feeding on a multi livestock homestead

[pinkfox]

so right now each month i bring home rabbit, goat and layer as well as a bg of cracked corn...and while the goat is relivily cheap the rabbit and layer are pricey...
and im planning on adding more birds, pigs and mabe some sheep or similar woolers over the next few years

trying to better the feed budget and right now im wondering if its worth switching to a general "all stock feed" and beet pulp/sherds (to up the protein) gos would obviously need acess to minieral and baking soda which i do already, and layers would obviously need acess to additional calcium...
but...asuming i can supliment with minerals and calcium, would an "all stock" feed work...it would probably save me quite a bit of money each month in the long run...
another option would be keep the goats o goat feed whihc is cheaper and switch the poultry rabbits and put the pigs on an all stock and supliment ust them?!

would love thoughts/opinions ect. during the spring/summer/fall they also get whatever garden spoils, and forrage we can find...

 

[Wannabefree]

I usually switch mine to a lower grade feed during the gardening months, because they get SO MUCH out of the garden. I rarely even buy pig feed during the summer. I think if you get a good all stock it's completely doable, though i never switched my goats either. Finnicky brats wouldn't have it Nubians are such divas!!!

 

[Mickey328]

We only have chickens and rabbits, but I make almost the same mix for them. I use oats, barley, and BOSS primarily. I did add beet pulp in the first batch but none of 'em will eat it So for the next batch, I'm going to leave it out and put in some wheat instead. I got one of the large, brick colored and sized mineral blocks for horses, knocked chunks off it for the rabbits. The chickens get grit and oyster shell/ground eggshell for calcium supplements. In addition to the base, the chickens get pretty much all kinds of scraps and weeds and greens and I add cracked corn to their mix and as scratch grains. The rabbits get free feed grass hay and a couple of good fists full of alfalfa each day as well as lots of greens. Come summer when fresh forage is more available, we'll reduce the amount of grains they all get. I'll also be fermenting them again for the chickens...that greatly reduces the amount you have to feed them. And by next fall, we'll have a fodder growing system in place so we can continue to provide lots of fresh greens for them all. You can about quintuple the food energy of grains simply by growing them to about 4 or 5 inches in height, which means cutting that feed bill by a LOT!

I threw in a few handfuls of the beet pulp today to ferment, so we'll see if those chickens will eat it then.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I like to keep a handful of hay in the rabbit hutches to cut back on the pellets. I keep a basket of hay where the goats can reach it and I go foraging about the property with another basket for branches, which I stick in my upturned trampoline frame....like its a bunch of tiny, bush, flower arrangements....the goats love that. That way, it doesn't cost me as much on grain to feed them.
I go to the river and buy whatever whole grains, a bit closer to the source than the feedstores can give me. I pay $8/sack, which weighs about 70Lbs each. Its the only way I can really afford my poultry projects.
Also, some of my poultry is waterfowl and you can pretty much trust them in the gardens and yard.....they can trim your grass; thus costs you less in grain.
When I go to the river, it normally costs me about 140 or so dollars and I come home with 10 to 13 sacks of various grain, depending on what is available.
When, for whatever reason, I have almost run out of food, I have to get smart.....I might feed my chickens and guineas some dogfood, until I can get my hands on grain. I will forage extra for the goats to shut them up. I give pellets to the rabbits only and if I'm out, hay. I can't give the waterfowl these extras, so they have to get some grain and if I"m out, they have to get their gate opened, to eat grass and that means a mandatory trip to the river.

 

[pinkfox]

buns always have hay (as do the goats) and the ducks and geese rnt penned (wel thee kind of penned but that pen is "the orchard", though this time of year my "grass" is just last years hay, whoeve lived her prior ust have only seeded summer grasses (were inthe change over zone so need both cool and warm grasses to keep a year round green)...the goats also get all the brush they can muster since im the proud owner of a privet farm LOL!
but i still offer grain at bedtime (helps get everyone in) nd feeding 3 different types of pellet is pricey and anoying.

i was thinking "mix my own" and i could stil do that if i can find out how much loose grains and stuff are...
but if its goingto be cheaper to feed an all stock with suplimentation then buying a bag of barley and a bag of oats and a bag of this and that and the other lol....
i also dont have afeed storage room or anything right now so id rather buy 5 bags of ll stock and just open a bag at a time an keep the rest secure in a tote than have 5 bags of different things open lol.
i can say a bag of cracked corn costs almost as much as a bag of layer pellet...
its crzyness!

 

[mrscoyote]

I have been thinking on this topic a lot also, my confusion comes in with how to keep it cheap and simple. The summer is easy for the birds with the garden and natural growing things, Not sure what to do with the goats growing my own alfalfa is not an option we did find peanut hay that is a good price. I just worry if that is enough for our new mama goat. Sorry I don't have any answers for you.

 

[pinkfox]

lol i wish there was a website that said along the lines of
per pig 1 cup oats, 2 cups barly, 1 cup beet pulp, 1/2 a cup corn
for chickens: 1 cup corn, 2 cups oats...

ect lol, would make it sooo mcuh easier if someone would make a simple little chart for a "mix your own" method lol

i mean it wasnt all that long ago that these pre-mixed foods didnt exist, youd think someone out there would put a "livestock recipie book" together for base feeds and what to change for each nimal type ect...

Id love for womewhere that said say 1 part this to 1 part that to 4 parts this and 3 parts something else for a bae feed then add for chickens add 1 part this, for pigs add 2 parts that ect...
im pretty sure someone must have somewhere but i cant find it ol

and obviously thats what "all stock" feed basically is...but it seemsa little low in protein so figuing out hwo to boost that for the pigs and add copper for the goats and ect ect ect lol.

and addto all thatthat if i am mixing my own...i want to avoid corn and soy as the main base...obviosuly if using a pellet/all stock type feed i cant pick and choose that way butif im making this fromscratch...

 

[SSDreamin]

This probably won't be very helpful to you Pink, but we feed all our animals chop. They all get their additions as needed, but it has saved us quite a bit. We buy it by the ton, $16 per 100# bag. The cows get supplemented with hay and minerals, the pigs get minerals and scraps/boiled eggs, the chickens get oyster shell and scrap greens. They all love the chop and are healthy Is all stock and chop the same thing, I wonder - never seen all stock feed here?

 

[Wannabefree]

I had a lady from the Ukraine buy some of my Delaware hens a couple years ago. She said all her mother ever fed the chickens was wheat berries, and not too much of that. She said they laid fine, were big fat healthy birds, and that was what she was going to do too. If it worked for Grandma....