如果你养鸡(或任何动物)，自己混合饲料，而不是购买预制饲料，是省钱的最好方法之一。你也可以确定你的动物所吃食物的质量和来源。2022欧洲杯葡萄牙vs德国
However, to make sure your birds stay healthy, you have to mix the correct balance of nutrients for their age. If the balance is wrong they will grow slowly, stop laying, or even get sick. A flock of chickens will eat your kitchen scraps, but they cannot survive off of them. Making your own feed is a big responsibility that requires prior knowledge. Let’s look at some of the things you need to know before you start feeding your animals yourself.
制作自己的feed是一项很大的责任，需要事先掌握相关知识。在你开始自己喂动物之前，让我们看看你需要知道的一些事情。2022欧洲杯葡萄牙vs德国
鸡是杂食动物，它们吃的食物种类和人类一样。这意味着它们不能像人类一样靠生菜和西瓜皮健康地生活，也不能像反刍动物那样从草中获取营养。均衡的鸡肉饲料需要由均衡的蛋白质和碳水化合物组成，并添加微量营养素——维生素和矿物质。
Protein
Proteins are the building blocks of life. Without sufficient protein, animals will grow slowly, act lethargic, and have reduced immune defenses. The good news is that all whole grains have some protein content, and with a little knowledge and mathematics it is easy to measure the protein content of feed.
Protein is measured in terms of a percentage. That is the percent of the dry weight of the food that is protein. For example,soybean meal, the most common protein source in US animal feed, is 51% protein.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates give your animals all the energy they need. Cereal crops like corn, wheat, barley, and oats are classic. Other less common options include triticale, buckwheat, and rice. Rye can be used as a feed but only insmall quantities as it contains toxinsthat make other nutrients difficult for animals to absorb.
Conventional animal feeds often contain just one source of carbs and one source of protein, usually corn and soy. This is an effective feed mix. However, in my experience, animals thrive with more variation in their diets. If you have the ability, try mixing two carbohydrates, like wheat and oats, or oats and corn. Again, you can test the protein content in your grains to get a more accurate protein ratio in your feed.
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如果你买的是全谷物，你的鸡会从碾碎的谷物中受益，从而获得更好的消化率。成年母鸡可以磨碎谷物，只要它们有砂砾，但小鸡肯定需要磨碎的谷物。如果你能买到破碎的玉米、燕麦、豌豆、豆粕或破碎的小麦和大麦，你就可以不需要研磨。
Micronutrients
所有种类的动物都需要少量的2022欧洲杯葡萄牙vs德国各种有机和无机物质，而这些物质不一定在它们的食物中含量很高。即使是有很多空间去寻找虫子的鸡也需要补充微量营养素。大多数农场和花园商店出售矿物混合料，旨在添加到饲料中，为动物的饮食提供必要的营养和盐。
Every type of animal needs a different mix of minerals, and they are not interchangeable. For example, pigs and poultry needhigher levels of copper, which can actually poison sheep or goats. Chickens need different mineral concentrations at different ages also.
获得适当的营养成分最简单的方法是购买预混合食品。它们可能看起来很贵，但你需要非常少的数量，这样一个昂贵的包可以使用很长时间。按照袋子上的说明计算矿物质的盎司数和饲料的磅数。
You can also approximate a chicken nutrient mix usingkelp meal, which is high in vitamins, minerals, salts, and oyster shells as a source of calcium. If you decide to go this route, watch for fatigue, reduced laying, reduced appetite, and other symptoms of nutrient imbalance.
Laying Hens
对蛋鸡来说最重要的矿物质是钙。Sufficient calcium is the most important factor to ensure strong, healthy egg shells and preventhealth problems like osteoporosis. However, to be properly absorbed into a chicken’s body, other nutrients includingphosphorus and vitamin Dneed to be in balance and the calcium needs to be in a chemical form that is bioavailable.
对蛋鸡来说，最好的钙来源是磨碎的牡蛎壳，一旦它们被磨碎在砂囊里，就很容易进入鸡的身体。50磅一袋的价格也相对便宜。你可以留下一盘牡蛎壳在你的鸡跑你的母鸡免费喂养。
Young Chicks
Young chicks do not need as much calcium as laying hens. Up until about 15 weeks, chicks need no supplemental calcium, other than what is already in their mineral mix, and too much can actually causekidney damage. If you are buying pre-mixes, look for a “chick mix.”
