REVISED Mixed Flock and Bantam Feed Recipe

[localpoultryman]

This is feed mix that works for where I live and for my personal mixed flock.

0.5 Parts- Soldier Fly Larvae,
3 Parts- Crimped Oats,
1 Part- Seafood Cat Kibble,
2 Parts- Whole Wheat Berries, or Rice Bran,
2 Parts- Cracked Corn,
4 Parts- Lentils and Winter Pea Mixture. (I Feed Don Roberto La Cuida, a Bit Expensive But Worth It!!!)
2 Parts- Alfalfa Timothy Pellets,
Free Choice Oyster Shell and/or Grit,
Feed 1/4 Cup Per Bird In the Morning This Mix and Before Bed I Like To Give a Traditional British and even Asian Farmer Snack of Cooked Potato, with some scrambled egg with some of the crushed eggshell in the mix!
It is important in the winter to feed them before they go to bed as this will help keep them alive and warm from the inside out!
I am currently going to Western Illinois University to study Animal Nutrition so I hope you love this recipe! The evening snack is inspired by the famous Book of The Farm!!!!

Then I mix together some apple cider vinegar and water and let this mixture soak and ferment!!! They love it! I recommend not soaking whole batch at once as it will grow old if kept longer than a few days out of refrigeration.

 

[DobieLover]

I am currently going to Western Illinois University to study Animal Nutrition

Awesome! Take this mix to the lab and have it assayed for nutritional content including the macros. That would be a great piece of data for you to have to see if you are feeding a truly balanced poultry diet.

Then I mix together some apple cider vinegar and water and let this mixture soak and ferment!!! They love it! I recommend not soaking whole batch at once as it will grow old if kept longer than a few days out of refrigeration

That is quite counter to the whole concept of fermenting. I've had ferments going for months on end. With constant addition of fresh feed, regular mixing and keeping the container lightly covered, they just keep going.

The ACV isn't required to kick off the ferment. I would just drain off the grains and keep the liquid to start the next batch.

I don't know what you have available to you, but on this side of the pond, I would always add in Fertrell Poultry Nutri-balancer to the finished mix at the specified ratio to ensure a proper balance of micro nutrients.

I feed nothing other than their normal diet for them to fill up on as they see fit to get them through the cold NY winter nights. It's the process of digestion that generates body heat and the ability to fluff the feathers to trap the heat that keeps them warm. Adding in "harder to digest foods" would add a negligible amount of additional energy to the thermogenesis and just throws off the balance of the overall diet. My flock has seen nights down into the low -20s F and did fine.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

@DobieLover took the words right out of my mouth.

That is an interesting mixture with some good ingredients. You know the ingredients but do you know the nutrient levels? Hopefully, in your animal nutrition program at University, you will learn about the importance of the nutrient balance over ingredients.
In essence, how do you know essential amino acids are adequate?
Do you know there is 750 mg of Arginine or 600 mg of Lysine in that 1/4 cup of your mix?
Do you know there is 350 mg of phosphorus, at least 440 mg of vitamin A, 55 mg of D and E, sufficient iodine and selenium?
You don't, that's the problem with formulating one's own feed.
Also, chickens should have nutritious feed available all day, not just in the mornings.

Is the apple cider vinegar raw or pasteurized?
Is it oyster shell and or grit? The two are not interchangeable. All birds need appropriately sized grit but only birds actively laying need oyster shell.
What is the purpose of mixing in crushed egg shell?

It looks like a lot of work without saving any money. Where does one acquire soldier fly larvae?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Addition of ACV to the water acidifies it, adjusting the Ph to favor some natural fermenters over others. Maybe that's deliberate, but it doesn't account for the chemistry of the water you are starting with, or offer any indication of why yeasts favoring acidified solutions are preferred to those of mre neutral Ph.


Moreover:
2 Parts- Whole Wheat Berries, or Rice Bran

These are NOT "like" ingredients. Without even getting into the trace, or discussing whether we are using hard or soft wheat,

Rice Bran(<4% fiber)
14.2% Protein, 4.1% Fiber, 13.2% Fat. Key AA at 2.3, 4.5, 3.3, 2.0 (as percent of the 14.2% protein)

Wheat Grain (common)
12.6% Protein, 2.6% fiber, 1.7% fat. Key AA at 1.6, 2.9, 2.9, 1.2 (as percent of the 12.6% Protein)
Wheat Bran
17.3% protein, 10.4% fiber, 3.9% fat. Key AA at 1.5, 4.0, 3.2, 1.4 (as percent of the 17.3% protein)

No combination of wheat grain and bran is going to give you the Methionine levels of Rice Bran, nor can they be mixed in a ratio which willo give similar protein and fiber at the same time. Further, the fat content of rice brans are FAR higher than you will ever get from wheat...


Lentils
Winter Peas
You have some mix of winter peas and lentils comprising roughly 30% of the final mix, in spite of their anti-nutritive properties - tannins, lectins, trypsin inhibitors, protease inhibitors with no mention of heat treatment or other steps to reduce those factors...


WT_ is "Seafood Cat Kibble"? and have you considered whether the methionine levels present for a cat's needs are beneficial or detrimentalto your poultry?

I fail to see any Science involved in your recipe or to understand your offered substitutions - and hope you will come back to this after a few courses in poultry nutrition as "lesson learned" to explain all the things you now know to be wrong with this purported feed mix.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I am not bashing, but genuinely curious what is the point in using commercial cat feed in your mix instead of just buying commercial poultry feed altogether? I'm assuming it's for protein, but at that point wouldn't it be easier, cheaper and nutritionally more sound to buy pre-made poultry feed?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

To be fair, the mix isn't terrible. There are things that could present a decent mix of amino acids. Certainly the soldier fly larvae (good luck getting those in January). The legumes (if cooked) and the cat food if one pays close attention to the protein content. I've seen cat food that had lower protein than chicken feed.

 

[aart]

This member has not replied to any of the threads they start.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Thanks for the heads up. You detective~!
It is quite amazing, the amount of time I waste here..

 

[U_Stormcrow]

This member has not replied to any of the threads they start.

Troll?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I did think it dubious someone with only 4 posts was so into making feed.