So, I wasn't planning on making this its own post, but there's been a lot of talk in the chicken world about Tractor Supply due their chicken feed. I'm not going to go into it here as I don't have experience, but the bottom line is that it may have stopped some chickens from laying (not good). Therefore, I figured I would repost this information from my other post on chicken needs.
I decided last year to start making my own chicken feed. I was super nervous, but I made the transition and the chickens are healthy! I haven't noticed anything negative from the switch. So, a couple things to know.
Time - Instead of opening a bag, you will need to mix the feed yourself, so that will require some time, but I mean I did it in 30-45 minutes. It's not that bad.
Money - Yes, it will cost more than a bag of layer feed, BUT it's going to last months to a year depending on storage and the size of your flock.
Storage - You will need to store the bags used in good storage to avoid mold and bugs. You will also need to store the homemade feed.
Transition - I transitioned the chickens from layer feed to homemade feed (sort of like you do with dogs). I made the homemade feed before the last of the layer feed bag being gone and just mixed the two in the feeder till the layer feed was done. I don't know if it's necessary, but that's what I did.
Those are the main concerns outside of what ingredients and recipe. My mix contains - corn, peas, black oil sunflower seeds, wheat, oats, fish meal, and kelp powder. I bought a good amount of this from farm supply stores and then the rest, like kelp powder, online.
Quick Reference of What I Did and Amount:
30% Corn (Cracked) - 6 lbs
30% Wheat - 6 lbs
20% Peas - 4 lbs
20% Black Oil Sunflower Seeds - 4 lbs
10% Oats - 2 lbs
10% Fish Meal - 2 lbs
2% Kelp Powder
I reviewed many resources and this blog made it pretty easy (what I used). I added Black Oil Sunflower Seeds as I saw in another resource that they are really good for chickens (our goats love them too).
If you struggle to find some things, just do your best. You may need to supplement and do more research on other ingredients . I have seen more simple recipes out there and the chicken owners seem to have healthy chickens, so might not have to do all of this.
Anyways, I hope this encourages someone who needed to know there are options and you can take control over what your main feed is for chickens.
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