We STOPPED Making HOMEMADE CHICKEN…(you should too)

Chicken owners are looking for a homemade chicken feed recipe recently with news the tractor supply feeds have been possibly causing their chickens to stop laying. In this video I explain why we stopped feeding our chickens our homemade chicken feed recipe.
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[@AcresOfAdventure]

Let me know if you have been feeding them the homemade chicken feed from our original video, would love to hear how your chickens have been doing! Thanks everyone for the support!

[@lynnlamont3485]

Can you grow some grains for your chickens? Or sunflower seeds? Corn? That would be the cheapest way to go.

[@debbiewebber1582]

I appreciate honesty. You are right, your families needs have to come first and the economy is out of control right now. We are going to get our first chickens in March. Hoping all goes well with ours. Have you heard of adding goat feed? Wish us luck and God bless .

[@tongaexpress]

Links to the new products you guys use even if they are not affiliate links would help allot!!!! Love what you do. Links, Links, Links :)

[@khatelainewhiteantelope8556]

My chickens are doing great on homemade feed. eggs are large shells are strong. We will adjust as time goes along. I already had 50 lb bags of most of this stuff so havent been hit with high prices. Bad feed isnt good for your chickens no matter how cheap it may be. But you gotta do what you gotta do!

[@sarahmc6855]

Okay. We're South Jersey & have access to private suppliers. We stopped the Producer's Pride Scratch bcuz on it, our hens completely stopped laying (& half our flock of 60 are Brahmas... winter layers). Before they stopped laying by November, their eggs were thin, bumpy & splochy. We followed your homemade protocol bcuz we can get 50lb bags of cracked corn, oats & barley for $6 each even under inflation. The BOSS is our largest expense. We do still have on hand a bit of good laying mash of which they don't eat as much of anymore, d-earth, oregano oil, ac vinegar. We're still using oyster shells & Dumor grit. Keep in mind the ONLY thing we changed was the scratch. Everything else we've been using for 3 years. We started getting eggs after a week and they are beautiful, smooth, strong & healthy. We also have a few heads of cattle that we let into the chicken field at night so there's "black gold" left for them to scratch through in the day

[@beejls]

You didn't lie, you didn't mislead. You made a change in practice based on what was best for you and the birds. That's what any reasonable person would expect you to do. Happy eggs!

[@MLKusername]

The date of upload is worth noting. The "News" happened long after.

[@markanddonnaranfurly3040]

Thanks for the honest update! Re the bugs, top tip : Hang a plastic mesh bag (like you get onions in here in Australia) in a shaded place out of their reach, add meat scraps. A few days later, flies will have laid their eggs on the scraps/bag. The larvae fall off the mesh bag and your chickens are having a maggot party underneath ;-) Another free way to get feed!

[@Rizik1986]

^^^ That ^^^

[@His_sheep_hear_Him]

Ive been planning that for this summer, I just heard of it awhile back. Thanks for the reminder

[@lauryhales8050]

Won't it smell? And, do you just throw away the rotten meat? I want to try this during the summer, because I don't let the little destructos in my yard during the summer but still want to give them fresh bugs.

[@robertgreatsinger9179]

AWESOME !

[@cindys.w.8566]

That also invited animals that like dead things, hang that bag up high folks as you will have unwanted company that might also try to get to the chickens at night.

[@aimeemichaud7826]

your not a liar. your just learning along the way .

[@454Casul]

The secret to making chickens economically viable, is to grow your own feed. I am getting ready to plant corn, sunflowers, peas, ground cover, and other things, like worms. I live in Arizona, and we hit 80 degrees where I live, today, so time to plant!

[@AcresOfAdventure]

We hope to do that this season!

[@galeparker1067]

🥰✌️ And also don't forget to "appreciate" the plant volunteers (weeds), who are adapting well to climate change.....If they're edible, and even nutritious (!?), maybe they're friends..... Even "alien, invasive species" could help you and critters to survive well. This indiscriminate destruction of food sources is actually very short-sighted... 😱. 👃✌️🥰🇨🇦

[@454Casul]

@@galeparker1067 Sorry, u lost me at climate change.

