Homemade Chicken Feed. Organic and Soy-Free! The Elliott Homestead
Homemade Chicken Feed. Organic and Soy-Free! The Elliott Homestead
Homemade Chicken Feed. Organic and Soy-Free! The Elliott Homestead
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IN OVER 4000
KITCHENS!
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THIS MONTH'S
GIVEAWAY!
Im not sure why the Lord saw fit to bless me with the arrival of all these cool
animals over the last few weeks, but I sure am thankful for it.
17/03/2014 16:56
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And this past week with my 15 hens has been awesome. I visit them half a dozen
times per day. Its almost an addiction. I love watching them scratch at the ground,
peck at their food, and roost on the logs in their coop.
Theyre sort of still in their awkward teenage years where theyre not quite mature
and beautiful yet, but still sort of gangy and awkward looking. No judgement here
though. Im just happy to have them.
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As much as Id like these chickens to free range, Ive got far too much invested in
my garden beds to let them do such. They have a nice large coop to roam and
roost in and for the time being, theyre better off in there. Im willing to put forward
the extra effort though to supplement them with as much of a free-range-
Subscribe
When one thinks about what the chicken actually eats when it free ranges, its
pretty easy to supplement with grains and grasses. Bugs are also a nice addition,
RASCALS
should you have any extras (extra worms from our vermiculture bin work great for
this!). There are a few great store bought options for feeding your chickens (have
you heard about Scratch & Peck feed?) but they are much too expensive for our
feed budget. Hence, the making it at home.
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17/03/2014 16:56
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BEST FIRST
FOODS FOR BABY
(AND HOW TO
MAKE THEM!)
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Let me point this out before I begin: its very, very important to source your grains
wisely. For example, youll see that the recipe calls for flax seed. If you head to
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your local grocery store to stock up on bulk flax, youre going to cry when you get
/pin/create to the cash register it simply isnt cost effective to buy it from there. Call your
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local feed store and ask about bulk, organic grains. Azure Standard is where we
order all our grains from and is a great option for animal feed (Ive included the
price per pound on each grain that was ordered from there in the recipe below).
Share Amazon also has deals on bulk grains sometimes. Shop around and find the most
economically feasible option that you can. Then, store them in cool containers like
this (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MDM8T2?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&
HOME REMEDIES
In addition to our homemade grain mixture, I also supplement our chickens with all
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of our kitchen scraps (things like carrot peelings, stale bread, or old greens) and a
few large armfuls of weeds each day. They love to eat the tender leaves off the
wildflowers and weeds that grow around here. This gives them a large variety of
foods to receive their nutrients from, which I think is nice for them.
HOMEMADE
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RECIPES
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WAYS TO UTILIZE
AND USE UP MILK
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/B001VNEIO4?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B001VNEIO4&
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linkCode=xm2&tag=theellihome0d-20) (1.68/lb)
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1 cup sesame seeds (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product
/button/)
/B003LPM9S2?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B003LPM9S2&
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linkCode=xm2&tag=theellihome0d-20) (2.27/lb)
3/4 cup kelp granules (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product
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HOMEMADE
linkCode=xm2&tag=theellihome0d-20) (3.25/lb)
2 tablespoons olive oil (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product
/B0027EOTKO?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B0027EOTKO&
linkCode=xm2&tag=theellihome0d-20), coconut oil (http://www.amazon.com
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linkCode=xm2&tag=theellihome0d-20), or molasses (http://www.amazon.com
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GRACE IN OUR
TRASH CAN
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SOAKED BREAD
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I REFUSE TO
BELIEVE TIME IS
MONEY.
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LIFE IN THE
GARDEN
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Simply combine all the ingredients together in a large bucket. Use your hands or a
large spoon to mix and combine all the grains. The olive oil will help the powdered
HOMEMADE
DEODORANT
I find that my 15 chickens eat about 4 cups of this mixture per day. Ive inspected
the soil closely to see if their leaving particular grain behind but for the most part,
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they dont sort through the mixture, so I am glad! Even though they arent fully
grown, they can still easily eat the split peas, whole corn, and lentils just fine.
