Do you want to know how to mix chicken feeds and reduce the cost of commercial feeds? You are in the right place so continue reading.
Raising chickens is costly especially if you are feeding your flock 100% commercial feeds. With an average cost of P30/kg of feeds, if you have a layer, your profit is not really that much.
Previously we published lists of plants and greens that can be a support for your commercial feeds. In this article, we are going to give you more tips on how to mic chicken feeds and reduce costs by 50% to 60% without compromising growth and quality.
Back in the 90s’ during my teenage years, our family grew a lot of native chickens in our hometown in Negros Occidental. We always had around 100 native chickens roaming around our house. My father never bought commercial feeds. Just grated coconuts, rice bran, grated cassava, and corn.
When I started raising chickens more than 5 years ago, I followed the same formula and the result is always great.
You may think that none of this applies to you because you are living in the City or inside the subdivision and you have no source of these materials. You may be right but most of the time you can be wrong. I’ll explain it below.
Although the main ingredients of commercial feeds include the materials I am going to mention below, mixing your own feeds is different than buying an already manufactured feed. The big difference is the cost.
For the people living in the provinces, especially on Negros Island, you are lucky because most of these materials are being sold at every poultry and AgriVet supply store. Here in Luzon, a quick search on the Facebook Marketplace would give you some positive results.
Main ingredients for mixing chicken feeds
Darak (rice bran or corn bran)
Darak is one of the main ingredients of commercial feeds. I see the reason why this is not sold in poultry supply stores here in Batangas. There are more than a hundred feed mills in CALABARZON and 95% of available rice brans and corn brans are sold to these big corporations. The cost of darak if purchased per kilogram is around P10 to P12 per kilo. Darak has more nutrients than milled rice actually because it has all the nutrients of the whole grain, especially corn which includes the embryo. In rice, its bran includes its nutritious skin.
Pulp (sapal ng niyog or sapal ng soya)
Although copra meal and soya meal are one of the main ingredients of commercial feeds, sapal is different. You can buy sapal from coconut vendors in your local market. The cost is around P7 to P10 per kilo or P12 at maximum.
Azolla
Azolla is recommended even by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as one of the main feed alternatives because of its high protein content.
Kitchen Leftover
If you are living inside the subdivision or in mass housing where few people have dogs and chickens, you can ask your neighbors to give you their kitchen leftovers instead of dumping them into the drainage. Just provide them with a container. You can have a daily supply of leftovers.
How to mix chicken feeds
Remember that chickens will eat almost everything but it’s us, humans, who should control what should be included in their feeds. Giving them 100% sapal is not good as it is not complete with the needed nutrients.
To reduce feed costs while still providing your chickens with the needed nutrients, mix the following.
- 1 kilo of commercial feeds (choose the cheapest). Crumble (grower) is recommended
- 1 kilo of rice or corn bran
- 1 kilo of sapal
- 1 kilo of azolla
- 1 kilo of kitchen leftovers (mostly cooked rice)
If Azolla of kitchen leftovers is not available, you can still continue mixing with the rest of the materials. The most important is rice/corn bran and sapal.
Whether you are mixing in small or large volumes, the result would still be the same. You can significantly reduce the cost of your feeds. If you have other available materials like cracked corn or chopped Kangkong, you can add that also.
Questions related to feeding chickens
What is a good mix for chicken feed?
Simple Homemade Chicken Feed Recipe Formula
- 30% Corn
- 30% Wheat
- 20% Peas
- 10% Oats
- 10% Fish Meal
- 2% Poultry Nutri–Balancer
- Free Choice Kelp
- Free Choice Aragonite
Can you mix grower and layer feed?
It’s important to make the transition over time to prevent digestive upset. On our farm in Missouri, we’ve found it’s best to make chicken feed transitions over time rather than all at once. We mix the starter-grower feed and layer feed evenly for four or five days.
What is the healthiest feed for chickens?
Select fruits, vegetables, and grains will keep chickens happy and ensure they are receiving a nutritionally balanced diet. Good choices include leafy greens, cooked beans, corn, non-sugary cereals and grains, berries, apples, and most other fruits and vegetables.
Is it cheaper to mix your own chicken feed?
Homemade chicken feed not only improves the health of your flock but is usually slightly cheaper than buying pre-made feed. This option is particularly cost-effective if you are able to find grains and seeds in bulk from local grocery and bulk food stores.
Should I mix chicken feed with water?
Any type of chicken feed can be mixed with water and allowed to ferment naturally. The process of fermentation releases many of the grain’s nutrients, making them more available for your birds.
What is the best chicken feed for egg layers?
- Manna Pro Oyster Shell
- Manna Pro 7-Grain Ultimate Chicken Scratch
- Scratch and Peck Feed Naturally Free Organic Starter Chick Feed
- Manna Pro Chick Starter
- Prairie’s Choice Non-GMO Backyard Grower Chicken Feed.
- Purina Layena + Omega 3
- Kaytee Laying Hen Diet
What is the best protein to feed chickens?
- Dried Mealworms. At 53 % protein, Dried Mealworms are by far our chooks’ favorite protein-rich treat. …
- Dried Soldier Fly Larvae
- Insects
- Seeds
- Non-medicated chick starter
- Sprouts
- Worms
- Eggs
See Also:
- How to Diagnose and Treat Chicken Diarrhea Through Droppings
- How to Deworm Chickens Using Betel Nut
- How to Cure Sipon and Halak without using Antibiotic
- How Long Do Hens Lay Eggs
- Chicken Vaccination and Preventive Medication Guide and Schedule