Day 7 - Here Come the Tail Feathers

The chicks keep noticeably growing every day.  Their wing feather are filling in and Ruth & Ruby have easily visible tail feathers.

I decided to make a change in the way I gave them their feed.  Even when softened with yogurt & water, the girls were still having difficulty sometimes eating all the items in their mash.  So, I took the dry mash and chopped it up more finally in a food processor.  I then still moistened some of it in yogurt & water but I also started putting some in for them dry.  They loved it.  I left the top off their feeder for about thirty minutes and they had a blast.  They jumped in the feeder and ate and ate.  They had a great time scratching and flipping food everywhere.  Their chicken-ness is definitely coming out.  They're spending a lot of time scratching in their bedding and are doing a good job turning it over.

I'd stopped giving them hard boiled eggs for a few days, but tonight I gave them some again.  I've realized that hard boiled eggs are their absolute favorite.  They rush to the feeder when they realize I've put some in and one will take out a piece and start running around the brooder, often with multiple chicken chasing her to try to get the piece out of her mouth.  I don't understand why since there's plenty more but they definitely think that if one of them has something, it must be better than what's in the feeder and start squabbling for whatever it is.

They all seem to be doing well - no more pasty bottom - but Bertha was red under her right wing.  It looked crusty and I think that somehow she got some droppings from one of the other girls under her wing.  I used warm water and cleaned under her wing, which she loudly let me know she didn't appreciate.  I'm hoping that tomorrow she's starting to get less red.

Here's the newest photos of the girls feather development:

Bertha's little wings.  She definitely developing feathers
but overall, her wings are so much smaller than the others.

Molly's wing - it's fascinating how different the look of their feathers is from breed to breed.

Ruthie's beautiful wingspan

Ruth's new tail-feathers!

Ruby's wing

Bob's beautiful wingspan.  She's definitely developed her wing
feathers the fastest and is the most beautiful chick so far.  My 4 year old is thrilled that she's his. 

The chicks keep noticeably growing every day.  Their wing feather are filling in and Ruth & Ruby have easily visible tail feathers.

I decided to make a change in the way I gave them their feed.  Even when softened with yogurt & water, the girls were still having difficulty sometimes eating all the items in their mash.  So, I took the dry mash and chopped it up more finally in a food processor.  I then still moistened some of it in yogurt & water but I also started putting some in for them dry.  They loved it.  I left the top off their feeder for about thirty minutes and they had a blast.  They jumped in the feeder and ate and ate.  They had a great time scratching and flipping food everywhere.  Their chicken-ness is definitely coming out.  They're spending a lot of time scratching in their bedding and are doing a good job turning it over.

I'd stopped giving them hard boiled eggs for a few days, but tonight I gave them some again.  I've realized that hard boiled eggs are their absolute favorite.  They rush to the feeder when they realize I've put some in and one will take out a piece and start running around the brooder, often with multiple chicken chasing her to try to get the piece out of her mouth.  I don't understand why since there's plenty more but they definitely think that if one of them has something, it must be better than what's in the feeder and start squabbling for whatever it is.

They all seem to be doing well - no more pasty bottom - but Bertha was red under her right wing.  It looked crusty and I think that somehow she got some droppings from one of the other girls under her wing.  I used warm water and cleaned under her wing, which she loudly let me know she didn't appreciate.  I'm hoping that tomorrow she's starting to get less red.

Here's the newest photos of the girls feather development:

Bertha's little wings.  She definitely developing feathers
but overall, her wings are so much smaller than the others.

Molly's wing - it's fascinating how different the look of their feathers is from breed to breed.

Ruthie's beautiful wingspan

Ruth's new tail-feathers!

Ruby's wing

Bob's beautiful wingspan.  She's definitely developed her wing
feathers the fastest and is the most beautiful chick so far.  My 4 year old is thrilled that she's his. 

The chicks keep noticeably growing every day.  Their wing feather are filling in and Ruth & Ruby have easily visible tail feathers.

