after grinding in the fridge for a year plus . I keep the seed in the freezer lasts a very long time. Years in fact.
Thank You SO much! Up near the Big Mac here. And we are new with chickens. I appreciated this video very very much.
Glad it was helpful!
I add 1-2 cups food grade diatomaceous earth to my mix. Keeps bugs out of the feed mix & is a natural dewormer. I do that for all my livestock feeds. I gave my horse 1/2 cup in his feed daily. Will add this to new goats' feed. Here in NW Florida we battle bugs & parasites all year long.
We did use DE but have opted out of it as late because we have heard some mix reviews on it, but I know the benefits of using it!
The instructions on my bag of food grade do is to NOT use more than something like 2% of dot to total feed weight…because it is not very palletable to the animals in general…but it is beneficial…I use it but very sparingly
Dude, you're using WAY too much in your horse feed lol, it's like maybe a teaspoon
Do you use the Red Lake with calcium bentonite or just plain DE?
Many people feed the cheapest pellets and now have NO EGGS! I have never fed pellets. Meal worms, seed mix and oyster shells. Now I have your menue and will update my feed. Thank you!
I have switched my chickens over to whole grains but I go to local farmers to get my ingredients. I ferment 3-4 days and feed dry 2-3 days. About once every couple of weeks i will get a bag of commercial feed and mix in with my mix but my birds have gotten to where they eat the commercial feed last. I save all of my egg shells to air dry and crush to add back to their feed.
Prices of everything has made it to where commercial feed ends up being more of their diet now then I would like but you have to do what you can do
Not a bad idea to bake those shells for 10 min at 300 before crushing them
@@kindredinspiritWhy?
I've ground flaxseeds when I had constipation. Man, only use about 1/2 tsp cause it gave me massive diarrhea. Hopefully it doesn't do that to the hens. Thank you SO MUCH for this video it was so helpful! I am so glad to have found your channel
You seem to be ahead of this craziness going on right now with the feed. Which is GREAT! Subbed! Glad I found your channel!
yes , all grains have increased in price but commercial feed has gone up to. what you have here I use as a treat feed A plus to their diet. It's an extract 20 for me. What I get in return is always healthy and quality. Thanks for your video.
You actually have 16.45 lbs protein in 85 lbs of feed, or 19.35% of protein. For my chickens I've been feeding them regular chicken feed from the store as well as lots of table scraps and plants from my garden I don't want to compost. Thanks for the video, I'll try some of these ideas.
Sounds like your chickens are doing great, thanks for the tip!
It's actually around 15.85 lbs protein in 85 lbs, or 18.65% protein.
Lbs ÷ Total lbs x %protein
(30 ÷ 85 x 15) + (20 ÷ 85 × 9) + (20 ÷ 85 × 26) + (5 ÷ 85 × 37) + (10÷85×25) = 18.64705... or 18.65% protein
Best wishes to all!
Daughter is a doll.
Fermentation is a great benefit for the chickens. DE, Alfalfa meal, and kelp are fantastic to add too.
Those all sound great for chickens! Thanks Wendy
@@AcresOfAdventure How much DE would you add to the feed that you mixed in the video?
Just a tip u mite try instead of oyster shells or the like, we ended up getn eggs occasionally that smelled like rotten fish. A better option is to throw your egg shells in w/your kitchen scraps for them, thats been workn for us for 15+yrs.
I make my own chicken feed but I had never considered the flax seed but I will be adding it. I sprout my lentils and give them to my chickens a couple of times a week as treat.
Great to hear Jill! I hope that it helps and makes your chickens feel good
I sprout mung beans with the lentils
Great video! There's a reason commercial feed looks alike, little pellets of similar shapes and sizes. Its because Dr Joel Wallach and Meryll Perkins spent years doing genetic research to find out why livestock would experience particular disease. What they found is that it was all related to diet. Non migratory animals cannot always get all the nutrients they need to stay healthy, hence the development of 'diet specific' feed for all variety of breeds. It may give us warm fuzzies creating all this delicious, eye appealing feed, but I would include some of the commercial feed just to ensure my animals got what they needed. Dr Wallach's book is called Epigenetics. Excellent read!
I'd run it through a grinder set to coarse. I think all those big chunks are hard on the gizzard. I'd also add thistle and dandelion seed if you can find it.
Yes those are great ideas Jack!
