Raising backyard chickens can be an extremely rewarding hobby. Not only do you get fresh eggs every day, but you also get the satisfaction of providing your flock with proper nutrition.
One of the biggest expenses of keeping chickens is buying commercial feed. A 50 pound bag can cost $20 or more! While commercial chicken feed is convenient, making your own homemade feed allows you to control the ingredients and save money.
In this complete guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about formulating and preparing homemade chicken feed.
Why Make Your Own Chicken Feed?
Here are some of the main benefits of homemade chicken feed:
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Cost Savings – You can make feed for a fraction of the cost of commercial feed especially if you buy ingredients in bulk.
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Control Ingredients – With homemade feed, you decide what goes into your chicken feed and can avoid unwanted or unhealthy ingredients.
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Reduce Waste – Making your own feed allows you to produce only what you need for your flock. No more throwing out half-used bags of chicken feed!
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Customization – You can tweak your feed recipe to meet the specific nutritional needs of your flock (chicks vs layers for example).
While homemade feed requires more effort than just purchasing commercial feed, the benefits are certainly worth it for frugal chicken owners.
Chicken Feed Nutrition Basics
Before you start mixing up a batch of chicken feed, it’s important to understand the nutritional requirements of chickens so you provide a balanced diet.
Here are the main nutritional components that should be present in any chicken feed:
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Protein – Necessary for growth and egg production. Aim for 16-20% protein in layer feed and 20-24% in chick starter.
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Carbohydrates – The main energy source. Carbs should make up 60-70% of feed.
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Calcium – Critical for egg shell strength. Laying hens need 3-4% dietary calcium.
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Fats & Oils – Added boost of energy and helps absorb fat-soluble vitamins.
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Vitamins & Minerals – Essential for metabolic functions. Especially vitamin D for calcium absorption.
Getting the proper balance of nutrients ensures your chickens get all the necessary building blocks for health. Let’s look at how to formulate a balanced feed recipe.
How to Formulate a Homemade Chicken Feed Recipe
When creating your own chicken feed recipe, follow these steps:
1. Choose Your Grains
Grains will make up the bulk of the recipe and provide carbohydrates. Good grain choices include:
- Corn
- Wheat
- Oats
- Barley
- Millet
Aim for 2-4 types of grains in your mix. Corn and wheat are excellent bases.
2. Add Your Protein Sources
To balance out the grains, you need high-protein ingredients like:
- Dried peas or beans
- Soybean meal
- Sunflower seeds
- Dried worms or insects
- Dried fish or meat meal
Beans and peas are great plant-based options. Aim for around 20% protein sources in your feed.
3. Include Calcium Sources
Laying hens especially need calcium to produce strong eggshells. Add:
- Crushed eggshells
- Ground oyster shell
- Bone meal
At least 3% of the feed should be a calcium source.
4. Mix in Vitamins & Minerals
While grains provide some basic nutrition, chickens need extra vitamins and minerals. You can use a premixed poultry vitamin pack or make your own blend with:
- Sea kelp or fish meal for trace minerals
- Yogurt or probiotics for gut health
- Brewer’s yeast for B vitamins
- Apple cider vinegar with “mother” provides potassium
5. Evaluate Your Feed Ration
Once your recipe is mixed, examine the nutritional breakdown. Most feed rations should be:
- 45-65% Carbs
- 16-20% Protein
- 3-4% Calcium
- 1-2% Phosphorus
- Plus added vitamins and minerals
Adjust ingredient amounts until you achieve a balanced nutritional profile.
6 Key Ingredients for Homemade Chicken Feed
While there are endless options for homemade chicken feed, these 6 ingredients make excellent additions to most rations:
1. Dried Peas – An excellent plant-based protein at over 20% protein. Provides amino acids for growth.
2. Wheat – Whole wheat is high in nutrients and protein. Offers B vitamins and fiber.
3. Flax Seeds – High in omega-3s for skin and feather health. Also a good protein source.
4. Brewers Yeast – Nutrient and vitamin packed. Supports immune system health.
5. Oyster Shell – Provides highly bioavailable calcium and trace minerals. Helps egg production.
6. Kelp – Dried sea kelp offers over 60 trace minerals and vitamins including iodine and carotenoids.
Adding a variety of protein sources, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics is key for flock nutrition and health.
Making Your Own Chicken Feed
Once you’ve developed a balanced recipe, it’s time to start mixing. Here is the basic process:
Step 1: Gather Ingredients
Obtain all the components you’ll need for your recipe. It’s most affordable to purchase grains and supplements in bulk.
Step 2: Mix Dry Ingredients
Measure out all dry ingredients as called for in your ration and thoroughly combine in a large tub, barrel, or trough.
Step 3: Consider Grinding
You can feed whole grains, but grinding into smaller bits makes it easier for chickens to eat. Use a feed grinder or simply pulse ingredients in a food processor.
Step 4: Store Properly
Keep finished feed in a covered metal trash can, barrel with lid, or five gallon buckets with lids. Store out of sunlight in a cool, dry area.