They love the wheat, especially.
17/03/2014 16:56
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When I feed the chickens, I simply scatter the feed along the ground in their run.
This entertains them, as they can spend their morning scratching through the soil
like they do naturally. During the winter months, Ill feed them inside the coop, but
during the warm, dry months this seems to work fine.
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This homemade feed not work for everyone, and it may not be as cost effective for
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/pin/create everyone, but it has worked wonderfully for us. The chickens seem to be thriving
/button/) on the whole grain diet and I am thankful to be able to provide them with such
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nutritional awesomeness.
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camp=1789&
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Share Also note: while its possible to make this feed without corn, I have no reason to do
such. Because I am able to buy an organic, non-GMO from Azure, I feel confident
feeding it to my chickens in this quantity. If left to their own devices free-ranging,
chickens would punish some corn. So corn it is, for us. Feel free to substitute for
another high protein feed stuff (such as sunflower seeds), if you wish.
You know what the best part is about this feed? We get to share it with the
chickens! Ha! I filled up our wheat bucket that I keep in the kitchen right before I
mixed this together for them. And after that, I strolled down to the shop to fill up my
mason jar with lentils. Score!
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Chickens are cool. So is homemade chicken feed. If thats what youre into.
I totally am.
UPDATE: I finally calculated the cost of making this per pound. Based on
the price we paid for the grains as of June, 2013 it equates out to .47 cents
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per pound. Our 15 layers currently eat 1.75 pounds per day, which means it
costs us .81 cents per day to feed them this diet.
Peas: .47/lb, 2 pounds = .94
Flax: 1.68/lb, .75 pounds = 1.26
Sesame seeds: 2.27/lb., .25 pounds = .56
Lentils: .55/lb., 2 pounds = 1.1
Corn: .43/lb., 2.5 pounds = 1.075
Soft white wheat: .38/lb., 3.5 pounds = 1.33
Hard white wheat: .26/lb., 3.5 pounds = .91
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peck & scratch! We may have to try another batch some day soon! We paid
$55 for them & the feed from the feed store was like $18. Not sure what the
sack of grit cost. I would be willing to go non gmo, organic, make my own
chicken feed so I hope I get to some day soon!
Take care out there!
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city but on a 1/4 acre parcel, and right now Im thinking of getting the six
birds the city allows ad just letting them range in the backyard. We dont
have anything planted back there yet (and wont for a year, probably) so Im
not concerned about them ruining anything. What do you think?
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side of anti-freeze.
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morality involved.
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/2011/07/why-we-eat-meatthe-morality-involved/)
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you know of other grains that chickens might appreciate and enjoy in a
similar fashion?
and-the-lord-taketh-away-chicken/)
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17/03/2014 16:56
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we use oat groats and rolled oats for our chickens, as well
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lentils and barley. good sub for wheat, as long as you keep the
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protein mix about %15 especially in winter when there are fewer bugs
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17/03/2014 16:56
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[...] recipe for Organic Chicken Feed Organic and Soy-Free I dont
have chickens but if I did, Id use this [...]
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them daily. I was just curious if you (or anyone else) grinds their grain. It
seems like my chickens are not the biggest of fans yet. I have also been
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fermenting this recipe which they always went crazy over my fermented
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foods before, so I dont really see a difference. To ferment, I have just been
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filling up this grain bucket with water and adding about a cup of kombucha
and mixing it in and then it is ready about 24 hours later. I feed them the dry
mix in the morning and the fermented in the afternoon.
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REPLY (/2013/06/HOMEMADE-CHICKEN-FEED-ORGANIC-AND-SOYFREE/?REPLYTOCOM=4503#RESPOND)
[...] up in a chicken co-op at a local farm, it was good to find this link about
how to make your own chicken feed. If the former remains true, you are
what your chickens eat. Furthering that point, you are what [...]
REPLY (/2013/06/HOMEMADE-CHICKEN-FEED-ORGANIC-AND-SOYFREE/?REPLYTOCOM=4640#RESPOND)
[...] Homemade Chicken Feed: Organic and Soy-free: Now that I have
chickens, homemade chicken feed is like music to my ears! Have you read
the list of junk in commercial feed? There is no way I am feeding fillers and
other questionable ingredients to my ladies and then feast on their eggs.