The first list you showed included milo which is technically grain sorghum and very high in protein and easy to grow. If you want to grow a high-protein ingredient without having to pay a lot, sorghum is a good grain. Also, stinging nettles Urtica Dioica are high in chlorophyll and protein but you have to cook it slightly to knock out the formic acid. My boss used to have a farm and fed that to their turkeys because they loved it. I know turkey protein needs are very high compared to chickens. Also easy to grow. They are perennial and will survive winter to grow back again in the spring.
We hope to grow food for them this next season!
Thanks brother- I’ve been looking for this comment in several videos. Sustainability is crucial when the shtf
My uncles always grew millet, sunflowers and corn in the 'garden' for the hens and pigs. They also got leftovers from family meals. We live down South so, some cold weather but much more hot.
This was an incredibly helpful video! You answered all my questions before I could ask them. Great job and thank you so much!
Was gonna say the same thing
Straight to the point. Love it and thanks for sharing
Hi. New subscriber here. This is a great video. I think the rations are perfect. I wouldn't change a thing. Going out tomorrow to purchase all these items to make it. I've been raising chickens for 13 years. I wish I started this sooner . Thanks for your time!
Glad that you liked it! My first flock of 10 chickens really enjoy this feed!
Rations? Or ratios? 😁
I was trying to figure out why I see so many videos with crazy recipes. I use a similar diet to feed wild birds. Thank you very much.
Thank you so much for sharing!! I am new to chickens and doing what I can to better provide their nutrients. I make them a breakfast brunch of sorts, that I shared on a video, that I give to them as a treat a few mornings a week. I top it off with a mix similar to what you put together here.
What I found with the store bought, and there are some good brands, is that the cost is high yet when I see artificial flavorings and preservatives I then desire to feed them better. Hence why I started a brunch of sorts in addition to their feed.
I appreciate the info. Now with my list in hand, I need to make a trip to the grain store. Thank you!!
~ Laura 🐔
Laura glad you enjoyed the video! Hope your chickens enjoy the feed and you make one that makes them super healthy!
Wow this chicken business looks more complicated than I thought. Iam happy to see people are helping each other bc we must stick together & Pray 🙏!
I don't have chickens, but my grandparents had a farm mostly corn & cattle sometimes chickens & hogs. I did not pay attention to anything they did & wish I did with gardening or crops people need farmers & all you people who have this knowledge to survive the problems our gov caused with WHO mandates. Thank you all for sharing your in my prayers.
Great mix. We were gifted 5 large sacks of whole oats and this is a great way to use those!!! Thanks 💜🌱
Hope your chickens enjoy it as much as ours did!
Young Man! You have the best tasting chickens and eggs! If you decided to sale those chickens and eggs I think it would be a good idea!!
I sure hope so, and we sell the eggs
Transitioning my chickens from commercial to whole grain. This recipe is similar to what I’m creating. Found a lot of items cheap at a local grain store and a few items online that is organic. Also, Michigander here too 😉
Trying to bring homesteading to more people from Michigan! We would love to host events in the future!
@@AcresOfAdventure Love it!!!!
@@AcresOfAdventure I'd be happy to attend.
I’m concerned if they can actually eat the whole corn?
@@cperkin6880 chickens have a harder time with whole corn. Cracked is better. Ducks are more apt at being able to handle whole corn. I do have all mine cracked tho and it's always in moderation as there isn't much nutritional value in it and in the summer may cause them to heat up unnecessarily because it's harder to break down than other grains so therefore their bodies work harder at that = being a little warmer. I found with my flocks that since I've had the corn cracked they have a more consistent feed year-round.
Oh that is beautiful feed!
I use whole corn too, corn here is 18.00 per 50lb bag..
Prices are going up here also….
I was feeding laying feed from the feed store. My birds free range and we’re looking rough. I was told that because they free range they are eating a lot of plants which is diluting their % protein further. They were looking rather ragged. It happened that I hatched turkeys out and my chickens had access to turkey starter for a few weeks as well it’s their laying feed. I noticed their feathers coming back and they looked much better. I’m thinking I may try out your feed or at least add some flax and boss to my existing feed to bump up the protein. Thanks for your video!