While it is not technically a nutrient, chickens also need indigestible grit in their diet – literally small pieces of gravel. These get stored in their crop and help grind up grains and leafy greens. In my experience, chickens that are free range in the dirt will find enough grit themselves, but if they are contained in a small area, indoors, or if you have particularly fine soil, you can buy chicken grit and allow chickens to free-feed.
The Formula For Chicken Food
Each flock of chickens requires a different mix of food. Here’s how to figure out what your birds need.
- A laying hen needs15-18 percentprotein in their feed. If the protein ingredient is, for example,wheat at 12 percent protein, then out of 100 pounds of feed, 12 pounds of it will be protein.
- If you wanted to make the feed 18 percent protein, you’d need to add six pounds of protein to it.
- 但是没有一顿(天然)饭是100%蛋白质的。你需要根据你的添加剂的蛋白质含量，计算出要加多少。假设你用的是豆粕。豆粕含有51%的蛋白质，所以你需要的蛋白质磅数除以0.51。
- 6 lbs./.51 = 11.75 lb. soybean meal. This is the amount of soybean meal you need to add. But now you have more than 100 pounds of feed—your protein ratio isn’texactly18%。
This is why protein requirements are always given in ranges—there is room to fudge a little. Always aim high. A little extra protein is unlikely to hurt a chicken.
If this math seems challenging or non-intuitive, check out thePearson’s Square model用于计算进给比。它最好与两种饲料成分，但可以使用多个步骤更复杂的混合。
All whole grains and cereals contain some protein, and beans and legumes are particularly good sources. Animal products like whey, fish waste, and mealworms are also a great source of protein if you can come by them cheaply. To correctly formulate a feed, you need to know what percent protein your ingredients contain. For an excellent starting place, tryFeedipedia, a great online resource for learning more about feed ingredients.
Every grain and legume crop has variation in protein depending on the nitrogen content of the soil. Nitrogen is the key element in protein chains, so grain crops that have been more heavily fertilized will contain more protein. You can test the protein content of your feed at an agricultural laboratory. Contact yourlocal extension serviceto find out where in your region you could order those tests.
Young chicksneed more proteinin their feed than adult animals. For efficient growth and the best results, feed your younger birds separately from your adult flock.
Troubleshooting Feed
营养失衡或缺乏蛋白质的症状可能很轻微，很容易与其他疾病的症状混淆。Check outour article here on chicken diseases.The first symptoms you will see are likely to be lethargy, weight loss, and reduced egg production, potentially followed by diarrhea, and feather loss in extreme cases. Unfortunately, those symptoms also occur in just about any kind of chicken illness.
消除潜在原因是区分疾病和营养不良的最佳测试。如果你开始注意到你的鸟群中有令人担忧的行为，尤其是所有的鸟都有，从农场和花园商店买一些专业的混合饲料，喂它几个星期。如果症状在十天内没有改善，那么你的饮食并不是罪魁祸首。然而，如果你确实看到了改善，是时候仔细检查你的矿物质和蛋白质来源，也许还可以测试一下你的饲料的营养水平。
顺便说一下，母鸡之间可能会有很强的攻击性，尤其是对一只新的、更年轻的或其他“外人”的鸡。处于社会底层的鸡可能会营养不良，如果其他母鸡把它从食物旁赶走，它甚至会饿死。
In this case, feed the bird separately and then try to upset the social dynamic by moving the coop, introducing another “underdog” chicken, or separating the flock into several smaller groups.
Getting started mixing your own feed can seem overwhelming with all of the details to track and math involved! It may take some trial and error to find the right grains, proteins, and nutrient mix.
然而，一旦你找到一种适合你和你的鸡群的混合物，它是一种比商店购买的饲料更经济有效的替代品，你将很快学会基础知识，成为一个更有教养的鸡主人。
As always, your chickens will be the best indication of your success. Watch their behavior, and as long as they are healthy and happy, all is well.
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