Feeding chickens *WITHOUT* chicken pellets ??

[ChasesChickens]

Hi Everyone,
I'm not sure if I'm biting off more than I can chew - but I am looking to feed my laying and/or meat flock food more organic foods that DOESN'T include layer pellets.
I have been doing research online for the optimal protein/energy/vitamin combination and what type of foods would be required to achieve this balance.

I'm not necessarily looking to go 100% on pellet but want to avoid it where possible. My train of thought is that processed foods are bad for humans, surely they are not great for animals too. And since we are eating their eggs/meat, I should consider feeding the best diet where possible.

Also, Im weary that this could be a very expensive exercise. Ideally I would like to offset costs, but understand if costs are a little more expensive - the price we have to pay for something we believe in I guess.

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions where i can start looking. Better still if anyone has knowledge in this area I would love your thoughts.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I think the thing to understand about poultry feed as opposed to human "food" is that they are two completely different tracks nutritionally. People tend to like things that taste good which means high levels of sugar, salt and fat as well as artificial color and flavors.
I don't eat any processed food. Nothing out of a package, no added sugar, artificial flavor, artificial color, no msg, etc., etc., etc..
However that isn't how chicken feed is made. Things like Cheetos, gummy bears and frozen pot pies don't exist in the chicken feed world. Chicken feed is formulated to provide the most optimal nutrition for the cost. Pellets may seem like a highly processed food but if you read the ingredient and guaranteed analysis tag, you'll discover that it is formulated to meet all the nutritional needs without artificial color, artificial flavor, sugar, et. al.. The only things in there are grains, legumes and supplemented with the right amount of fats, fiber, vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids.
What pellets provide is all the nutrients they need with every bite.
Avoiding manufactured feed means that to provide the nutrition they need means that you will spend a great deal of time and money to try to do what is already available for much less money. Then, if you try to feed on your own, you probably don't have the means to assay the results to know what nutrients are in there like the feed companies do.

 

[PioneerChicks]

I read somewhere about a sort of squash that people used to grow to feed their livestock and chickens. One squash can keep them supplied for a long time, and it is the main part of their diet. I forgot what they are called but want to order some soon. I guess I'll have to specially order them, but I hope it will be worth it!

Edit: welcome to BYC! And also, you should consider joining SS, it supports the more organic life you (we) are looking for!

 

[ChasesChickens]

I think the thing to understand about poultry feed as opposed to human "food" is that they are two completely different tracks nutritionally. People tend to like things that taste good which means high levels of sugar, salt and fat as well as artificial color and flavors.
I don't eat any processed food. Nothing out of a package, no added sugar, artificial flavor, artificial color, no msg, etc., etc., etc..
However that isn't how chicken feed is made. Things like Cheetos, gummy bears and frozen pot pies don't exist in the chicken feed world. Chicken feed is formulated to provide the most optimal nutrition for the cost. Pellets may seem like a highly processed food but if you read the ingredient and guaranteed analysis tag, you'll discover that it is formulated to meet all the nutritional needs without artificial color, artificial flavor, sugar, et. al.. The only things in there are grains, legumes and supplemented with the right amount of fats, fiber, vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids.
What pellets provide is all the nutrients they need with every bite.
Avoiding manufactured feed means that to provide the nutrition they need means that you will spend a great deal of time and money to try to do what is already available for much less money. Then, if you try to feed on your own, you probably don't have the means to assay the results to know what nutrients are in there like the feed companies do.

Hi @ChickenCanoe - Thanks so much for that information. I just did more reading and I realise I have so much more to learn. I don't have too much of a problem with pellets, but I would like to feed them more grains rather than processed pellets. Maybe its just my way of thinking of being organic (am I barking up the wrong tree still) . I suppose the question should be better phrased as "What "Is there an alternative way of feeding chickens to give them the required vitamins and minerals than pellet food?"

 

[ChasesChickens]

Hi @ChickenCanoe - Thanks so much for that information. I just did more reading and I realise I have so much more to learn. I don't have too much of a problem with pellets, but I would like to feed them more grains rather than processed pellets. Maybe its just my way of thinking of being organic (am I barking up the wrong tree still) . I suppose the question should be better phrased as "What "Is there an alternative way of feeding chickens to give them the required vitamins and minerals than pellet food?"