No problem Nancy! I hope this helps with your chickens let us know how it does :)
Thanks. I'm going to try this. My free range chickens won't eat crumble,, they just shove it on the ground and it rots and smells bad. In the winter I want to make sure they have enough to eat. Great video you covered it all I think. I liked the kid the dogs the whole bit. God bless you.
This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for making this video.
So glad it helped you!
Great stuff!! Also add charcoal once a month for a natural dewormer and other healthy digestive benefits!!
I use cracked corn😊 I hope I can find flaxseed in bulk. Love your great Pyre
Thank you!
Thanks for the video. FYI The flax seeds should be ground and used immediately to utilize them.
I'd be curious to know a cost breakdown of this compared to commercial feed. I'm guessing this would only cost slightly more (10% maybe?), but I really don't know. I'm gonna look into sourcing this stuff here in NC, and try to see if it's feasible for my family.
Thank you so much, I ferment but live in Texas lol I lived 4 years in Michigan and couldn’t take your winters so ran back home lol
Danielle come on…don’t you miss the snow?!?! Good luck to you and your chickens in Texas!
I have been fascinated with someone's setup in Vermont that I thought was absolutely brilliant. I cannot remember the gentleman's name but he runs the Vermont Compost Company. He never feeds his chickens grain; he just turns them loose on the compost pile. I'm sure I have some neighbors who would be interested in trading their biodegradables for eggs. My husband and I haven't started our flock yet because we got behind this summer with the heat wave, and unless we can find some full-grown chickens for an affordable price we are not likely to have a flock until spring which is really going to suck. We are also currently looking for rabbits but dang we have to drive a long way to get them, the chickens too. My husband and I are trying to do this on a shoestring budget already but we have started to have a bit of luck. We recently acquired three buildings, one for our coop/rabbit house and two of which we are recycling for lumber, the previous owner was ready to burn them down so we got them for free.
Stephanie I hope that you and your husband get it all figured out because although it is work it is so much fun to learn about all of this way of living. Wish you guys the best, god bless.
@@AcresOfAdventure thank you very much, things are moving so fast and we should have an older flock in a couple of weeks. After further research, I learned that chicks hardened off in the spring end up being hardier birds where I live so we'll be raising chicks in an in-coop brooder this winter to help them transition to the existing flock easier... whether we're ready, or not, here they come! 😄 God bless you as well. I look forward to learning more from your content.
First time seeing your chicken video. Very informative about chicken. I am just now starting my new flock of baby chicks.
You will love them!
I feed corn to my chickens because they love it and for the meat birds it produces a rich yellow fat that greatly improves the flavor of the chickens. The broth is so rich and flavorful.
yeah. i have eaten real chickens and they are far superior to supermarket chickens.
You're daughter is too adorable! Thanks for the info
Great video. Thanks for sharing 👍💯 fermenting is great, it doubles if not triples your feed and the animals love it. They also love them as microgreens 😁
Very true! Thank you Sarah for watching!
I have a local grain elevator that will mix and bag it all for me. Definitely using this method over store bought!
Sooo helpful! Thnk u! Had a question about Grit, but u covered it at end.....😊🐥🐤
New about DE for their dusting places and bedding but never heard of putting it in their feed?
Just a very little will help with internal parasites
Great video !! Thank you soo much!..
How much DE is just a little please… given the amounts in your recipe?
Hey, thanks for the info, I knew there was something wrong with a certain coporate farm and tractor chain, my chickens would not eat the pellets, nor would the birds, the squrriels nor the ants. So I googled other feed stores in my area, one feed store (at that time) was 1 1/2 hours away from my home. So I went to Wal-mart just bought bird seed, but they haven't eaten very much of it,( they do eat bugs and seeds from yard) My friend told me of a little known feed store in an unlikely place and was able to get 1 bag. So I really appreciate the receipe to keep chickens healty. Thanks
A couple years ago, my chickens refused to eat the corn in the scratch… we are here in Arizona don’t know where the corn is coming from. I started buying cornless scratch. Sounds like a good combination of things you are using.
Maybe because it's so hot in Arizona?
I have only 4 hens, I buy organics scratch but then give them everyday fresh produce. Napa cabbage, different type of salads, spinach, cucumber, watermelon, honey dew, fresh corn. I grow some salads for them. They also like parsley and scrap carrots etc from my cooking.
I got some black sunflower seeds but they don't like it much.
I also going the egg shell and give it back to them (they like it 10x better than oyster shell)