feed mill

[Blue Skys]

I have chickens and rabbits and soon will get goats. In an effort to save some money and to stay away from processed food for my animals, I wanted to ask y'all opinion. I've used backyard herds, with limited pleasure and I know that y'all have great advice that is not so mainstream.

Here's what I'm wondering:

Is milo just as bad as corn?

Could oats and milo (if not pure junk) be fed to chickens, rabbits, and goats - providing that I supplement the rabbits with hay, and the goats with hay and minerals?

Are there any other combinations of grains that I might find at a feed mill that would be sufficient for all three species?

Do y'all have any suggestions or recomendations for me?

 

[ksalvagno]

Unfortunately, all three have different needs. I wouldn't recommend feeding the same thing. Oats really aren't that good for a rabbit as a main diet. If you want a different diet than pellets for the rabbits, include fresh veggies. House Rabbit Society has a whole list of vegetables that are good for rabbits. They now even recommend not giving rabbits pellets. Just veggies and hay. Naturally, when introducing anything new in their diet, it must be done slowly.

I don't think the milo would be good for goats either. If I recall correctly, you would have to worry about bloat. I don't see why you couldn't find a grain mix that would be good for the goats that a mill could make up for you.

 

[freemotion]

I have no clue about milo, but would be inclined to include it in my chicken's food. I feed whole grains to my flock of chickens, guineas, and turkeys with great results. I try to always feed at least three different types of grain when there is nothing significant for them to free-range on. Otherwise, I soak and/or sprout some or all of the grain. This solves the anti-nutrient problem and also increases the protein content, to help them through my cold, bugless winters. I got a lot of my useful info from Harvey Ussery's articles, available on his website: www.themodernhomestead.us. I've read some interesting studies on feeding whole grains to chickens and the health benefits, and a study on chickens balancing their own diet when offered clear choices of protein vs carbs.

Many, many people will tell you that you will kill your flock if you attempt to feed whole grains...when they tell me that, I ask them how many years it will take, because it has been several years for my hens now. Then they say production will drop. It hasn't. Oh, interesting studies out there on that, too. Slightly fewer eggs, but each one is slightly bigger, so production goes up in reality, although numbers go slightly down. Not a good thing in the commercial egg industry, but just fine in my backyard.

You do need to make a change to whole grains gradually so the crop can develop the strength to handle it, about three weeks.

For my goats, it is a hay and pasture diet, with any veggies I can scrounge and some sprouted barley and beet pulp when supplementation is needed. I use oats when I can't get barley. I also supplement everyone during diet changes (like when I got a load of free pumpkins) with homemade probiotics (homemade, simple veggie ferments....see the fermenting thread!) When I have plenty, I add some homemade whey to the first soak of the grain and that innoculates it with live probiotics, too.

I store my whole grains in galvanized trash cans, mostly one grain type per barrel, but I keep one barrel filled with a mixture for the poultry. I find bargains where I can, usually right from the farmer. Always pay cash! I actually found a source of whole corn grown in CT! I put 720 lbs in my car in sacks, distributed throughout the trunk and back seat to even out the load. Now I need more oats! And I am watching the level of my barley stash, no more for the hens. Saving that for the preggers and lactating goats.

 

[bibliophile birds]

i don't have goats or rabbits, but i've got some good articles about chicken nutrition.

check out the Manitoba Agriculture, Food, and Rural Initiatives website for GREAT info. i don't live anywhere near Manitoba, but this site has some of the best info i've found. i'm sure they have stuff on goat and rabbit nutrition as well.

(did a tiny amount of looking and found you can easily use field peas as a good protein source for both chickens and goats- couldn't find info for rabbits)

chicken articles:

Poultry Rations and Feeding Methods
Organic Diets for Small Flocks (good nutriational info for conventional as well)
Feeding Peas to Poultry

 

[Blue Skys]

Wow, thanks for the responses!!

I've got some reading to do...