…… How Do You Mix Healthy Chicken Feed?

[Barry Natchitoches]

I am beginning to see a noticible reduction in eggs among the flock that I have been giving newly purchased pellets.

The other flock - which is eating older pellets of the same brand that were bought in late summer - are laying a normal amount.

i purposefully fed only new stuff to my retirement village after I heard so many reports about chicken feed reducing egg production last fall. I wanted to see if this was a genuine problem, and also, to protect my premium laying flock.

Well, the retired hens never layed as much as the other group (nor would I expect them to), but even in the dead of winter, the older flock produces at least one or two eggs a day.

But I have not gotten an egg from this flock in about two weeks now. And they do have 14 hours of light, fresh water, and plenty of feed.


so, maybe there is a problem with the newly manufactured feed??



On the main, there is a video that is suggesting using goat feed.

Is this really viable?


I read that goat pellets are too big for chickens, but do they make a crumble that would work?

What other alternatives might work?

 

[mudlogger]

We've been feeding cheap Tractor Supply feed, and didn't really care about no eggs...that changed! We put a light out 2 weeks ago, and I've been fermenting an organic feed mix. Friday I got 6, then 4, only 2 today, but they didn't get the ferment after Thursday. I'm changing to a cleaner, farm store feed, and I'm going to soak alfalfa pellets to add to the ferment, too.

Remember, they want us dead.

 

[Cardinal]

Seems to have something to do with vomitoxin in the grain. We had a discussion on the other egg thread.
There is a yt vid where a woman makes her own.
She mixes dog kibble, sunflower seeds,oats, oyster shell

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhzUMC3yLNY&t=6s

rt 12:23

 

[Cardinal]

FWIW, I feed this

and supplement with frozen mixed vegetables, greek yogurt and sardines in oil.
But I only have five hens.
I am getting more eggs than I can use though.

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

Seems to have something to do with vomitoxin in the grain. We had a discussion on the other egg thread.
There is a yt vid where a woman makes her own.
She mixes dog kibble, sunflower seeds,oats, oyster shell

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhzUMC3yLNY&t=6s

rt 12:23

I viewed this video, whuch led me to viewing another, then another…

I think I am going to try mixing my own after my current stock of commercial layer feed is gone. I have some Nutrina I bought several months ago that I am giving to the more productive flock, and their productivity is very high despite the winter, so I am confident that this feed is good.

I have some newer purchased feed that I am not so confident about. I have been giving that to the older girls in the Retirement Villa, as I don’t really count on their eggs much anyway.

But after that is gone, I think I am going to begin to mix my own. I am looking for the best price on oats, corn, black oil sunflower seeds, DE, wheat, and maybe split peas or flax seed right now.

i also have some kitten kibble (alot if it is Iams. I wanted my kitten to eat healthy as I could give her.). But the little buggar won’t eat it anyway. so I figure on mixing the kitten kibble into the mix. If you can give them dog kibble, why not kitten kibble?

I think I might ferment some of that food for them.

I am also looking into sprouting wheat and/or lentils and/or chickpeas for them.

I think all of us are going to have to figure ways to do more for our birds with less money in the future.

 

[LightEcho]

I wouldn't be surprised if large feed manufacturers are infiltrated by the depopulation gang to not only degrade egg production, but slowly kill off livestock. Seek to alternate and mix what you feed them. I am very leery about using a dog food for poultry.

I was thinking about this for the last couple days. In winter, maybe I will get some rabbit pellet or other green/grain/seed mix. Even some wild bird feed- my chicks love to gobble on that around the feeder when they are out. We also given them veg scraps and cracked corn. Running loose a couple times per week lets them eat roots, pebbles, grasses, insects, etc.

 

[Cardinal]

The dog kibble was for the protein content.

 

[moldy]

We mix our own with corn, alfalfa, soy, oyster shell, and chicken mineral.

 

[Satanta]

Where do you folks buy your oats, corn and such?

We have several grain mills locally but I am unsure if one can just drive there and get bags of whatever or if you need to find a store pf some sort.



BTW, Hersheys owns Purina. The largest egg producer in the country own TSC. Not hard to figure out why they might change the chicken feed to stop egg production.

 

[Cardinal]

Usually there is a feed store that you can buy bags of stuff from.

 

[john70]

feed them pigeon grain and they will love you and lay eggs

 

[Babs]

We buy all of our grains from the feed mill. I do not trust commercially produced feed. The feed store is now 2 hours away, and we still make the trip every few months to buy there, because it's so important to us.

 

[oops]

I called a local co-op n asked quesrion... they made a exception for me on qty to test on the girls...tractor supply layin mash had led to a few eggs n then zilch...middle one goof ups or tractor supply feed?...hummmm...got the co-op blended feed...n all the girls are layin again...hummmmm...corn...oats...some sunflower seed...soy...n some other grain...brain farts r the pits...oyster shells...n something else...gona pick up more next trip to moundtown...