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Would an amateur feed formulator suffice? Could be because they tend to be mostly wheat and there are recommendations from the who now about its fortification. It’d be odd if it applies to chicken food though because the recommended levels are set for malnourished humans, not chickens.

I couldn’t find any harlequin which was the original plan so it’ll be Italian coturnix, I’ll make progress reports on here but might start a new thread so as not to highjack this one. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/free-rein-feeding-method.1581742/

The current set up is similar to that using the long feeders with lots of access holes, I’m adding dividers between each hole but as they grow and intake increases I’m thinking of adding pipes along one side of it to auto fill the other. It’ll be cheaper than buying two fittings for each pipe to...

it’s not so much other commitments as required space, the more bowls I add the smaller each bowl gets unless I add to their size vertically. If I had more space I’d probably be fermenting everything and have standard bowls big enough for a days supply of each thing but with 30 small enough bowls...

Unless they really love nettle powder it’s not likely

The energy content of the feed controls the feed intake when fed without any restrictions. A higher energy content lowers the daily feed intake, while a lower energy level will lead to increased intake.The efficiency of the feedis determined by the feed conversion (feed intake in relation to the...

Fat in dried mealworms for one, I’d rather they ate more of the crickets and calci worms. I’d like everything in the all they can eat buffet to be dried so I can more easily provide a constant supply and then the fresh stuff will be varied on top. I find it’s when I run out of things that I’ll...

I removed split peas from the list for this reason, the quinoa is pre washed to remove the saponins before I get it, do you know of any others? It was the crazy high levels in insects I had in mind vs the live worms yours will be foraging. I’m not sure why conversations about food get so heated...

My situation is very different to yours in that I definitely do not have adequate pasture and the foods I’m providing will be mostly dried which makes a big difference to the percentages so it’ll be much easier for them to overdo one item over another, especially given a constant unlimited...

This seems obvious to me and the arguments for layer pellets remind me of Africa, nestle, and bottled milk. I still can’t help being a bit nervous about giving them free choice though, especially as chicks. All those years of brainwashing to trust big brands over nature and my own logic are...

This is also true for plants that have been grown with salt for enough generations and have lost their ability to communicate with soil biology but they can be re trained to be capable of thriving in an organic medium given time and enough diversity. It is a worry for me though so I’ll be...

Might be more than one reason chickens eat it, the gut and soil biome contain most of the same critters. My dogs will eat grass tops when there’s dew on the ground and goose poo if I give them worming tablets which is what made me think it’s connected with the composition of their microbiome...

Hopefully we’ll soon discover why dogs eat the tops of grass from very specific areas first thing in the morning, I suspect they’re hunting Protozoa so will take a bit for my compost worms when they find a good spot.

I’m not sure that having every item in their diet available at all times is necessarily advantageous if there’s enough variety. I eat cleavers as a spring tonic and more starchy roots/tubers in winter and believe seasonally eating whatever’s locally available is probably a better choice than a...

I can believe that, it’s less of an issue for me with so few beaks to feed. It’s optimal health I’m interested in which I believe is the best thing to invest in with the limited funds I have. That and I can’t find a suitable gluten/oat free alternative. It’ll be interesting to compare costs...

Thanks, I hadn’t considered the shelf life. The more ingredients I add to the list the easier it seems to be reaching the targets, I’m starting to think that with enough variety it’d be quite difficult to get wrong. If you switched sides we might win this battle of finding safe alternatives to...

T Thanks, I’ve been using this a fair bit to add up totals of my other ingredients, shame they don’t have info for crickets, nettles, mealworms, dubia roaches, calci worms ect. I thought someone may have tried a variety of nut that was a particular favourite, brown rice is a great idea.

Thanks for the tip, I will ask my chooks :)

@saysfaa sorry to hear about your issues, could it be connected with your oestrogen levels? Most oestrogen replacements are horribly toxic but red clover is safe and effective. Also, can anyone recommend a different kind of nut to offer as a free choice that.. 1 chickens like eating. 2 contains...

@U_Stormcrow have you tried growing Jerusalem artichokes where you are? Great for putting organic matter back in the ground, and full of prebiotics for you and your chooks.