Hello all, First Post, so....
I mix my own feed for my barnyard chickens and have been successful with it. However, now that I have my Ameraucana breeders I want to make sure they are getting the 20% protein diet they were on. These are from exhibition lines and that's what I want to do as well. The recipe I use is from Azure Standard and is designed as a basic layer feed according to the article it came from.
16.5% protein
19 lbs. Organic Chicken Wheat (GP073)
9 lbs. Organic Animal Peas (GP559)
6 lbs. Organic Alfalfa Pellets (GP491)
5 lbs. Organic Animal Barley (GP168)
4 lbs. Organic Animal Oats (GP034)
3 lbs. Organic Animal Sorghum (GP850)
2.5 lbs. Organic Sunflower Seeds (SE047)
Mix in:
2 lbs. Oyster Shells (GP1011)
1.5 lbs. Fertrell Poultry Nutri-Balancer (GP039)
1 lb. Organic Buttermilk Powder (BP141) – optional
0.25 lbs. Animal Kelp Granules (GP100)
4 ozs. Organic Sunflower Oil (OL274)
0.07 lbs. Epsom Salt (HB1121) – optional
I have not been adding the extras as my big flock is on pasture all day. I HAVE been adding everything except the epsom salt for my Ameraucanas but that's just because I forgot to buy it.
So assuming this exact recipe, I'm thinking more peas but does that mean cut wheat down?
I don't like relying on the big box stores and the plasticy feed bags and whatnot. It's just a personal thing. I'm not opposed to adding a NEW protein to this mix either. I use sorghum so our eggs and meat can be corn and soy free but I'm not allergic to any of it, just thought "why not?" (Plus a few freaky documentaries about monocropping). I'm not opposed to adding corn to this mix I suppose though. Thanks for any advice you can give!