Growing and making your own chicken feed provides self-sufficiency and complete control over the ingredients your flock consumes. This approach allows you to select specific, high-quality crops and avoid commercial additives. Successfully formulating a homemade ration requires understanding that chickens need a carefully balanced blend of nutrients. This balance, which commercial feed provides automatically, must be intentionally created using home-grown ingredients.
Essential Nutritional Requirements for Chickens
A chicken’s diet must provide three main components: energy, protein, and micronutrients like vitamins and minerals. Energy, derived primarily from carbohydrates and fats, fuels daily activities and is typically measured in metabolizable energy (ME), remaining relatively constant across life stages at around 2,500 to 2,600 kcal/kg of feed. Birds will adjust their overall feed intake to meet this baseline energy requirement.
Protein is the building block for muscle, feathers, and eggs, with requirements shifting dramatically based on the bird’s age and purpose. Young chicks, in their starter phase (0–6 weeks), require a high protein content of about 20% to 22% for rapid growth and immune system development. Layer hens require a moderate protein level of 16% to 18% to support consistent egg production.
Micronutrients are also specialized, particularly for laying hens, which have a massive demand for calcium for eggshell formation. Layers need a diet containing 3% to 4% calcium, a significant increase from the roughly 1% required by growing birds. Other necessary micronutrients include phosphorus for bone health and essential amino acids, such as lysine and methionine, which must be present in sufficient quantities to ensure healthy growth and egg size.
Primary Crops for Energy and Protein
The bulk of any home-grown feed mixture will consist of energy-dense cereal grains, with corn, wheat, barley, and oats being the most common choices. Corn is a high-energy source, and for grain production, average planting densities range from 16,000 to 24,000 plants per acre in dryland environments. Under ideal conditions, a higher planting rate of over 30,000 plants per acre can be used to maximize yield.
Protein is typically supplied by oilseeds and legumes, which are more challenging to grow but indispensable for balancing the ration. Field peas are an excellent choice, containing approximately 21% to 25% protein and high levels of amino acids like lysine. Field peas are a cool-season annual crop that should be seeded in early spring at a density aiming for seven to eight plants per square foot.
As a legume, the field pea fixes most of its own nitrogen through a symbiotic relationship with specific bacteria, but the seeds must be inoculated before planting. Sunflower seeds and alfalfa meal can also contribute protein. Whole soybeans, however, must be heat-treated to deactivate an anti-nutritional enzyme before being fed to chickens.
Cultivation Methods and Supplemental Feed Sources
Beyond staple crops, growers can significantly boost their feed supply and flock nutrition through specialized cultivation techniques and supplements. One highly effective method is sprouting grains, often called fodder or sprouts, which involves germinating seeds like wheat or barley hydroponically in trays. Sprouting increases the bioavailability and digestibility of the nutrients, making them easier for the chickens to absorb. For maximum nutritional benefit, the sprouts are ideally harvested within three to five days, before the nutrients from the seed diminish as the plant grows larger.
This method provides fresh greens year-round, which is especially beneficial during winter months. The process is simple, involving soaking the seeds overnight, then rinsing and draining them twice daily to prevent mold growth.
Managing pasture through rotational grazing is another method that capitalizes on a chicken’s natural foraging instincts for fresh supplements. This technique involves dividing the pasture into smaller paddocks and regularly moving the flock to allow each section to rest and regenerate. Cover crops like clover, oats, or rye can be planted to provide a steady supply of greens and attract insects for a protein boost.
Insect production offers a sustainable, high-protein supplement, with black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) being a popular choice. BSFL are highly nutritious, boasting about 40% to 50% protein and a high calcium content, and they can be cultivated on kitchen scraps or food waste. These larvae also have a unique self-harvesting trait, as they crawl out of their substrate when they are ready to pupate, making collection simple.
Post-Harvest Processing and Storage
After harvesting the grains, proper post-harvest processing is necessary to make the feed safe, palatable, and digestible for the flock. The primary concern is moisture content; grains must be dried, or cured, to a level of 10% to 15% before storage to prevent the development of harmful molds and fungi.
Once the grains are sufficiently dried, they need to be processed, as whole kernels are difficult for a chicken to digest efficiently. Grinding or crushing the grains into a mash or crumble is required to ensure optimal nutrient absorption before mixing the final feed ration.
For long-term preservation, the processed feed must be stored in a cool, dry location to prevent spoilage and nutrient degradation. Metal bins are highly effective as they are rodent-proof and provide a secure, pest-resistant container for large batches. Storing the feed off the ground on pallets and ensuring good air circulation are simple practices that help prevent moisture absorption and subsequent mold growth.