I decided to make a change in the way I gave them their feed.  Even when softened with yogurt & water, the girls were still having difficulty sometimes eating all the items in their mash.  So, I took the dry mash and chopped it up more finally in a food processor.  I then still moistened some of it in yogurt & water but I also started putting some in for them dry.  They loved it.  I left the top off their feeder for about thirty minutes and they had a blast.  They jumped in the feeder and ate and ate.  They had a great time scratching and flipping food everywhere.  Their chicken-ness is definitely coming out.  They're spending a lot of time scratching in their bedding and are doing a good job turning it over.

I'd stopped giving them hard boiled eggs for a few days, but tonight I gave them some again.  I've realized that hard boiled eggs are their absolute favorite.  They rush to the feeder when they realize I've put some in and one will take out a piece and start running around the brooder, often with multiple chicken chasing her to try to get the piece out of her mouth.  I don't understand why since there's plenty more but they definitely think that if one of them has something, it must be better than what's in the feeder and start squabbling for whatever it is.

They all seem to be doing well - no more pasty bottom - but Bertha was red under her right wing.  It looked crusty and I think that somehow she got some droppings from one of the other girls under her wing.  I used warm water and cleaned under her wing, which she loudly let me know she didn't appreciate.  I'm hoping that tomorrow she's starting to get less red.

Here's the newest photos of the girls feather development:

Bertha's little wings.  She definitely developing feathers
but overall, her wings are so much smaller than the others.

Molly's wing - it's fascinating how different the look of their feathers is from breed to breed.

Ruthie's beautiful wingspan

Ruth's new tail-feathers!

Ruby's wing

Bob's beautiful wingspan.  She's definitely developed her wing
feathers the fastest and is the most beautiful chick so far.  My 4 year old is thrilled that she's his. 

Mixing your own chicken feed.

My chicks seem to be enjoying their food.  Today I started using their chick feeder and they seem to be eating out of it well.

The morning feeding - mash, hard boiled eggs, sprouts, & spinach.
It was too much food for 5 chicks but I needed to try to get the food up high enough that
they could easily get it through the holes in the cover.

The mash is the dry grains, legumes and seeds mixed with some Greek yogurt and water that sat in the fridge overnight to soften so the chicks would be able to eat it more easily.  It was the hardest thing for them to eat last night because I hadn't made any ahead of time so the larger grains and legumes weren't very soft.

Since someone asked, I thought I would show the spreadsheet that I created to calculate the percent protein of their food, as well as the cost.  After researching many, many websites I had a good idea of the types of foods that I wanted to provide the girls that would give them variety and provide the nutrients they need.  However, I was having difficulty trying to determine a way to get the percent protein right.  Starter feed (for chicks) usually has about 20% protein and layer feed has about 16%.  Some sites also suggest giving them grower feed at 17-18% protein starting at about 6 weeks of age.  I wanted something that would make it easy to calculate the percentage protein and the cost as I  change proportions and ingredients.  Here's what the spreadsheet looks like:

I did a ton of research to determine the percent protein of each of these foods.  It was not easy because different sources have differing numbers.  Also, as I buy items (especially the dairy) I'll look at the package and make sure my calculations for that specific brand are accurate.  For example, we usually buy Fage Greek yogurt and I was able to go to their website and calculate the percent protein.

If you need to calculate the percent protein from looking at a nutrition label - take the number of grams of protein and multiply it by 4 (there are 4 calories in each gram of protein) and then divide that number by the total number of calories in that serving size.  For example, 1 cup of Fage 2% Greek yogurt has 170 calories and 23g of protein (taken from the Fage website).  So, 23 x 4 = 92 / 170 = .5412 or 54.12% protein.

To determine the percent protein in your feed mix, you multiply the individual ingredient percentages by the amount of that ingredient that you want to put in your feed.  I used 1 unit to equal 1 pound since most of my ingredients were easy to price by the pound.  However, I now mix them in 1 cup increments since I don't need to store 18 pounds of food right now and it's no more expensive for me to mix in small batches.

So, using lentils as an example - 29.24% x 3 (parts) = .8772.  This was easy to do using formulas in Excel.  Once you do this for every ingredient you plan to use, you add up the total protein and divide it by the total from the part column.  For example, under the starter feed column - 4.10294/18.85 = .2177 or 21.77%.

