How to Formulate Your Own Chicken Feed
(Page 4 of 5)
September/October 1975
By Joan Salmonowicz
Draw a rectangle on a sheet of paper and write in the center the percentage of protein desired for the ration. In the upper left-hand corner, jot the word "grain" and the assumed value of 10. Enter the word "supplement" in the lower left-hand corner, with the average figure for these ingredients. Then subtract diagonally—always taking the smaller number from the larger—and note the answers on the right. The figure in the lower right-hand corner is the amount of supplement, in pounds, you'll need to combine with the quantity of grain (also in pounds) shown directly above.
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Let's suppose, for example, that you intend to make up a IS% ration from two types of grain and the following protein supplements: soybean meal (44%), meat scrap (50%), and alfalfa leaf meal (17%). The total of these percentages is 111, and their average is 37. This number is entered in the lower left-hand corner of the rectangle (see Fig. 1). The value for grain—10—is noted above, and the desired protein content of the ration—15—in the center of the diagram. Diagonal subtraction shows that for every 22 pounds of grain you'll add 5 pounds of supplement . . . or, for roughly 100 pounds o ration, 88 of grain and 20 of protein booster.
Calcium compounds and salt are added in proportion to the total weight of feed. For every 100-pound lot of ration, you should include 1/2 pound of salt, 1-1/2 pounds of ground limestone, and 2-1/2 pounds of dicalciurn phosphate or steamed bone meal.
If you're purchasing 100-plus pounds of mixed ration, here's what the formula will look like when you take it to the elevator or dealer:
44 pounds corn or oats
44 pounds wheat or barley
7 pounds soybean meal
7 pounds alfalfa leaf meal
6 pounds meat scrap
1/2 pound iodized salt
1-1/2 pounds ground limestone
2-1/2 pounds dicalcium phosphate or steamed bone meal
Grind all together.
As you can see, the amounts don't come out exactly accurate and you have to juggle the figures a bit. As long as you don't stray too far from the original calculations, though, the mixture will be excellent nutritionally.
The recipe used in the example above will supply laying hens with all the nutrients they need . . . and any number of protein supplements can be interchanged or supplemented in the formula. The sidebar with this article gives other sample mixes for chickens at various stages of development.
If you're mixing feed for baby chicks, you'll have to consider their increased need for protein, most vitamins (particularly choline and the rest of the B complex), and minerals other than calcium . . . especially manganese. Wheat and wheat by-products contain ample amounts of choline and manganese and should certainly be included in your mixture.
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