Chick Feed

I have done the unthinkable. I have allowed my daughter to be gifted baby chicks, and now I have four busy, fluffy chicks scampering around the homestead. They are adorable, at least they are now that they are no longer living in our house, as they temporarily were due to the wet and cold weather that has lingered just a bit too long this spring. They peck, scamper, and follow my daughter Addie around like, well, baby chicks. Above doing the unthinkable, I have done the craziest thing also.  From the kitchen window, watching Addie and the chicks busy themselves outside, I made chick feed. I didn't intend to pamper these young hens as such, but it has become a necessity. There is no young chick feed to purchase in Grand Marais, and after glancing over the ingredient list of the last bag we purchased, I decided that we could do better, and for less. I browsed the internet for any crucial info regarding a young chicken's diet, and found that a trip through the bulk section at the Co-op would provide me with all of the ingredients those babies need. I'll admit that our chicks are eating high on the hog now, and if I had a bigger flock, I don't know that I would go to these lengths. I have now been dubbed an over achiever, and I'm okay with that. Happy hens lay good eggs!

It turns out that there are dozens of homemade chick feed recipes online, so that means other people are making their own chick feed, right? This is what I put together, and it's so far so good, as far as those chicks chowing down their new food goes. I should mention that we let them out in the evenings and on the weekends when we are home to keep a watchful eye on them. They get plenty of foraging time to eat grasses, peck dirt, and do what chickens do. We've also been feeding them bits of veggies and fruit that would otherwise be compost. Yes, my brothers are most likely laughing at me right now, but I swear our chicks are doing well with their new hippy diet!

Chick Feed

3 cups cracked corn
4 cups wheat berries
1 cup barley
1 cup buckwheat groats
1 cup millet
1 cup quinoa
1 cup split peas
1 cup lentils
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup peanuts
1/2 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup kelp granules

I processed this mix up a bit as those chicks can't handle big whole grains yet. It  helped break everything up into a coarse mix, which the chicks can easily chow down. I never envisioned my culinary background put to use for chickens, but that is just one of the many new paths I get the opportunity to travel down and explore! Belly up!!