Because the amount protein, cost column, and the totals at the bottom are all equations in Excel, I can play with the amounts in the part column and immediately know the impact that will have on the percent protein of  the feed.

In addition to the ingredients listed, they also get powdered kelp mixed in their dry food.  It doesn't have a protein content so I didn't include it above.  Kelp gives them their sodium and other helpful nutrients.

If you would like to have a copy of the Excel spreadsheet I use, feel free to send me an e-mail at lynnlivinlarge@gmail.com and I'll be happy to send it to you.  I'll keep you updated as my feed mix changes.

My chicks seem to be enjoying their food.  Today I started using their chick feeder and they seem to be eating out of it well.

The morning feeding - mash, hard boiled eggs, sprouts, & spinach.
It was too much food for 5 chicks but I needed to try to get the food up high enough that
they could easily get it through the holes in the cover.

The mash is the dry grains, legumes and seeds mixed with some Greek yogurt and water that sat in the fridge overnight to soften so the chicks would be able to eat it more easily.  It was the hardest thing for them to eat last night because I hadn't made any ahead of time so the larger grains and legumes weren't very soft.

Since someone asked, I thought I would show the spreadsheet that I created to calculate the percent protein of their food, as well as the cost.  After researching many, many websites I had a good idea of the types of foods that I wanted to provide the girls that would give them variety and provide the nutrients they need.  However, I was having difficulty trying to determine a way to get the percent protein right.  Starter feed (for chicks) usually has about 20% protein and layer feed has about 16%.  Some sites also suggest giving them grower feed at 17-18% protein starting at about 6 weeks of age.  I wanted something that would make it easy to calculate the percentage protein and the cost as I  change proportions and ingredients.  Here's what the spreadsheet looks like:

I did a ton of research to determine the percent protein of each of these foods.  It was not easy because different sources have differing numbers.  Also, as I buy items (especially the dairy) I'll look at the package and make sure my calculations for that specific brand are accurate.  For example, we usually buy Fage Greek yogurt and I was able to go to their website and calculate the percent protein.

If you need to calculate the percent protein from looking at a nutrition label - take the number of grams of protein and multiply it by 4 (there are 4 calories in each gram of protein) and then divide that number by the total number of calories in that serving size.  For example, 1 cup of Fage 2% Greek yogurt has 170 calories and 23g of protein (taken from the Fage website).  So, 23 x 4 = 92 / 170 = .5412 or 54.12% protein.

To determine the percent protein in your feed mix, you multiply the individual ingredient percentages by the amount of that ingredient that you want to put in your feed.  I used 1 unit to equal 1 pound since most of my ingredients were easy to price by the pound.  However, I now mix them in 1 cup increments since I don't need to store 18 pounds of food right now and it's no more expensive for me to mix in small batches.

So, using lentils as an example - 29.24% x 3 (parts) = .8772.  This was easy to do using formulas in Excel.  Once you do this for every ingredient you plan to use, you add up the total protein and divide it by the total from the part column.  For example, under the starter feed column - 4.10294/18.85 = .2177 or 21.77%.

Because the amount protein, cost column, and the totals at the bottom are all equations in Excel, I can play with the amounts in the part column and immediately know the impact that will have on the percent protein of  the feed.

In addition to the ingredients listed, they also get powdered kelp mixed in their dry food.  It doesn't have a protein content so I didn't include it above.  Kelp gives them their sodium and other helpful nutrients.

If you would like to have a copy of the Excel spreadsheet I use, feel free to send me an e-mail at lynnlivinlarge@gmail.com and I'll be happy to send it to you.  I'll keep you updated as my feed mix changes.

My chicks seem to be enjoying their food.  Today I started using their chick feeder and they seem to be eating out of it well.

The morning feeding - mash, hard boiled eggs, sprouts, & spinach.
It was too much food for 5 chicks but I needed to try to get the food up high enough that
they could easily get it through the holes in the cover.

The mash is the dry grains, legumes and seeds mixed with some Greek yogurt and water that sat in the fridge overnight to soften so the chicks would be able to eat it more easily.  It was the hardest thing for them to eat last night because I hadn't made any ahead of time so the larger grains and legumes weren't very soft.

