If you want an incredibly natural, whole grain chicken feed recipe that uses NO fish meal – or any other special order inputs – you’re going to love this homemade recipe! The only ingredients are whole wheat berries, whole oats, cracked corn, split green peas, brown lentils, and dried meal worms. By using non-GMO cracked corn, the entire feed can be made non-GMO! Here is the 16% protein and 3.77% fat chicken feed recipe with NO fish meal we invented here on our homestead:
The recipe in this article was invented by, hand crafted by, and calculated by Tay Silver at the Silver Homestead. The recipe, in whole or in part, and all images are not to be used elsewhere online unless linking directly to this page. It is okay to pin the images to Pinterest.
Crafting Homemade Chicken Feed Recipes
We all want to feed our flocks as naturally as possible. I spent months tinkering with different feed recipes, trying to find a blend that would be 16% protein or more, less than 5% fat, and use no fish meal since many chicken keepers find it an expensive special order additive. My chickens insisted that dried meal worms also be part of the mix. One October day I calculated the protein and fat percents on a new scratch blend and discovered it met chicken FEED requirements!
Easy to Find Ingredients
The best part about this recipe is that all the ingredients can be purchased locally from the feed store and grocery store, including the dried meal worms which Tractor Supply sells. This is THE easy, natural chicken feed recipe homesteaders and suburban backyard keepers have been searching for!
Silver Homestead Grain & Meal Worm Chicken Feed Recipe:
This recipe creates a chicken feed blend that is 16% protein and 3.77% fat. Meal worms make up 4.3% of the total recipe and are NOT A TREAT – they are absolutely required to ensure the blend contains enough total protein and fat. (We are actually using meal worms instead of fish meal to increase the protein.) If you skip the meal worms, the grain blend by itself is around 14.4% protein and 2.8% fat, which is too low for a laying hen feed but is a nice scratch.
5.5 pounds whole wheat berries
5.5 pounds whole oats
5.5 pounds cracked corn (non-Gmo cracked corn is an option!)
2.75 pounds dry split green peas
2.75 pounds dry brown lentils
1 pound dried meal worms
Directions: Use a scale to weigh out each ingredient, which is required to ensure you obtain the correct protein percent. Combine the ingredients in a large feed bin that can hold at least 25 pounds of feed. I find it easiest to pour in a small portion of each ingredient and stir to combine with a long handled spoon. When I feel it is well combined, I add another pour of each ingredient and continue stirring. Once everything has been poured in and is well mixed, scoop out as needed to feed your hens. Will keep up to 3 months in an airtight container so long as there is no humidity or moisture and none of the feed grains are contaminated with weevils. Best if used within 6 weeks. Makes 23 pounds of a 16% protein and 3.77% fat chicken feed mix.
Small Batch Feed Recipe:
Here’s a smaller batch “sampler” recipe that makes roughly 2.79 pounds of the same feed:
2/3 pound whole wheat berries (about 1.5 cups)
2/3 pound whole oats (about 2 cups)
2/3 pound cracked corn (about 2 cups)
1/3 pound dry split green peas (about 2/3 cup)
1/3 pound dry brown lentils (about 3/4 cup)
1/8 pound dried meal worms (about 1.25 cups)
Measuring by weight is the most accurate but I have made this small batch and given the cup measurements for those who want to mix this sample blend quickly.
Fantastic Chicken Feed
This is the chicken feed recipe of my dreams. You CAN still give your hens treats and in fact, you should since the 3.77% fat in this recipe is a smidgen under the suggested 4% minimum fat for laying hens. Many “treats” will also add protein, which is fine! I also LOVE that you can pick up 1 pound bags of split green peas and brown lentils from the bean & rice aisle at the grocery store. If you get 3 bags to make the larger batch, you’ll have just enough leftover to make a homemade scratch or to try sprouting lentils for your flock!
Bonus: Orange Egg Yolk Feed Recipe
You can make a rodent-deterring blend that has the added benefit of making your hen’s egg yolks more orange by adding 1.5 to 2 cups (4 to 5.5 ounces) of red pepper flakes to the 23 pound recipe above. Our Orange Egg Yolk chicken scratch recipe goes into depth on how red pepper flakes naturally flood your hen’s body with healthy carotenoids, which end up in her egg yolks. Red pepper flakes will add a minuscule amount of fat and protein but not enough to change our 16% protein content. They also contain a small amount of calcium and iron that is beneficial to hens.
Nutritional Full Disclosure:
When calculating the percent protein and fat of whole grains and seeds in homemade recipes, you have to use averages that fall within a range. Because of growing conditions, some grains will have slightly more protein than the same grain harvested from the neighboring field, even on the same farm. There’s no way to help this; it is just how whole grains and seeds grow. Commercial feeds can give you a guaranteed analysis because they test the nutritional content of every large batch. I can only state what the grains average in this blend. The individual ingredients you use may be slightly lower or higher in fat and protein. This is not a problem if your flock gets free range time (even only once per week) or plenty of greens and some kitchen scraps, which they can select from to help balance their diet.
Consider offering Microgreen Sprouts
Because of what I mentioned above, I suggest that you plan to offer your hens sprouts in addition to flaked oyster shell, garden clippings, and free range time if possible. A hen who gets some ranging time is generally able to balance her diet herself. Nutrition-packed microgreens are a great way to offer penned hens the same rush of vitamins in a delicious green she will quickly devour. Our easy sprouting directions can help! (Afflink)
Should I Add Vitamins to the Feed?
