Not so many people or farmer who have poultry farms or just subsistently rear chickens know how to make chicken feed at home: fastest ways. A large number of these category of individuals still buy heavily from the outside. Sometimes, you even do not have an easy reach to this chicken feed mainly because of some inexcusable reasons. However, in order to avoid subjecting chickens to unnecessary hunger strike or incurring high costs of expenses on your pockets, it is advisable to have full-grasp idea of the fastest way to make chicken feed on your own.
Chicken feed is food for farm poultry, particularly chickens. Before now, chickens were used to eating just any crumbs from the left overs of many other animals like horses, cattle, among others. They even eat insects, plants, and whatever crumb they ate was often supplemented by grain, household scraps, calcium supplements such as oyster shell, and garden waste.
Then, as time develops and farmers see the poor effect of consuming some of these junkies on the fowls, nutritionally complete poultry feed was developed as substitution for the less beneficial crumbs that these chickens ate.
These modern feeds for poultry consists largely of grain, protein supplements such as soybean oil meal, mineral supplements, and vitamin supplements. The quantity of feed, and the nutritional requirements of the feed, depend on the weight and age of the poultry, their rate of growth, their rate of egg production, the weather (cold or wet weather causes higher energy expenditure), and the amount of nutrition the poultry obtain from foraging. This results in a wide variety of feed formulations.
The Following are Some of the Nutritional Advantages Chicken Feed should have:
Before we jump into mixing homemade chicken feed, it is important for you to decide to pay attention to how rich the ingredients to be used could be. This has a long way to go with the growth effect it will have on the chickens.
- Carbohydrates – Carbohydrates are the largest portion of a chicken’s diet. These are used as a quick source of energy and are used as a source of fuel. Some common carbohydrates that can be found in chicken feed include corn, barley, wheat, and millet.
- Fats – Fats, also known as fatty acids produce more calories and help chickens absorb fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. The addition of fats to chicken feed can also help in cold climates during winter months. Saturated fats that can be added to a chicken’s diet include lard and tallow.
- Proteins – Proteins are an important part of a chicken’s diet because it helps with the development of the chicken’s body (muscle, skin, feathers, etc.) Animal-based protein includes fish meal, meat, and bone meal. Plant-based proteins can include soybean meal, canola meal, and corn gluten meal.
- Minerals – There are two classifications of minerals Microminerals and Microminerals. Microminerals include things like copper, iodine, iron selenium, and zinc. Microminerals include calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and sodium. Both types of minerals help with bone production, and muscle and nerve function. Grains tend to lack the necessary minerals needed for a healthy poultry diet, that is why supplements are available. For example, the recipe below contains Nutri-balancer or another great source for calcium is free-choice oyster shells.
- Vitamins – Vitamins play an important role in chicken growth and reproduction. Some vitamins can be produced by the chickens, but others are supplied by natural food provided and supplements.
How to Make Chicken Feed at Home: Fastest Ways
Having had the ideas of what nutritional values chicken feed should contain before making them for the poultry animals, it is for us to look into the how to make chicken feed at home: fastest ways. It is going to be the easiest ways by which we too can help reduce our financial expenses and maximizing profits when we make it a business doing this chicken feed by ourselves.
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Know the Chicken Feed Recipe Formula
The chicken feed recipe formula for the ingredients to be used are that the corn must be at least 40%, the wheat 40%, Peas too must be 30%. the oats 15%, the fish meal 15%, the Poultry Nutri-Balancer 4%, then the Free Choice Kelp, the Alfalfa Meal, the Salt, the Sunflower Seed Meal, the Limestone, and the Free Choice Aragonite must all be readily added on the list.
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Measure the Ingredients
As quantified above, ingredients to be used in making chicken feed must be painstakingly measured in order to give the desired taste and result in the chickens. Without this, it is quite vain to even think of making it in the first place.
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Prepare to Mix Thoroughly
Stir the feed with a shovel until all the ingredients are evenly dispersed throughout the container. This ensures that the chickens will receive the nutrients from the different ingredients when they are fed. Make sure that you mix the ingredients that are in the bottom of the container. Although it may take a few minutes if you have made a large batch, allow 2-3 minutes to mix a large bucket. If you have made a very large batch of chicken feed, use a spade to mix the ingredients.
After this, your chicken feed is ready. It is time to feed the chickens.
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Keep Chicken Feed in a Very Cool Place.
Barns or Granary or Stores are ideal places to keep chicken feed. Check the feed for mice, bugs, and mold before you give it to the chickens. If the feed has been contaminated, it is safest to throw it away. If you don’t have a shed to store the feed in, put a lid on the container and keep it out of direct sunlight in avoidance of heat.
