Till-Hill
Well-known member
I got corn ddg and sbm on hand? What else do I need? Bought a vitamin and mineral pack. Buying manufacturer feed getting expensive. Mainly for meat chickens, our hens forage quite a bit. Thanks.
Chicken feed ration
- Thread starter Till-Hill
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TexasBred
Well-known member
Gonna be feeding chicks or is this a laying ration?Till-Hill":2xipq743 said:
Till-Hill
Well-known member
TB about half way grown meat chickens. Ranger Reds I think wife said they are. Want to butcher them about end August.TexasBred":ulrfawgr said:
RanchMan90
Well-known member
I could never get my Cornish cross to eat ddg loose, but they did like soy hull pellets. A commodity mix alternative would be much more cost efficient if they would eat it.Till-Hill":34l8ye7o said:
M.Magis
Well-known member
I've looked all over the web, looking for a way to feed meat birds as effectively but cheaper than buying bagged feed. So far, everything i've read says bagged feed is still the best bet
Till-Hill
Well-known member
That's what I'm seeing too. Well I'm thinking I'm just going to grind 80% corn 20% Soybean Meal and this Vitamin and Mineral pack and wing it!
I've tried feeding cracked corn, they will not eat it, I've just ground some corn and DDG one Sunday to get me thru and they ate it fine but on hens egg production went way down. But they are foraging really good right now, maybe if the hens don't like it they will find more outside to eat!
I've tried feeding cracked corn, they will not eat it, I've just ground some corn and DDG one Sunday to get me thru and they ate it fine but on hens egg production went way down. But they are foraging really good right now, maybe if the hens don't like it they will find more outside to eat!
TexasBred
Well-known member
That should work for what you're wanting to do without trying to get all fancy with the ration. Fine grind the corn so they can't pick and choose and they'll eat it fine....most commercial feeds use the soybean meal anyway so just add the vit/min premix according to instructions and let'em eat. If you decide to purchase feed I'd go with poultry feed and definitely not use anything formulated for a cow.Till-Hill":3byorayy said:
Down in this area a good 20% laying ration is about $10 a bag. Starter/Grower about the same.
Till-Hill
Well-known member
Thanks TB, $14 bucks bag here and they eat way more than they should! Eggs are not a real profitable business but daughter sure enjoys the heck out of them. But her mother is turning into a chicken hoarder!
Why not they lay good.TexasBred":1jm6dsi1 said:
Feed mill also told me the two feeds are almost the same, other than the price, I have not compared labels myself, but me and some other people I know have fed it for years, MANY YEARS, never had a problem. I know you are pretty sharp on feed mixes, and I respect that, but I would like to know what you think the problem would be. I thought the end results are eggs and they do good on it.
TexasBred
Well-known member
Cottonseed meal contains some gossypol (not as much as it use to) and In laying hens, gossypol reduces feed intake and efficiency and leads to decreased egg production and weight gain. Gossypol also adversely affects egg quality, leading to yolk discoloration (olive color). Although low-gossypol cottonseed meals reduce these effects, the CPFAs in cottonseed oil result in yolk mottling. So cottonseed meal should not be fed to hens while laying... AND it's simply not the quality source of protein as soybean meal/fish meal/ or corn gluten meal. All high quality poultry rations use one or all of these better protein sources. I'm sure there will always be exceptions to the "egg quantity" as you said yours layed very good. As in all things as long as your happy what I think is insignificant really doesn't matter. ;-)BRYANT":1usfggbb said:
