How to Mix Chicken Feed at Home

Feeding homemade chicken feed is an alternative to commercial chicken feeds.

Mixing chicken feed at home can be a cost-effective alternative to commercially available chicken feeds. Commercial chicken feed varies in quality and often includes unsavory ingredients that you may not want your flock eating. Chickens can be fickle and will not eat food they find unappealing, often holding out for days if they do not like their current diet. Making your own chicken feed allows you to control the ingredients and quality of the feed your birds are consuming.

Things You'll Need

• Large mixing bin with cover
• Small shovel
• 100 pounds cracked corn
• 50 pounds ground soybeans
• 10 pounds alfalfa pellets
• 10 pounds dry oats
• 10 pounds ground bone meal
• 5 pounds poultry vitamin powder
• Feed scale
• Feed pans

Instructions

1. Place your mixing bin on a flat surface. A 100-gallon rubber horse or cattle trough is large enough to mix and store your prepared chicken feed. Set your shovel against the trough to keep it close as you prepare your feed.

2. Pour your cracked corn in the bottom of the trough, layering the soybeans on top. Mix the two ingredients thoroughly with your shovel. Corn and soybeans provide enough fat and protein to allow your chickens to grow and thrive.

3. Add the alfalfa pellets, oats and bone meal to the tub and use the shovel to mix them into the corn and soybeans. The alfalfa pellets and oats add greens and fiber to the feed mixture, while the bone meal adds essential phosphorous and nitrogen.

4. Sprinkle the poultry vitamins over the feed and stir gently with your hands to incorporate. Poultry vitamin powder contains all the essential vitamins and minerals needed for optimal health in your flock and can be purchased from your veterinarian or local feed store.

5. Cover your bin to keep out pests and moisture, and feed the mixture to your chickens on a daily basis. Five chickens will eat approximately 2 lbs. of feed per day, so measure out the proper amount of feed on your scale and place it in your feed pans each morning to provide proper nutrition to your flock.

Tips & Warnings

• You can purchase most of the ingredients for your chicken feed from your local farm supply store or whole foods market.

• Don't leave your feed uncovered. Mice, insects and water can quickly ruin your entire batch of feed.

References

• Greener Pastures Chickens: Mixing Your Own Organic Chicen Feed
• Backyard Poultry: Making Your Own Poultry Feed
• Lion's Grip: Chicken Feeds