[@galeparker1067]

@@454Casul 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣✌️ Sorry 'bout that, eh... 👃✌️🥰🇨🇦

[@ross-smithfamily6317]

Thank you for the wonderful idea ... it is definitely more sustainable and you can control exactly what you feed your chickens! I wonder if you know whether chickens like lambsquarters? It volunteers every year in patches on the south side of our house.

[@maryloustone1594]

I love that you share your experience….what works and what don’t. It saves us money in the long run.

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Good to hear that Mary!

[@rhondaogles3440]

I am 62. I changed how I garden many times. Change is a part of life. The 2 years I've had chickens, I've changed their food too. The biggest change for them this year is to grow food for them. I am adding comfrey and "Mammoth" sunflowers. They love kale, spinach, and mint which I hope to dry for winter

[@ravent3016]

Make yourself some mint tea, too - homegrown mint tea is delicious.

[@14hometeam]

Eggcellent idea!!

[@rhondaogles3440]

@@14hometeam Just got the comfrey going. Eight plants. Growing so big already. I think it is called "Cousins Compost" where I got it.

[@jeffjones9792]

Spent grain is still high in protein.👍 Got to look back to the old days. No tractor supplies, then... just natural scraps and bugs in the compost. Spent grain from home brew boosting the diet. Way to go, chief.

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Thanks for that, nice to hear that we are steering in the right direction!

[@milanradojkovic3818]

Spent grain is great for pigs too...

[@cypresswyvern]

That's fantastic, ty. Glad you shared 😊 I wonder if fruit works the same

[@emariaenterprises]

I buy chrysanthemums half price after their blooms are prime. It's a natural pesticide. The birds love them.

[@dexterking7662]

I stop buying chicken feed at tractor supply. I found a farm in Columbia New Jersey very reliable organic feed my customers love my eggs Kilts Farm

[@texasmimi3019]

I just found your channel. From my side, it doesn't sound like you tried to mislead or lie to anyone. You tried something that no longer works for you and your family. You are reporting on the changes you are making AND you provided information as to how you may change things up in the future! I think it's awesome and I will be looking at your previous videos. Keep up the great work!!

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Glad to hear that, it’s nice having that support, it sucks when we show something hear but feel like we need to keep doing that because we have a video that shows it

[@kkmullin]

NOT a liar! Learning, adapting, growing...One motto I love=Have a teachable spirit. Love your videos!👏🎬

[@Cathy_MidwestHome_Hens]

Absolutely agree about the feed. I called three area grainerys and got the prices for all the seed I wanted and pound for pound, the resulting homemade feed was going to be triple the feed we now buy from a local feed farmer. We still know the ingredients we are getting. As for scratch grain, we buy *Cluck & Co organic scratch grain (I even ate some of the dried peas lol) . We also give them fresh fruits and veggies as well as dried worms. Our girls are laying well even through the winter. Today, Im trying the red chili pepper flakes to see if it increases their eggs even more. We have 21 hens and get 11-15 eggs a day. We’re in Nebraska

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Good to hear, there’s so many other things to feed them then just the feed that I feel they will always be eating pretty healthy!

[@RRaucina]

Walmart scratch .30 cents and less per pound at my door. I pressure cook it with wheat and feed myself and the chickens for nearly free.

[@maryjohnking5869]

Thank you for being so open and honest. I'm 58 years old and I hope to soon start raising my own hens. I've been researching fur a year! I enjoy your videos so much. I, too, want to feed them as healthy as possible And be able to afford it! Thank you for all your information. God Bless 🙂

[@Rizik1986]

Man you have taught me a lot in the last few months while I've started raising chickies for eggs. I've networked and found folks who want my chickies eggs. I barter eggs for my chickies needs. A local farmer gives me bails of straw for eggs. I recently found that he has tons (literally) of various grains. I'm gonna trade eggs for oats and wheat. I grow tons of veggies through the spring and summer and a lot goes to the chickies. Sunflowers are super easy. Cherry tomatoes are super prolific. Strawberries too. Cucumbers as well. I've read about raising mealworms and also black soldier larva flies to supplement. You have tons of eggs so find a local farmer who might appreciate them. I'm in the process of making my own chickies feed. So far it seems I can make 150 pounds of DIY mix for less then I can buy 120 pounds of commercial feed. Also I heard (yet to try it) that fermented chickies feed goes a lot further and more nutritional.