Since someone asked, I thought I would show the spreadsheet that I created to calculate the percent protein of their food, as well as the cost.  After researching many, many websites I had a good idea of the types of foods that I wanted to provide the girls that would give them variety and provide the nutrients they need.  However, I was having difficulty trying to determine a way to get the percent protein right.  Starter feed (for chicks) usually has about 20% protein and layer feed has about 16%.  Some sites also suggest giving them grower feed at 17-18% protein starting at about 6 weeks of age.  I wanted something that would make it easy to calculate the percentage protein and the cost as I  change proportions and ingredients.  Here's what the spreadsheet looks like:

I did a ton of research to determine the percent protein of each of these foods.  It was not easy because different sources have differing numbers.  Also, as I buy items (especially the dairy) I'll look at the package and make sure my calculations for that specific brand are accurate.  For example, we usually buy Fage Greek yogurt and I was able to go to their website and calculate the percent protein.

If you need to calculate the percent protein from looking at a nutrition label - take the number of grams of protein and multiply it by 4 (there are 4 calories in each gram of protein) and then divide that number by the total number of calories in that serving size.  For example, 1 cup of Fage 2% Greek yogurt has 170 calories and 23g of protein (taken from the Fage website).  So, 23 x 4 = 92 / 170 = .5412 or 54.12% protein.

To determine the percent protein in your feed mix, you multiply the individual ingredient percentages by the amount of that ingredient that you want to put in your feed.  I used 1 unit to equal 1 pound since most of my ingredients were easy to price by the pound.  However, I now mix them in 1 cup increments since I don't need to store 18 pounds of food right now and it's no more expensive for me to mix in small batches.

So, using lentils as an example - 29.24% x 3 (parts) = .8772.  This was easy to do using formulas in Excel.  Once you do this for every ingredient you plan to use, you add up the total protein and divide it by the total from the part column.  For example, under the starter feed column - 4.10294/18.85 = .2177 or 21.77%.

Because the amount protein, cost column, and the totals at the bottom are all equations in Excel, I can play with the amounts in the part column and immediately know the impact that will have on the percent protein of  the feed.

In addition to the ingredients listed, they also get powdered kelp mixed in their dry food.  It doesn't have a protein content so I didn't include it above.  Kelp gives them their sodium and other helpful nutrients.

If you would like to have a copy of the Excel spreadsheet I use, feel free to send me an e-mail at lynnlivinlarge@gmail.com and I'll be happy to send it to you.  I'll keep you updated as my feed mix changes.

Ready for the Chickens

We've had a busy weekend getting ready for the chickens tomorrow.  On Friday night, my 4 year old and I mixed the items that will incorporate their dry feed, as well as the mix to be sprouted.  I love that almost everything that's going into the feed for our chickens can be eaten by my boys.  He loved tasting every grain, legume, and seed and thought that the colors were beautiful.  His favorite thing was getting to shake up the container and mix all the items together.

Our multicolored layers of our dry chicken feed

He also really enjoyed helping me start sprouting.  We started with our soft white & hard red wheat, as well as mung beans.  He couldn't believe how they were starting to sprout after 24 hours.  He's loved tasting them after every rinse to see if they taste different as they're growing.  This is my first time sprouting and I've been pleasantly surprised how easy it's been.  We're sprouting in mason jars.

Our sprouts after 36 hours

More 36 hour sprouts

After 48 hours - it's hard to believe how much they grew in just 12 hours.

I sprouted by putting a cup of seeds in the jar and then filled the jar about 3/4 with water.  I shook them around a little initially and then let them soak for about 12 hours.  Then I rinsed them in a fine mesh strainer (I haven't received my strainer lids for my jars yet), drained the water well, and then put them back in the jar with the lid off.  We've rinsed this way every 12 hours since.

Both boys are so excited to see our new chicks tomorrow and we know that we have great food for them to eat when they get home.  Everything I'm reading says that all chickens love sprouts so we'll see if our girls agree.

We've had a busy weekend getting ready for the chickens tomorrow.  On Friday night, my 4 year old and I mixed the items that will incorporate their dry feed, as well as the mix to be sprouted.  I love that almost everything that's going into the feed for our chickens can be eaten by my boys.  He loved tasting every grain, legume, and seed and thought that the colors were beautiful.  His favorite thing was getting to shake up the container and mix all the items together.