Hi @Softsikie

I read somewhere about a sort of squash that people used to grow to feed their livestock and chickens. One squash can keep them supplied for a long time, and it is the main part of their diet. I forgot what they are called but want to order some soon. I guess I'll have to specially order them, but I hope it will be worth it!

Edit: welcome to BYC! And also, you should consider joining SS, it supports the more organic life you (we) are looking for!

Hi @SoftSilkiThanks for the welcome!

BTW .. what is SS? Yes, woudl love to join for a more organic life

 

[gtaus]

In theory, I would like to only feed my chickens organic feed. In reality, a 50 pound bag of organic feed is about $30 whereas I can get (non-organic) commercial feed for about $12 a bag. I have no idea if the organic feed is any better, but I do know that I cannot afford it. So what I do is cut grass in the growing seasons and feed the fresh clippings to the chickens. In the winter, I have been growing fresh barley fodder. The commercial layer feed is available 24/7, but the grass and fodder is my "organic" feed supplement. I also feed kitchen scraps to my chickens. My goals are to provide my chickens with a variety of foods to choose from, to reduce the waste we send to the landfill, and still get some eggs as a bonus.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I would like to feed them more grains rather than processed pellets. Maybe its just my way of thinking of being organic (am I barking up the wrong tree still) . I suppose the question should be better phrased as "What "Is there an alternative way of feeding chickens to give them the required vitamins and minerals than pellet food?"

Not sure what options would be available in Australia, but another option would be whole grain mash feeds. Vitamins, minerals and protein are added to the mix as powdery fines. However feeds like that are best fed fermented or at least wet, as chickens will pick out their preferred grains (which is not an issue with pellets where all the components are ground down and pelleted).

I feed whole grain fermented feed (in the morning) as well as dry pellets (rest of the day), with both feeds being organic.

 

[gtaus]

I don't have too much of a problem with pellets, but I would like to feed them more grains rather than processed pellets. Maybe its just my way of thinking of being organic (am I barking up the wrong tree still) . I suppose the question should be better phrased as "What "Is there an alternative way of feeding chickens to give them the required vitamins and minerals than pellet food?"

There are a number of YouTube videos on this topic, but from what I watched, feeding grains to your chickens is not a great option for most people with small backyard flocks. Commercial feeds are mixed to achieve a desired outcome, protein, vitamins, minerals, etc... Do you have the background knowledge to do that? Most of us don't.

Also, you would have to buy bags of each grain in order to make your mix. How long would it take for your chickens to eat that down? Instead of buying a fresh 50 pound bag of commercial feed off the shelf, you might have to store 300 pounds of grain for months as your small backyard flock works down your grain inventory.

I watched one YouTube video where a lady calculated all her costs to mix her own grains at home. In the end, she did not save any money by trying to make her own mix. Worse yet, like I mentioned, she had to buy so much grain that it sat in storage for months before it was all eaten. She concluded that she was better off buying a fresh bag of commercial feed when she needed it rather than storing grains for months and feeding old food to her chickens.

I did watch one YouTube guy who did mix his own grains, and he was quite happy with his situation. But he was getting some spilled grains for free from someone, and he was also bartering for grain from another person. So, yeah, if you get grain for free, then making your own mix is worth the time and effort. But even he stated that most people would not save any money mixing their own feed if they had to buy everything.

My conclusion, for me, was that I would not save any money by trying to mix my own feed, it would probably not be as nutritious as the commercial feed, and my 10 chickens would be eating that home mix for many months and it would not be very fresh at the end. So I just buy a 50 pound bag of fresh feed as needed, and if the local farm store has a good sale on chicken feed, I'll buy a couple extra bags and save some money that way.

 

[Perris]

@ChasesChickens are your birds free ranging or penned? If penned, then you have to supply all their needs, and the comments by previous posters about getting the balance right are pertinent. If they free range, and you have a decent quantity and quality of forage from which they can pick what they want, then they may do fine with a fresh bag of mixed grains (and then fermenting may release more nutrients from those grains). Whether or not the cost of each option matters to you is a separate issue.

 

[ChasesChickens]

@Perris ..they are technically penned with a big run.. but we let them out to free range (just a little under an acre for 14 hens) pretty much most days forvat least 8 hours except if it rains. I often get vegetables from our local fruit market and they aren't lacking of greens a nnd also give household scraps, as well as offer them grains too.