[@kathymcleod1460]

I have recently started fermenting and sprouting my DIY chicken feed. It is real easy to do and they love it. Also if you have extra eggs feed some back to your chickens. You can scramble them or like I usually do is hard boil them. I also add garlic, oregano and thyme to keep them healthy. I mash the hard boiled eggs up with a fork so it is easier to spread around their bowl so not just one chicken can take the whole prize.

[@megiramos9695]

Fermented goes MUCH farther! When I was farming (I got married and couldn't bring my farm to the city) I fermented all the time. They ate roughly 50% less in winter and about 75% less in summer. It was well worth it. When 1 week of feed was lasting a month in the summer, it was pretty sweet.

[@Rizik1986]

@@megiramos9695 Howdy! Can you provide a link of a good way to ferment the chickies feed. Can any food be fermented for them? Or is this only commercial chicken feed?

[@Rizik1986]

@@kathymcleod1460 Any advice on fermenting chickies feed?

[@barrykiefer9387]

I use food grade buckets with the screw on lids. I made a check valve to allow the outflow but limit the oxygen. I keep it in the shed during winter so I can keep the temperature up with my wood stove. Its usually ready in a few days. I just fill the bucket halfway with scratch grains and put water almost to the top. I feed this to my turkeys,guineas and my chickens in the evening before they get put up in the coop. They go crazy for it.

[@ourminihomestead]

Your original video about mixing grain was great and informative. We ordered grain from Azure Standard and will receive it this coming Sunday. This will be our first time to do this. The mix will comes to about $0.77/lb with 16% + protein. We also will lower the cost by fermenting the mix to increase volume and nutrition. We expect that the cost per dozen eggs will be around $3.50.

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Great to hear that it works for you!

[@RRaucina]

Scratch is .30 cents a pound delivered from Walmart! Local Wheat berries .40 cents a pound at the feed store, 50#. Cook them and supplement with a little lay pellets at about .42 cents a pound local feed store. Be sure to give them all your old meat and chicken scraps and roadkill.

[@ourminihomestead]

@@RRaucina, Thank you Richard. Are these organic?

[@TheRainHarvester]

77 cents per pound is $39 for a 50 lb bag. Store Chicken feed is $20 for a 50lb bag.

[@ourminihomestead]

@@TheRainHarvester , Thank you. Is that organic feed? I can find non organic for $14/35 lb bag.

[@karinanderson4856]

I hope viewers are more appreciative for the free content! your videos have helped me as a new chicken owner.

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Thank you Karin! Nice to hear from you and thanks for your kind words!

[@angelzhomestead]

You can feed your chickens' sourdough discard to give them some extra nutrition

[@AcresOfAdventure]

We use to do this when we were making sour dough a lot. The chickens loved it!

[@thaliablossom2942]

Awesome full disclosure. Applaud your honesty. Totally makes sense! Love the long term plan. I am inspired! TY

[@stevescuba1978]

Me too, though sometimes I water down the starter and add it to my compost. I plan to add a venturi fertilization injector to my garden irrigation, and will add worm tea and sourdough starter to my garden. My worms double their population every 90 days, so the chickens get lots of fresh worms also.

[@jimmypchacko]

Thanks for you honesty, the commercial feed you giving them looks like high quality stuff. Amazing tip with the spent grains from the brewery. I'd love some details on how you store them I'd imagine they are wet and have a short shelf life.

[@jeffjones9792]

Hi. Mould is the enemy. Don't keep the suff in the bag/sack you bought it in. Needs to be laid out on a shallow large tray. Regularly scooped up and turned - by hand, keeping the grain as dry as possible. Hope that helps.

[@AcresOfAdventure]

We hope to find a brewery willing and we would do a video on that for sure!

[@montanaliving4769]

Mine are loving this mix. Fermented and dry. I do however feed twice daily and with the fermented grain they get rice, scraps etc..I cook extra for them.

[@LJFullHouse]

Prices are different everywhere. I buy 2-2# bags of split peas and 1-1# bag of flax seed every time I go to the local Natural Grocers. The other three ingredients I just buy at Tractor Supply-still need to find a better source. But I figured up it costs us way less for eggs than buying them at the store, so it is still financially beneficial to make your own feed and still have eggs.