Our multicolored layers of our dry chicken feed

He also really enjoyed helping me start sprouting.  We started with our soft white & hard red wheat, as well as mung beans.  He couldn't believe how they were starting to sprout after 24 hours.  He's loved tasting them after every rinse to see if they taste different as they're growing.  This is my first time sprouting and I've been pleasantly surprised how easy it's been.  We're sprouting in mason jars.

Our sprouts after 36 hours

More 36 hour sprouts

After 48 hours - it's hard to believe how much they grew in just 12 hours.

I sprouted by putting a cup of seeds in the jar and then filled the jar about 3/4 with water.  I shook them around a little initially and then let them soak for about 12 hours.  Then I rinsed them in a fine mesh strainer (I haven't received my strainer lids for my jars yet), drained the water well, and then put them back in the jar with the lid off.  We've rinsed this way every 12 hours since.

Both boys are so excited to see our new chicks tomorrow and we know that we have great food for them to eat when they get home.  Everything I'm reading says that all chickens love sprouts so we'll see if our girls agree.

We've had a busy weekend getting ready for the chickens tomorrow.  On Friday night, my 4 year old and I mixed the items that will incorporate their dry feed, as well as the mix to be sprouted.  I love that almost everything that's going into the feed for our chickens can be eaten by my boys.  He loved tasting every grain, legume, and seed and thought that the colors were beautiful.  His favorite thing was getting to shake up the container and mix all the items together.

Our multicolored layers of our dry chicken feed

He also really enjoyed helping me start sprouting.  We started with our soft white & hard red wheat, as well as mung beans.  He couldn't believe how they were starting to sprout after 24 hours.  He's loved tasting them after every rinse to see if they taste different as they're growing.  This is my first time sprouting and I've been pleasantly surprised how easy it's been.  We're sprouting in mason jars.

Our sprouts after 36 hours

More 36 hour sprouts

After 48 hours - it's hard to believe how much they grew in just 12 hours.

I sprouted by putting a cup of seeds in the jar and then filled the jar about 3/4 with water.  I shook them around a little initially and then let them soak for about 12 hours.  Then I rinsed them in a fine mesh strainer (I haven't received my strainer lids for my jars yet), drained the water well, and then put them back in the jar with the lid off.  We've rinsed this way every 12 hours since.

Both boys are so excited to see our new chicks tomorrow and we know that we have great food for them to eat when they get home.  Everything I'm reading says that all chickens love sprouts so we'll see if our girls agree.

Living Your Values - What to Feed the Chickens

The more I educate myself on the issues of food production in our country and talk about the issues with friends, family & coworkers, the more I've realized two things:  the majority of people don't give any thought to where there food comes from, and the more I learn the more determined I am to make sure I know where my families food comes from and what's gone into our food.

When we decided to start raising chickens in our backyard, I started researching what I need to feed them.  Keeping in mind that we are what we eat, I want to make sure that my chickens are eating in a way that will make their eggs as healthy as they can be.  After all, in a way, we are what our chickens eat.

So I started doing research.  Let me just say that there are many, many different opinions about what you should feed your chickens.  Do you feed soy or not?  Flax seed or not?  Pellets or crumbles, or mixing your own food?  Sprouting grains or not?  Pasture raised or not?  Organic or not?

After reading so many sites that I lost count, I've realized that if you accept a few things that seem to be universally true across my research, much of it has to be decided by looking at the articles and the science and making decisions that seem best for you, your family, and your birds.  Most sites agree that you want chicks fed a diet that includes about 20% protein and that laying chickens need fed a diet that contains about 16% protein.

After my research, I quickly decided that I don't want to feed them soy.  Soy isn't a complete protein and has been linked to hormone issues - increasing estrogen and decreasing testosterone production.  Also, it's been found that chickens that eat soy produce eggs that have soy protein in the egg itself.  The soy that is most often grown in the United States is a GMO (genetically modified organism), and a large number of processed products that we consume already contain soy.  It's so hard to avoid consuming soy everywhere else that I decided that I wasn't going to feed it to my chickens - I want soy free eggs.

