Chicken Feed Recipes

One of the most important elements of any chicken feed is protein, since this helps with chicken growth. There are a number of chicken feed recipes out there, many of them containing other protein-rich elements such as meat scraps or fish meal. For those of you who prefer not to use meat in your chicken feed recipes, there is an organic option as well.

  1. Basic Feed Recipe

    • An essential element of a basic chicken feed recipe is grain. According to Gail Luttmann, author of "Chickens in Your Backyard," include at least 65 percent of at least two different grains such as barley, corn, wheat or oats. Soybeans are also a vital ingredient to a proper chicken feed recipe, since they provide protein for poultry growth. However, raw soybeans should be avoided, since this can actually inhibit growth due to toxins in the raw bean. Cook soybeans or purchase soybean meal instead. Sometimes, people include meat scraps or fish meal in the feed instead of soybeans for added protein. Luttmann suggests mixing about 13 percent of dried peas or more soybean meal into the recipe as well. Other ingredients include alfalfa meal or hay, bone meal, mineral salt (only about one percent) and cod liver oil (about ½ pint per 100 pounds of feed).

      Grit is also much needed for proper digestion. Grit can be pebbles, sand, oyster shells or the natural grit around your farm area. If your chickens are confined, especially in grassy areas, you may need to purchase grit at a feed store.

      According to Luttmann, growing your own feed if you have a small farm isn't the most economically wise thing to do. For starters, if you have chickens that roam the premises, growing certain crops such as corn may provide them with an unplanned treat if they are able to access it. Luttmann instead suggests incorporating weeds and other scraps from your home garden into the feed for added nutrients.

    Organic Feed

    • If you're not comfortable with using meat scraps in your chicken feed, a good way to introduce more protein into your chickens' diet is by adding other protein-rich grains. According to Greener Pastures Chickens, use hard red winter wheat and legumes to supply your chickens with protein. Also add whole corn, which should be increased during the winter months.

      Other ingredients include about 16 percent soft white wheat and small amounts of hulled barley, oat groats, millet, kamut, sunflower seeds (also increased during the winter months), amaranth seeds, split peas, lentils, quinoa and sesame seeds. Also incorporate about two percent of flax seed and two percent of kelp granules. As with all other chicken feeds, introducing a grit into the mixture is important. Try granite or oyster shell grit.