[@montanaliving4769]

We decided it doesn't matter if its cost effective at this point because we at least we have them.

[@Joe_Brown99]

@@montanaliving4769 Same. And it’s healthier and they taste way better

[@iridescentsea3730]

@@montanaliving4769 Yep money is always a concern but it's more about security.

[@fl260]

It's a bummer when people are disliking your honesty. What would they prefer, a comforting lie? I mean you're not a politician...

[@nogames8982]

I feed grower feed to all my chickens. From the day I get them. Their whole lives. Oyster shell on the side.

[@kellyjames516]

No lies. Info based on experience. Thank u. Our 3 hens love the recommendations u gave. We r fermenting. They r very happy.

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Glad to hear that, thanks Kelly!

[@graftedbranchhomestead]

Have you thought about growing millet, sorghum, aramath. Right on man, I've been trying to get to this direction, use very minimal feed. Just gotta start producing

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Yes we are going to try and grow for the chickens this year!

[@graftedbranchhomestead]

@Acres Of Adventure Homestead wooohooo. Me to on a very small scale so I can learn before hopefully God willing I get onsome land. Excited to follow

[@kennethoblenesjr8493]

You adapt to what works and what doesn’t. Part of learning and growing. 👍🎅🏻

[@northeasttexasgardener]

You don't owe me or anyone else an explanation, but thank you for sharing your experiences. I like your idea about using the spent grains from breweries. I'm betting the chickens will love it.

[@doctork02]

It’s all a learning process, we can all learn for each others problems so thank you and God bless you and your family

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Thank you Kevin, god bless you as well

[@rancherrita7512]

Howdy from Mid Michigan! 🤠 Nice to see a no nonsense video regarding animal husbandry. We all have to do our best to keep healthy animals and be reasonable about the cost. Kudos to you and thank you for sharing 😊

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Nice to meet you! We try our best to just share our story and have you guys follow along and show what we have learned along the way, even if we screw up!

[@amandahall1827]

I appreciate your honesty and visibility into what all you are trying, all in spirit of doing the best for you flock. Great work and thank you!

[@galerae947]

My hens love alfalfa, so I offer that off and on. They also get fruit & veggie scraps along with pelleted layer and cracked corn. They used to slow down production during cold winter months, but adding cracked corn helped with extra calories which also supplies heat. Although our nights are still in the 20s and 30s, they are now laying an egg a day. The extra daylight hours help a great deal too.

[@AcresOfAdventure]

I have heard that chickens live alfalfa we will have to try this!

[@bradmilkowski8490]

Love the channel and appreciate the time and energy you take to make this available for us new people. Thank you!

[@lindajohnston2032]

For those of you who don't know how grain is harvested, look up glysophates. Round up is used to desiccate the stems of wheat, oats, barley etc to make harvesting grains faster and cheaper. You must already know about Mon saint's corn.

[@chereel8683]

I switched this October to your homemade chicken feed from commercial feed & my chickens are much happier & laying much better than previously. My hens free range daily & they get lots of kitchen scraps so that helps. But yes, the costs have gone up even since October! Appreciate your channel & your update.

[@kimcouasnon8349]

You rock. No apologies needed. We get it! Thx for the update!

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Thanks Kim!

[@maryannepreston4685]

Thanks for being HONEST. Very refreshing. :)

[@AcresOfAdventure]

My pleasure! Glad that you enjoyed it!

[@carolswallow1134]

Thanks so much i love your video sharing both the how to and why you stopped, I learned a lot from your first we are all on a journey always learning and changing. Thanks for everything

[@AHomesteadingHustle]

Brilliant! I've never thought of spent brew grains! I may have to look into this!!!!

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Yes an old timer told us this and we are excited to try it!

[@donnalarussa8149]

Thanks for the transparency and helpful information. We are always growing and changing according to the needs of family first and then the homestead animals.