I also decided after much research that I am mixing my own organic, GMO free feed.  This learning adventure also allowed me to learn more about sprouting and the benefits of sprouting for my birds.  Once I decided to mix my own whole grains, seeds, legumes, etc. to feed the girls I had to figure out the right mix that would give them the well balanced diet that they need.  After much research of different ingredients and their cost, percent protein, and their overall health contributions to the feed - I developed a spreadsheet that would allow me to calculate which amounts of which ingredients would give me the most balanced diet for my chickens.

The organic grain I was able to find on amazon.com for a reasonable price - & free shipping!

Once I settled on a mix, I had to purchase ingredients.  It's not easy finding organic grains in Toledo, Ohio.  We have a small co-op in town that can get many of them for me but not all.  I ended up buying my organic corn, soft wheat, hard wheat, & kelp powder on amazon.com (with free shipping).  The other ingredients I'll be getting at the Phoenix Earth Food Co-op in town.  I decided to feed them a combination of sprouted and whole grains, along with greens and meat protein.  Here's the mix I'm starting with:

Sprouting:  2 parts hard red winter wheat, 2 parts soft spring wheat, 1 part oats, 1 part millet, & .5 parts mung bean

Non-sprouted:  2 parts corn, 2 parts lentils, 2 parts split peas, 1 part barley, 1 part sunflower seeds, .25 part flax seed,

Other items:  spinach, broccoli and other greens, hard boiled eggs (which Denise thinks is just wrong), kelp powder, plain Greek yogurt a few days a week & milk.

I really look forward to seeing how the girls like their food and I can't wait to pick them up next week.  I've got to get sprouting to make sure I'm ready for their arrival.  I'll keep you updated on how this food mix seems to be doing with the girls.

The more I educate myself on the issues of food production in our country and talk about the issues with friends, family & coworkers, the more I've realized two things:  the majority of people don't give any thought to where there food comes from, and the more I learn the more determined I am to make sure I know where my families food comes from and what's gone into our food.

When we decided to start raising chickens in our backyard, I started researching what I need to feed them.  Keeping in mind that we are what we eat, I want to make sure that my chickens are eating in a way that will make their eggs as healthy as they can be.  After all, in a way, we are what our chickens eat.

So I started doing research.  Let me just say that there are many, many different opinions about what you should feed your chickens.  Do you feed soy or not?  Flax seed or not?  Pellets or crumbles, or mixing your own food?  Sprouting grains or not?  Pasture raised or not?  Organic or not?

After reading so many sites that I lost count, I've realized that if you accept a few things that seem to be universally true across my research, much of it has to be decided by looking at the articles and the science and making decisions that seem best for you, your family, and your birds.  Most sites agree that you want chicks fed a diet that includes about 20% protein and that laying chickens need fed a diet that contains about 16% protein.

After my research, I quickly decided that I don't want to feed them soy.  Soy isn't a complete protein and has been linked to hormone issues - increasing estrogen and decreasing testosterone production.  Also, it's been found that chickens that eat soy produce eggs that have soy protein in the egg itself.  The soy that is most often grown in the United States is a GMO (genetically modified organism), and a large number of processed products that we consume already contain soy.  It's so hard to avoid consuming soy everywhere else that I decided that I wasn't going to feed it to my chickens - I want soy free eggs.

I also decided after much research that I am mixing my own organic, GMO free feed.  This learning adventure also allowed me to learn more about sprouting and the benefits of sprouting for my birds.  Once I decided to mix my own whole grains, seeds, legumes, etc. to feed the girls I had to figure out the right mix that would give them the well balanced diet that they need.  After much research of different ingredients and their cost, percent protein, and their overall health contributions to the feed - I developed a spreadsheet that would allow me to calculate which amounts of which ingredients would give me the most balanced diet for my chickens.

The organic grain I was able to find on amazon.com for a reasonable price - & free shipping!

