How to Formulate Your Own Chicken Feed
(Page 2 of 5)
September/October 1975
By Joan Salmonowicz
The second feeding system is more economical because you need have only half the grain ground. It's also a little more laborious, though, since the correct amount of cereals—about 1/4 pound per bird—must be calculated and served out daily. Sorry, but you can't let the hens eat free choice if you use this method. They prefer whole grains over ground feed . . . and, if permitted, will gobble up bushels of tasty kernels and ignore the protein supplement which they need for good health.
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The quality of that supplement, please note, is as important as the amount. All protein is composed of amino acids, which must be present in their full range to form a complete, fully usable bodybuilding material. Most sources are deficient in one or more of these acids . . . and the best way to be sure of a good balance is to offer a varied diet (as nature intended). (More detailed information on the composition of proteins can be found in Frances Moore Lappé's Diet for a Small Planet.-MOTHER.) The same holds true for vitamins and minerals: What's lacking in one food may be abundant in another, and no one source can provide all the essentials.
You should therefore aim for as much variety as is economically feasible in the cereals which are the main components of mixed chicken feed. Corn, oats, wheat, and barley—combined in any proportion—will provide an excellent base.
The protein content of a grain varies according to where and how the plant was grown. The average for most cereals, however, is about 10%. A supplement accordingly must be added to boost the feed's percentage . . . and again, it's best to use a variety of sources. Soybean meal and meat scrap are two excellent choices which offer a good balance of amino acids. Another possibility—alfalfa leaf meal—is also high in protein and, in addition, contains large amounts of vitamin A. If your feed dealer carries powdered milk, you may want to use some as a supplement to rations intended for baby chicks.
Some other nutrients—particularly calcium and phosphorus—must also be added in the form of supplements. The bodies of animals can assimilate other minerals properly only if these two are present in the correct proportion . . . in the case of chickens, about 2-1/2 times as much calcium as phosphorus. This need can be met by ground limestone and either steamed bone meal or dicalcium phosphate added to the feed in appropriate amounts. One more necessary poultry feed ingredient is iodized salt (since birds, of course, can't lick a salt block).
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