Chicken Feed...the natural way

Chickens love to spend their days pecking and scratching. They root around on the ground, ingesting anything they find edible. The trouble is- as with most animals- we've made things convenient for ourselves, but not necessarily natural or healthy for the chickens. Natural feeding is much more work than just picking up a sack of feed and putting it in a feeder. But it is also pleasant to see the results.

As far as nutrition, most pre-mixed (bagged) feeds contain large quantities of soy (for protein), wheat, and corn. This includes, unfortunately, most organic feeds as well. After discovering this, I determined to do something better for my chickens. I now hand mix a grain selection that includes 12-16 varieties of organic grains. I developed the proper formulation on my own, and my chickens love it. They lay better when fed this blend, too. And I don't put it in a feeder- I throw it out on the ground, where my chickens happily spend hours pecking up every last grain in a completely natural manner that is instinctual.

Here is my feed recipe for those who want it:

Product/Pounds

Chicken Wheat	12
Oat Groats	8
Corn (optional in winter)	0.5
Barley	4
Rye	0.5
Buckwheat	2
Millet	0.5
Lentils	0.5
Field Peas	8
Green Split Peas	1
Flax	0.5
Sunflower Seeds	0.25
Alfalfa	1
Kelp Granules	0.25
Oyster/Crab Shell	free feed, not in mix

I usually mix a large amount- in the right percentages- in a tote. Then each day I take the amount to be given and soak it for 24 hours in a bucket of water. At the cost of organic grain, I want the chickens to enjoy every nutritional benefit from it, and by soaking it I break down the protective coatings so many seeds have on them and enable my chickens to digest a larger portion of it.

I do keep the organic bagged feed available in feeders, and occasionally when the storms are raging in winter, I let that be the only feed my chickens get. But when I do, I find my egg production declines after a couple days. As a side not, this could be partly caused by the fact that my whole grain mix has a large percentage of oats, while bagged mixes have more corn. I've read that corn reduces egg production, while oats encourage it. That could be the reason I see such results.

I don't know the whole nutritional composition of my feed blend. I do know that my feed blend has 18-20% protein. I like a high protein feed for all my chickens, whether they are laying, molting, broody, chicks, growing, or roosters. I have seen nothing but good results, probably because my protein comes from many different grains and not just soy. With so many grain varieties, I'm not worried about my chickens getting enough nutrition!