chicken feed

A few weeks ago I started thinking about what we feed our chickens. They are free-roaming in our (fenced) yard during the day, and we give them a good amount of kitchen scraps and leftovers, but they also love to eat their feed that we get from the hardware store. We really haven't found a good, organic brand of chicken feed locally. For a while we were buying organic feed from a farm that was ordering it from Virginia, but they stopped ordering it after a few months of using it, because of the cost of shipping it down here. So we've been using Layena, which they like just fine, but I'm pretty sure is full of factory-farmed animal parts and GMO corn and soy. Not exactly what I want to be supporting, or putting into my eggs. So. Enter my awesome friend Monica, who kindly showed me how much fun it is to make your own chicken feed! And that's just what I did.






Here's the recipe she gave me. It's modified from here based on the grains we can find easily in our area.
2 or 3-4 cups corn (grind or use grits) (use the larger quantity in the winter)
4 cups winter wheat (grind)
3 cups spring wheat (grind)
1 cup barley (grind)
1 cup oats (grind if whole)
1-2 cups sunflower seeds
1 1/2 cups millet
1 1/2 cups quinoa
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup lentils (grind)
1 cup split peas (grind)
1/2 cup flax
1/2 cup Fertrell Nutribalancer (per 10 lbs feed, depending on quantities you use)
1 1/2 cup fish meal (per 10 lbs feed)


You can substitute amaranth for the quinoa or millet sometimes, or give other grains like kamut, if you can find it in your area.


Here's a post on Wild Roots Homestead with the chicken feed recipe that they use for their large flock. They also have some great ideas on foods to supplement your chickens' diets (sprouts and kombucha!). I could use some more of those in my diet, too....

Ruben's band played at a local music fest this weekend and we took Jackie and had fun dancing, relaxing with some great people, and drinking malted milkshakes.

mama's south of france salad dressing

This dressing is light, easy, and perfectly compliments fresh, tender lettuce. To make a complete lunch, add a boiled egg, some slivered radishes, and a handful of sugar snap peas to your salad. My mom picked up this recipe when we visited the south of france years ago, and she still makes it nearly weekly!

mama's favorite salad dressing

4 tbsp oil (hazelnut or sunflower…something light)

1 tbsp white wine

1 tsp Dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Mix white wine and mustard together well. Mix oil in slowly, whisking constantly. Season and serve.

We are having an honest-to-goodness spring. This never happens here! I have tomatoes in the ground, and we ate our first ripe strawberry when my nephew was visiting last week.

I walked to work this morning (which I don't do as much as I should because it's a 40 minute walk and I have a seriously hard time getting myself out of the house these days) and the air was heavy with flowery smells. It was a lovely morning--cool, clear, and sunny. It's spring break, too, so there were no kids yelling at me as I walked past the high school! Perfection.

The spring clock change kills me every year (I think I might finally be almost adjusted. Maybe.) but it is just so so nice to have more evening. I am getting stuff done!