Once I settled on a mix, I had to purchase ingredients.  It's not easy finding organic grains in Toledo, Ohio.  We have a small co-op in town that can get many of them for me but not all.  I ended up buying my organic corn, soft wheat, hard wheat, & kelp powder on amazon.com (with free shipping).  The other ingredients I'll be getting at the Phoenix Earth Food Co-op in town.  I decided to feed them a combination of sprouted and whole grains, along with greens and meat protein.  Here's the mix I'm starting with:

Sprouting:  2 parts hard red winter wheat, 2 parts soft spring wheat, 1 part oats, 1 part millet, & .5 parts mung bean

Non-sprouted:  2 parts corn, 2 parts lentils, 2 parts split peas, 1 part barley, 1 part sunflower seeds, .25 part flax seed,

Other items:  spinach, broccoli and other greens, hard boiled eggs (which Denise thinks is just wrong), kelp powder, plain Greek yogurt a few days a week & milk.

I really look forward to seeing how the girls like their food and I can't wait to pick them up next week.  I've got to get sprouting to make sure I'm ready for their arrival.  I'll keep you updated on how this food mix seems to be doing with the girls.

The more I educate myself on the issues of food production in our country and talk about the issues with friends, family & coworkers, the more I've realized two things:  the majority of people don't give any thought to where there food comes from, and the more I learn the more determined I am to make sure I know where my families food comes from and what's gone into our food.

When we decided to start raising chickens in our backyard, I started researching what I need to feed them.  Keeping in mind that we are what we eat, I want to make sure that my chickens are eating in a way that will make their eggs as healthy as they can be.  After all, in a way, we are what our chickens eat.

So I started doing research.  Let me just say that there are many, many different opinions about what you should feed your chickens.  Do you feed soy or not?  Flax seed or not?  Pellets or crumbles, or mixing your own food?  Sprouting grains or not?  Pasture raised or not?  Organic or not?

After reading so many sites that I lost count, I've realized that if you accept a few things that seem to be universally true across my research, much of it has to be decided by looking at the articles and the science and making decisions that seem best for you, your family, and your birds.  Most sites agree that you want chicks fed a diet that includes about 20% protein and that laying chickens need fed a diet that contains about 16% protein.

After my research, I quickly decided that I don't want to feed them soy.  Soy isn't a complete protein and has been linked to hormone issues - increasing estrogen and decreasing testosterone production.  Also, it's been found that chickens that eat soy produce eggs that have soy protein in the egg itself.  The soy that is most often grown in the United States is a GMO (genetically modified organism), and a large number of processed products that we consume already contain soy.  It's so hard to avoid consuming soy everywhere else that I decided that I wasn't going to feed it to my chickens - I want soy free eggs.

I also decided after much research that I am mixing my own organic, GMO free feed.  This learning adventure also allowed me to learn more about sprouting and the benefits of sprouting for my birds.  Once I decided to mix my own whole grains, seeds, legumes, etc. to feed the girls I had to figure out the right mix that would give them the well balanced diet that they need.  After much research of different ingredients and their cost, percent protein, and their overall health contributions to the feed - I developed a spreadsheet that would allow me to calculate which amounts of which ingredients would give me the most balanced diet for my chickens.

The organic grain I was able to find on amazon.com for a reasonable price - & free shipping!

Once I settled on a mix, I had to purchase ingredients.  It's not easy finding organic grains in Toledo, Ohio.  We have a small co-op in town that can get many of them for me but not all.  I ended up buying my organic corn, soft wheat, hard wheat, & kelp powder on amazon.com (with free shipping).  The other ingredients I'll be getting at the Phoenix Earth Food Co-op in town.  I decided to feed them a combination of sprouted and whole grains, along with greens and meat protein.  Here's the mix I'm starting with:

Sprouting:  2 parts hard red winter wheat, 2 parts soft spring wheat, 1 part oats, 1 part millet, & .5 parts mung bean

Non-sprouted:  2 parts corn, 2 parts lentils, 2 parts split peas, 1 part barley, 1 part sunflower seeds, .25 part flax seed,

Other items:  spinach, broccoli and other greens, hard boiled eggs (which Denise thinks is just wrong), kelp powder, plain Greek yogurt a few days a week & milk.

I really look forward to seeing how the girls like their food and I can't wait to pick them up next week.  I've got to get sprouting to make sure I'm ready for their arrival.  I'll keep you updated on how this food mix seems to be doing with the girls.