[@crystaldrieu6024]

Living in Michigan my whole life, I know how brutal the winters can be. I found out a few years back that you can feed cooked up soup beans to your chickens. I used to work for a gal who grew heirloom tomatoes and peppers, and the likes as a buisness. (she told me about the beans XD) Well one day she needed me to clear out one of her spare gardens, so she could plant some potatoes. Well most of what I was clearing was garlic that had grown from seeds that had fallen from the year priors crop. LOL! She knowing I had chickens siad if I wanted to, I chould fill up a couple of her 5 gallon buckets with the weeds and garlics, to take home to my girls. Amoungst all the tiny garlics and mis. leftover tomatoes and whatnot I found about 5-6 fully gtown garlics. I asked if she wanted them. To make a long story short. She said "No! Take them home and plant them in your garden if you want." I did just that. LOL! I gave my girls the 2 buckets of goodies, and plants the garlics that night. Soooo I go to work the next day not thinking anything of it. helped plant the potatoes, helped transplant tiny tomatoes into bigger pots... the likes. Well I come home, and I see my biggest roo bolting down my hill with like 6 hens in hot persuit after him! Lmao! He's got the last giant garlic I planted the day before hanging in his beak, trying to play keep away. XD I was flabbergasted! I never thought they'd dig them out of my garden, bulbs and alll... Maybe eat the tops, but... LOL! Well anywho, it was then I realized that chickens REALLY like garlic. I decided about a week later while cooking them up some dry soup beans, to add a little garlic powder I had. I was surprized JUST how much they prefered the garlic beans... Any time I added garlic they went wild! I started looking into other things I could give them. And found out honey is REALLY good to give them. ((a little nerd history I learned. XD The ancient Egyptians used to use honey to treat wounds, much like we use Triple Antibiotic today. Honey is a anti-inflammatory and antifugal.)) Also garlic is an antioxident, and beans are a great source of protein. In a nutshell the combination of garlic, honey and beans is like a SUPER healthy, super snack, that helps bolster their immune systems and keep good weight on them. I feed it to them more as a snack (usually 2-3 times a week, when I can.. Espiecally in winter.) And have had no issues with any of my girls getting sick, or suffering from internal parasites. Which I also found out you can treat more naturally with pumpkin, and pumpkin seeds. Something in pumpkin is a natural wormer... I could go on about other foods (espiecally fruits and veggies) that are great for them... but I figure you've probably got a pretty good idea, what they love. XD Hope some of this helped for further ideas. :)

[@knowideas7184]

Pumpkin seeds are high in magnesium which in high enough quantities can cause diarrhea. Maybe the magnesium acts as a natural dewormer or anti parasitic?

[@crystaldrieu6024]

@@knowideas7184 possibly... I know every year around halloween, they gooble up anything pumpkin they can get their cute lil' beaks on. I have watched them demolish a pumpkin down to nothing but the stem and "butt" of the pumpkin. if a pumpkin lasts more than a day, it's only because it was a BIG one, and they're all laying around stuffed like little turkeys. 😅😂🤣

[@knotqueen2419]

Thank you for the update.

[@TheSwissy4me]

Learning. Is GOOD. Thanks for the video

[@jamiewhitehead7791]

I followed your homemade chicken feed & our chickens loved it! They started on starter/ grower crumble. We also had to stop making our own due to cost of bulk feed. Our chickens started picking through the homemade chicken feed & stared having a ring of feed on the ground around they're feeder. We started out getting a bag of Layena + and a bag of layena high protein & mixed them together. With all the hype about the feed we decided to do some more research. We grabbed up some Hen Up mash from our local farm & feed store & then we had just ordered Kalmbach feed before I watched this video. We'll see how they do with it. BTW, you are bet informative & keep us all in the loop. I don't think you lied to us. Thank you for the update! You just helped affirm our feed change.

[@louderbackbarry]

That’s the best chicken feed, cut cost down while still giving them healthy food they like can’t get any better than that plus reducing waste, improving nutrients in soil and getting more eggs. I definitely learned from this video

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Thank you Barry! We love the support

[@SandyJBerry]

This is my first time on your channel, & I'd just like to say that I understand completely why you made the change, & appreciate your honesty...& hey, we all have to do what we have to do. Circumstances change, & we have to be able to roll with the punches. No judgement here!!