Chickens need certain amino acids, vitamins, and trace minerals. If you are worried that your flock is not getting enough, please DO consider adding poultry vitamins to your feed! I personally use Fertrell Poultry Show and Breeder Supplement all through the autumn molt and the heavy spring laying season. (I did test the above feed recipe WITHOUT the vitamins and my flock laid beautifully, but they were still getting daily kitchen and garden scraps.)
Proof Your Feed is Working
If you’re feeding a homemade whole grain mix for the first time, it can be a little worrying. Will your hens be okay? How will you know they are doing alright on their feed? Here is the information you need:
• Hens who are fed diets that contain too much protein for too long can become egg bound and die. This feed blend with it’s 16% protein is perfectly safe! 16% protein is the lowest protein percent a laying hen can be given; you have plenty of room for her to consume more protein through treats and the bugs she catches!
• Hens fed a diet too high in fat for too long can experience renal issues and kidney failure, which is fatal. The 3.77% fat in this homemade chicken feed is slightly too low (0.23% below the 4% minimum fat suggested). Black oil sunflower seeds or quinoa are a great treat that will provide additional protein and a nice dose of dietary fat. Our homemade scratch blends are also a rich source of dietary fat.
• The 6 different ingredients in our mix offer a wide range of different amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. This is before she’s given any greens, sprouts, garden weeds, kitchen veggie scraps or free range time. The chances of her suffering from a debilitating nutrient deficiency from homemade feed is low if she gets a few of these additional healthy inputs. Lentils are known to be low in the amino acid methionine, which is essential for poultry. Poultry, beef, pork, and other meats are all high sources of methionine (this is one reason why chickens are omnivores) but sunflower seeds and quinoa are also good sources of this amino acid. Nuts are another good source. Feeding a wide variety of whole foods each week as “treats” is the best way to ensure your hens stay healthy.
• Hens who are thriving on a homemade feed will have bright clear eyes, smooth looking feathers with plush cushions (the mound of feathers just before her tail) and plenty of fluffy down under her tail with a vent that is clean. Her feathers may look powdery soft or gorgeously glossy depending on her breed or genetic ancestry. If you pick her up, she should feel slightly heavy for her size and her breast should have a little meaty plumpness to it. (Mediterranean breeds and lighter weight birds like Easter Eggers or bantams won’t have as much breast plumpness as dual purpose breed hens.)
• Hens with dull, shredded looking feathers or patches of missing feathers who rush at you, standing fully alert and ready to tear food out of your hands are suffering from hunger or a nutrient deficiency. If your hens will ignore their feed in order to first eat any egg shells you toss back to them, they are calcium deficient and need flaked oyster shell immediately. (I once observed this behavior in my hens while on a commercial feed that the label said was adequate. Yet it clearly left my flock suffering and their egg shells thinned.) Nutrients in whole foods and natural seeds are known to be more bio-available than synthetic vitamins added to commercial feeds so feel good about offering healthy fruits, veggies, and greens!
Some Helpful FAQ’s:
Hens are stinkers! They are going to eat every meal worm they can get their beak on first, even if they must empty the entire hopper and stand in a pile of spilled feed to do so. Next they will begin to pick through the feed mix for whatever is their personal favorite. For some it will be corn and others the wheat berries. Early afternoon hunger will encourage them to eat up everything else then begin to search for tidbits they may have missed. Spilled whole grains will actually stimulate the hens to engage in natural scratching and pecking behavior, which they find to be a pleasant boredom-busting activity. Don’t worry about them eating meal worms first, they do eventually relax and eat the entirety of the feed.
The best part about homemade whole grain chicken feeds is that every single thing (except the meal worms) will sprout and grow when it comes into contact with natural moisture from the ground. Hens LOVE swollen, sprouting seeds so they will be gobbled up almost as soon as they germinate. These forgotten seeds that swell undergo a process that makes them even more nutritious. It’s a win-win all the way around!
You will see this behavior the first week your flock is on a new homemade feed. The hens can hardly help it – this is the most delicious mix you have ever provided. Higher ranking girls tend to peck away the younger hens so they can glut themselves. It may be a full 7 days before everyone calms down and begins to get their balanced fair share. This can be helped by providing two different feeding areas, like a full hopper in the coop and an open feed pan elsewhere in the run. The older hens will eat whichever one you fill first and the younger girls will be allowed to eat at the second feed station with less bullying. Greedy hens will immediately seek green foods to help balance their diets if they ate only their favorite bits so provide greens if possible, especially the first week.
This recipe, at 16% protein, is ideal for layers who are at least 16 weeks of age and older. It does not contain enough protein for chicks or growing juveniles. If you’re in a situation where you MUST feed it to juveniles 6 to 15 weeks old, combine the grains only into one bin and stir to combine. From this bin measure out 9.25 cups of grain mix and add to it 1 full cup of meal worms. This makes a blend that is roughly 18% protein and 4.98% fat. You may need to crack the whole grains in a blender before adding meal worms for 6 to 8 week old chicks and all chicks must be given grit in order to digest grains.
100% Real Homemade Chicken Feed Recipes
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Whole Grain Chicken Scratch Recipes
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Would the hens consume the same amount of this recipe as they would a store bought feed? I’d like to try to do a cost comparison. Thanks.
Hi Rachel!
Hens tend to eat about 1/2 cup of feed per day, whether it is a commercial crumble or grain mix because the crop of a 3-5 pound hen tends to hold about 1/2 cup. I gave my hens the same amount of this homemade feed as the commercial crumbles and they did fine! You should expect this whole grain recipe with meal worms to be MUCH more expensive per pound than commercial pelleted feed, which uses cheaper, bulk-purchased ingredients. Since there’s no fish meal powder (like the premium whole grain bagged feeds typically contain), it is near zero waste, which is nice!