Feeding your poultry-a few questions

[Kathy]

WooHoo, I'm getting chicks in a few weeks so I've started researching my feed options.
As you know, I haven't raised poultry for a few years now and times seem to have changed.

In AR for at least 80 miles in any direction there are NO feed mills which is where I always had my poultry feed mixed.

Here I can buy premixed feed specifically for poultry-everything from Purina Sun Fresh natural feed to TSC feed with a lot of things I really don't want to feed the girls.
After the chicks are feathered and old enough, I always gave them bird seed instead of scratch grains since my chickens never liked the milo and left it to sprout. But I need to figure out what I'm going to use as the main feed since the scratch is a supplemental treat.

What do you feed your poultry; a premade mix, organic feeds, a homegrown blend, or something else?

[Deleted]

I feed mine a blend of half whole oats and half whole red wheat. I toss out a coffee can full of black oil sunflower seeds every morning (all over the place), so they have "treats" to find during the day. The sunflower seeds also help to keep the wild birds OUT of the chicken coop. (So who am I REALLY feeding? LOL!)

During the summer that's it. They forage greens and bugs. During the winter I give them beaten eggs with milk or soured cream, and whatever leftovers we might have. I try to give them something extra every day, but sometimes they just have the wheat/oat/sunflower seed blend for their food. My chickens are all happy, healthy and in good condition, so I guess it works. You know I have a thing about corn and soy, so I have never fed them commercial layer feed. They did get one bag of chick feed when I first got them, but when that one bag was gone, they went on the whole grains.

~Lannie

P.S. All year round they pick through the poop piles. They seem to like it.