[@nchestercountynews4955]

I grew dent corn, and sunflowers this past year. adding Comfrey this year. Going to do some fishing for free protein. They love the 2 year old Lake Ontario salmon from the freezer (from the fishing trip) lots of protein

[@14hometeam]

I agree the cost of the ingredients has gone up too much. I can’t justify making it anymore. They’ll be fine. ;)

[@alexandraderry7086]

Thanks for sharing! I think it’s a good alternative for sure. And compost and scraps, that’s awesome.

[@MKCraftsandFamily]

We buy our feed from the local co op… our girls seem to like it … we are going into our 4th spring with them! (2 barred rocks and 2silverlaces )

[@midsouthhomestead7527]

Thanks for doing a follow-up video. I was thinking of making my own FEED but didn't know if it was worth it.

[@laurab.8607]

Thanks for sharing. It’s ok to change your mind !

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Thanks for the support Laura!

[@cmwHisArtist]

We started hanging a whole cabbage from an eye hook on a rope in the covered run, and not only do the chickens love pecking at it and swinging it, but we get more eggs in the winter. Broccoli stems are also popular with them.

[@christy1768]

Microgreens

[@eliminators-nu4nq]

When use the homemade chicken feed, you can soak it in a bucket and in a day or two it will ferment and sprout. The grains became much more nutritious and chickens will need less than half the amount of dry food. Minerals are more available from the grains.

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Thanks for that tip!

[@praynxs9249]

Thank you for being transparent. Things change. I get that prices are crazy. You have to do what fits your needs. I’m always making changes with my chickies! Love your channel!

[@AcresOfAdventure]

You are so welcome!

[@chandrabrownhines2691]

Understandable. Grow on👍

[@pjstpierre2340]

Helllllooooo from the Mackinaw Bridge! We still have boatloads of snow up here! Warning up though- and appreciated this video greatly! No need to apologize! Goodness sakes, we all adapt and overcome! I for one appreciate all your heart felt videos and honest evaluation of cost versus homemade feed and your new mixture. I have recently purchased everything from your yr old video to make my own feed. And, am thankful for that video! I just want to be a good chicken mom lol. Now, that being said I’m not opposed ( when my feed mix runs out) to try hen reserve! I’ve only heard good things about it! Keep up the great job! We appreciate all you do!

[@AcresOfAdventure]

It’s hard when we have a video showing one thing, we don’t want people do feel like we have been lying. Thanks for the support and welcome another Michigan person here!

[@KingKongbabe]

Yooper or troll? lol

[@cynthiaharrell784]

You have to do what works for you and your family. In the future you can always add it as a treat.

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Thank you Cynthia! Your continued support to us means a lot!

[@toniferguson6465]

Ok I thought you grew the food... I ordered all the seeds and did the yielding math... I love what you do. I've learned so much. Thank you 😊

[@betty8173]

Good to always be learning, griwing, thanks for honesty. When we switched ours to grain from either chick starter, or pellet feed, we mixed half and half, roughly, for about a week. Perhaps we were blessed, but they ate it fine. We are feeding homemade feed, mostly from Azure, while we look for other ways (restaurants, beer making businesses, schools, etc) we do give scraps, and allow free range, moving them some. We also plan for growing mixed crops, and they always get the extras from our garden. Thanks for sharing your new ways.

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Thanks Betty! We love the support and tips

[@robinham2796]

Oh my!! We are ALL learning everyday! I’ve changed how I feed my girls in 2’years! I’m getting wonderful healthy eggs, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! If it’s broke, fix it!! I do what you do, I buy high quality feed, Mix with scratch with corn and such, add oatmeal,’flax meal, different grains. I get greens from Walmart, I bought a watermelon today for them and my red wigglers, they free range, get chicken carcasses….so much more. It working for me, but I might change later too! We Love your whole family!!!

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Thanks so much Robin! You always give such great support for us. We don’t take that for granted!

[@adrianlayman892]

AMAZING follow up video to the homemade feed! KEEP UP THE GREAT CONTENT!

[@emariaenterprises]

I use Scratch grains, rolled oats, blackoil sunflower seeds, a wildbirdseed mix. And a 20% crumble when they are young.

[@tabithastarkenburg7300]

Actually, you are doing the right thing. Thank you for sharing!

[@AcresOfAdventure]

I appreciate that!