This recipe is inexpensive and easy to make..win and win! [...]
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17/03/2014 16:56
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Where do you find your ingredients for those prices per pound?
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[...] spent hours and hours trying to come up with a homemade broiler feed
recipe to serve alongside the homemade feed that we already make for our
layers. While I was finally able to calculate a formula that utilized local(ish)
resources, the cost of [...]
Carrie
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Shaye Elliott (http://www.theelliotthomestead.com)
September 25, 2013 4:06:56 pm
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Carrie,
The protein (I believe is around 16 or 17% which should be exactly
what the layers need.
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What is it?!
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Yes chickweed, dandelions and most weeds are so
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If they get buggy, its just extra protein for the chickens!
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Will try and keep this comment condensed as I am excited to find this post
and your site
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My big question is, how is the fermenting with this mix going? I am also an
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Azure customer and have tried 2 of the 3 brands of chicken layer feed they
carry with less then desirable results, mainly because of the offensive smell
which I believe is due to the peas. So I had started giving some thought to
making my own and keeping the peas and kelp out to add just before
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Karin (http://www.limeridgefarmohio.com)
March 05, 2014 9:21:35 am
smell may be either flax that has aged or fish meal. I dont
know the Azure mix components
Zadidoll (http://www.zadidoll.com)
December 18, 2013 3:52:24 pm
I love chickens and use to raise them when lived outside of city
limits. Hate how we live in an agricultural area yet cant have chickens within
city limits YET a big city like Seattle can! Go fig! AnyhowR at the beginning
of gardening season once the snow is gone from the ground allow your
chickens free reign of your future garden. Their poop will make your garden
amazing. I remember one year before we planted our chickens were allowed
to scratch and peck all they wanted in our garden and late that summer we
had the most amazing veggies. When we moved back within city limits our
gardens never produced the same quality of crops regardless of how well
maintained the garden was. Eventually we gave up because the garden
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needed those chickens and their poop to fertilize the ground naturally. Never
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had to use pesticides either because they ate the bugs around the garden
(they were kept out of the garden itself). We only had tomato worms once
and those green worms were a treat for my girls. I miss my chickens.
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I found your blog via a friends FB link a few weeks ago. Weve
Ranee @ Arabian Knits (http://arabianknits.blogspot.com/) been using
a modified form of your feed for our poultry and they seem to be doing well
on it. Thank you!
I have one question, though. We are able to order from Azure, but I cant find
feeder oats. Is there another name by which they might be found? Thank
you!
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They are under the Garden & Pet Supply heading and are
Kelly @ Bold Souls Micro Farm
(http://www.boldsoulsmicrofarm.com)
called Whole oats with hulls Animal Feed, Organic
17/03/2014 16:56
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still using the organic ones in your own mix? Or have you switched to
regular, or eliminated them altogether in favor of something else?
Thanks again!
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Jessica Tinker January 14, 2014 9:28:59 pm
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Wow, thanks for the recipe! Were new to this and our first
chicks are due to arrive around the end of February (well be
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getting 8 total). I definitely want to feed them organic and when theyre old
enough they will get to free range during the day. Ive been searching all day
for organic feed and it seems your recipe may be the best thing for us to
follow. Im not sure if I will start them on it or wait until theyre a couple weeks
old. It all depends on if I can find any organic feed locally (doubtful). Thanks
again for this great recipe and hopefully I can stop back and let you know if
it worked out for us
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Amanda (http://herbsnstitches.vpweb.com)
February 07, 2014 7:09:11 pm
Can you tell me the sizes (how many lbs of each) of each
product above, you purchase for the homemade chicken feed?
Thanks!
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17/03/2014 16:56
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I was wondering, I know you were buying your feed for your
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meat chickens. Are you still doing that or have you started
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making your own yet? If you have started making your own could we
possibly get your recipe for that? And how are your hens liking the
fermented feed?
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