Backyard Poultry Forum

Winglet I have my suspicions that the medication may actually act to supress there immune response somehow, as in it does not let them build up the natural immunity that they otherwise would without the medications. I changed my feed this year to a turkey grower mash that I buy by the tonne from my local feed mill. I feed everything from day olds to breeders with it. For this reason I have had to get it without the medication in it because you can't give it to layers. I have not have one case of cocci this year, every other year I have not missed out in some way or another. Does not seem to make sense on the surface that you would have less trouble without the meds that with does it, when they are suppose to aid in their ability to handle it! It's chicken food for thought!

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Sors ventus fortis...Fortune Favours The Brave

Hi Organic Kenny

I have been trying to find a source of organic grains for my chickens. I want to feed my chickens organically and do not want to use processed foods (pellets/crumble, etc) and I also don't want to use any pre-mixed scratch mixes. I want to be able to self-mix individual grains in order to customise my own mix and manage nutrient levels for my particular situation.

Self mixing from individual bags of grain allows poultry owners to customise the blend of their grains in order to ensure adequate nutrients such as protein levels for chicks, growers and layers. I know I am not the only chicken owner wanting this flexibility to experiment and to adjust grain mixes according to current and changing circumstances. Having supplies of individual grains allows this customisation to take into consideration availability of other non-grain foods available to different owners, eg access to pasture or confined birds, foods such as meat, meat meal, bandsaw dust, seafood, Lucerne, etc.

In my situation my hens are confined in a coop and run (because they started getting into the neighbours garden) and are not fed any meat products (other than bugs they catch in their run) so I want to lower the corn levels in my grain mix and increase the wheat and sunflower levels to increase the protein percentage whereas another owner with birds on pasture with access to more insects/worm or who are willing to offer meat meal may want to feed more corn and less sunflower, etc.

I and my children eat exclusively organic food with the exception of eggs from our own chickens. I have 19 chickens (or will have when I get 8 more newly hatched chicks in a few weeks) so that I can eat healthy eggs but currently I buy individual bags of different grains from a local supplier but they are not organic. I can easily buy individual grains packed in 20 - 30 kg bags of many types of grains reasonably priced but I want to buy organic feed, ie organic wheat, cracked corn and sunflower seeds. Surely that is possible. Is Country Heritage Feeds able to provide me with these three different grains in separate bags?

Thanks

Anne

I would doubt,that too many grains would be organic,as most paddocks are sprayed with weed killer & pestacites.

Organic wheat is quite accessible, so you have a good start for a ration. However getting organic protein meal is difficult.