[@iseetheglory4593]

Amen to that all of this is a learning experience how we can wean ourselves further and further away from Big corporations and their greed We need to become more self-sufficient thank you for your video we appreciate you and all your hard work

[@emmalowmax]

I'm so glad I ran into your video today, thank you for sharing your experiences!

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Glad that it could help Emma!

[@TroyArmstrong]

check your local restaurant /grocery store for their "unsold" left overs and scraps .

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Thanks for that tip!

[@michellebarnhill5130]

Also bread stores sell bread that is too stale to get people to buy, very cheap.

[@bettymcclellan2164]

We grow fodder for our flock, plus we grew a lot of squash, veggies, etc to help during the winter months

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Betty does the fodder work well? We have thought about trying it for our chickens

[@bettyj2592]

Ya gatta do what ya gatta do to makes ends meet!!!! ... I took your recipe and Im sprouting them.... so far so good!

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Thank you Betty!

[@lauryhales8050]

I switched to homemade feed (pretty sure I used your recipe the first time) and it's been fantastic. It costs me about $80 every time I purchase the stuff, but it lasts 3 months or more (we feed lots of scraps). What I noticed is 1) Even throughout the dull gray winters we have in the UK, my girls still laid a good amount of eggs. 7 chickens, most days I get 5 eggs. 2) Our poor "tailess" girl now has beautiful tail feathers and the rest have very full plummage 3) I chuck a handful in the run and it keeps them occupied for a few hours. We've had great luck.

[@twinny12009]

I live in the UK, where do you purchase your feed?

[@barbhilts9029]

Everyday is new so thanks for the update.

[@OfficiallyFran]

Another Michigander here, those are your chickens! I'm doing my own but the price is higher. I even use the half pipe as a feeder thanks to you. Keep doing you.

[@joyadams507]

You have the absolute right to change your mind.. raising chickens is an ongoing learning curve

[@iplantseeds4639]

I don’t consider you a hypocrite. I love your honesty. The times have changed that is for sure everything is gotten more expensive, and we have to make other substitutes and additions for our flocks to stay healthy👍🐥🐓🐔🐥 Personally, I do the grass and compost, but I went local for my feed. I feel it’s very important for us to buy local, especially here in Alaska.

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Thank you so much for the kind words!

[@dianedebaise9165]

I just started using your recipe for homemade feed a few days ago because it's only October and my hens are hardly laying.. I'll keep you posted on results, but as a dietitian, I think your mixture makes sense. It doesn't sound like your reason for not using them is connected to the nutrition content. When I get down to the bottom of my feed bin, I'll do the math on value.

[@JOXGIRL1]

I watched your homemade feed and made the switch. It was expensive but we get our eggs from our ladies. In the long run I am hoping it will benefit them and us. We even want the best fertilizer for our soil. I don’t know what we will do if we can’t afford that but for now I’m investing in the circle of our food chain. Thank you for that video and this one. Your honesty is awesome.

[@radamest2]

Your changing your practice according to your needs. That's not being hypocritical, that's being smart and practical. I appreciate anyone being humble enough to admit a change due to growth, learning experience, or mistakes. Pride and arrogance gets us nowhere. Thank you for sharing your learning experience.

[@lisatreelove9278]

Thanks for the update! I wanted to try the homemade because we always have so much leftover dust from the Scratch & Peck brand, but a quick search for ingredients looked expensive. I would have to search around and see if I can get a better deal on those ingredients. I think it makes a lot of sense to buy the commercial feed if making your own costs more, just so long as the commercial feed is a good quality. I hope we will be able to grow our own chicken feed one day.

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Sounds great Lisa! You have to trial and error and see what works best for you

[@jasonmorello1374]

Sunflower and pea are very growable, and if you want you don't need to clean them too much for chickens, you can cut the dried stalks and lay them in piles in the pens (some for the composting for example), and they will pick the grain out of it themselves. On that you might consider for many reasons is a few cycles of marigold, which is also good for garden pest control. If you cut some to bring in to the chickens tho, this if for the flower petals more than anything else.

[@eileenmcloughlin4778]

I live in mid Michigan, too. Sounds great! You need to really know where your food comes from. And try to be organic.