Step 5: Feed Your Flock!
Give your chickens their new homemade ration! Start by mixing it half and half with their old feed for a transition period before fully switching.
Monitor egg quality and your hens’ health as you transition. As long as they are doing well, you can feel good knowing your homemade ration is properly nourishing your chickens!
Helpful Tips for Making Chicken Feed
Follow these tips for feed mixing success:
- Always weigh ingredients for accuracy rather than using volume
- Thoroughly mix batches to prevent chickens picking out favorites
- Consider grinding grains for easier consumption
- Store feed in rodent proof containers
- Freeze feed for 48 hours before use to kill mites or weevils
- Adjust recipes seasonally – less corn in summer, more in winter
It may take some trial and error to find the perfect feed recipe for your flock. Have fun experimenting!
With the right knowledge and preparation, making your own chicken feed can be easy and affordable. Your flock will benefit from the natural, wholesome ingredients while you save money on feed costs.
Be sure to properly balance nutritional components and safely store homemade feed. Soon you’ll be a chicken feed mixing pro!
While it does require more initial effort than simply purchasing commercial feed, the ability to control ingredients and customize recipes makes homemade chicken feed worthwhile. Plus, you’ll enjoy knowing that you personally crafted a nutritious diet for your beloved backyard flock.
How to Make Chicken Feed That is Beneficial to Your Flock
There are a few things to consider when we are mixing our own animal feed: egg production and the ingredients you use to reach the appropriate amount of nutrients needed to keep your girls laying successfully.
Interestingly, the first batch didn’t yield significant drop in egg production during the switch. The most significant drop happened in the first week, and the total drop for the full month was only 11%. I expected the damage to be worse, this being my first time mixing chicken feed.
In April, they laid 66 eggs between the 5 of them. In May, where the switch took place between the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th weeks, they laid 59. There was only a difference of 7 eggs from April to May.
Chickens need fresh, clean water, and a mix of protein, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, and vitamins. Each ingredient in this recipe was hand-picked based on what it would add to this homemade layer feed recipe, what it would do for the eggs they lay, and whether or not the ingredients are easy to obtain.
With this homemade layer feed, you will be able to maintain your chickens’ health, and ensure that the eggs they lay for you will be healthy, nutritious, and non-GMO.
If you have a local Winco (or other bulk seller), you can get the grains and the garlic powder. Kelp and diatomacious earth can be purchased online. If you want to supplement sometimes with black oil sunflower seeds, you can get those at your local farm supply, or order them online.
NOTE: All of the ingredients I use in this recipe have been checked with this page of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) website for verification that none of them are genetically modified.
Pearl Barley – High in fiber, but low in energy and difficult for chickens to digest. Should be no more than 20% of a chicken’s diet.
Hard Red Wheat – High in protein, good for energy
Millet – This tiny grain is rich in iron and amino acids
Oats – High protein, adds calcium, fiber, and B vitamins to the feed; good energy source
Split Peas – Very high in protein
Kelp – Adds omega-3s to the hen’s diet, making egg yolks that wonderful, deep orange color
Garlic Powder – Thought of as one of nature’s best antibiotics, garlic brings power to the immune system of your chicken
Black Oil Sunflower Seeds – Adds protein, makes feathers shinier, increase egg production, increases nutrients in eggs
Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) – Keeps bugs out of the feed, is thought of as a natural wormer by some
Homemade Whole Grain Layer Feed
- 19 cups split peas
- 14 cups hard red wheat
- 12 cups barley
- 10 cups millet
- 8 cups oats
- 1/2 cup kelp
- 1/2 cup garlic powder
- 1/2 cup food grade diatomaceous earth
Mix all ingredients together in a large tub. Cover and store. Feed 1/4lb (about 1/2 cup) per hen each day.
Add black oil sunflower seeds to boost protein every now and then.
Protein: 17.5% (not counting the sunflower seeds) Crude fat: 2.1%
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN DIY HEALTHY HOMEMADE CHICKEN FEED
FAQ
How to make your own chicken feed?
- Corn: 1107 lbs per ton; 55.4%
- Soybean meal: 503 lbs per ton; 25.2%
- Mill Food Grounds: 100 lbs per ton; 5%
- Vegetable oil: 53 lbs per ton; 2.7%
- Calcium carbonate: 187 lbs per ton; 9.4%
- CSA Chicken 50 Premix (50633): 50 lbs per ton; 2.5%
What are the ingredients for making chicken feed?
- 30% Corn
- 30% Wheat
- 20% Peas
- 10% Oats
- 10% Fish Meal
- 2% Poultry Nutri–Balancer
- Free Choice Kelp
- Free Choice Aragonite
Is it cheaper to make your own chicken feed?
What is the formula for making chicken feed?
| Adult poultry | Little Chicks, ducks and geese |
|---|---|
| 10% Soybean | 10% Wheat |
| 10% Wheat | 5% Soybean |
| 5% Egg white | 5% Fish meal |
| 3% Vegetable oil | 3% Vegetable oil |