[@newstobeattheblues4561]

No, you guys are not hypocrites! Everything is so expensive and you have children. I'm going to do that compost in the chicken run thing. Thanks so much, that's a fantastic idea!🌿🐔✌️

[@darlenelester9577]

This last summer I grew black sunflowers from the seeds I got from the feed, (they didn't like the big seeds from the mammoth sunflowers). I a!so learned that after drying them, it was easier to just break off chunks of the whole flower and give that to them instead of wrecking my hands trying to pick seeds. Chickens are better at it

[@cartershank8364]

If everything worked perfectly all the time we wouldn't really learn new things. Trying new ways is always a good thing. Cost is a big concern to probably everyone that raises any type of livestock....even dogs and cats. The information you gave is honest, to the point, and provides good insight into get the best from the animals. Haters are always gonna hate and you can't fix that, I'm sure you don't like what they say but also are not affected by it for the most part. We live in Michigan too....up north by the bridge and appreciate the cold weather tips. Keep up the good work.

[@maryranch5329]

I appreciate the honesty...I am also trying to do the same thing as well. I live in Michigan as well...and trying to learn everything I can do to save money and have healthy chickens. 👍😁

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Thank you Mary! Glad to hear

[@Fusion_Coturnix]

Love the brewery grains idea thank you . ❤

[@AcresOfAdventure]

You are so welcome!

[@robinhazeslip1800]

Great follow up video! The spent grains at breweries is a GREAT suggestion! Thnk u! 🥚🐣🐓😁

[@hayenon]

absolutely live and learn something new everyday. 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@Jesuslightshines]

I started doing sprouts and my chickens love them. And it fills them up so they don’t have to have so much food. ❤

[@somewheretheheartis]

What kind of sprouts?

[@cvrreis]

Thank you for this vídeo, you have to do what is better for your pocket special at this time when everything is up up.

[@Ken-th5hg]

Hey, no problem! I totally understand doing things well AND as economically as possible. I'm thinking along some of the same lines of growing more sunflowers & possibly some other things for our flock. Ken Billman

[@ravent3016]

I salute your commitment to healthy feed for your flock, and therefore your family. The spent grain sounds good. Have you tried sprouting grain?

[@isabelseeley1634]

Thank !!! I think both video are great

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Glad you like them!

[@patriciagraves8824]

Your reason for changing your mind is a good reason enjoy your video

[@christenascott5280]

I’m not mad at you, I’m proud of you. You have the humility to at least admit you had made a mistake and you rectified. There’s nothing to be mad about but there’s a whole lot to be proud about. Not many men will stand up and say I was wrong but this is what I did to help make it right! Go be great

[@AcresOfAdventure]

Thank you🙏🏻

[@oztokxiloyotl463]

Thank you for sharing your experiences. Question regarding the expense; have you tried fermenting? I went fermenting a few years ago and my feed cost has decreased between a third to half the price and it's healthier. They will have more access to the nutrients from the feed.

[@mercedesandrews174]

Thanks for the information

[@StrongArm0351]

I completely understand why you changed. Our situation is a little different though. We live in the middle of nowhere but it has an advantage for different feed ingredients. We can get everything from a local feed store that is supplied from farms in the area. A few other things to add. 1. We don't like buying from the bigger stores if we can avoid it. Your original video encouraged me to dig into making our own mix and it has worked out great for us! 2. We started fermenting, or at least using soaked mix. It has cut down on costs a lot because the chickens get more nutrients with less feed. Our chickens were on scratch and layer crumbles. We had no eggs for months. After switching to our own mix, the chickens are happier and they have begun laying regularly.

[@rebeccakurtz6628]

I feed the Henhouse Reserve also mixed with the Kalmbach Flock Maker.

[@Lsmith-ly2cm]

Your good, a realist. Cost is a big factor. Thank you

[@pamcatello9136]

Thank you

[@royelagro]

Wonderful fram!

[@onedovealone1]

I started mixing your homemade chicken feed because my hens had stopped laying & some were dying. Feeding your mixture and within 2 weeks they were happy healthy & laying but price has jumped a lot as you were saying. I added wild bird seed to mine to add millet and other seeds and so far it is working well.

[@delaineharvey5177]

Makes sense!👍