Backyard chickens are the homesteader’s goldmine—offering fresh eggs, pest control, compost ingredients, and endless entertainment. But feeding them organically can quickly add up, especially if you’re buying pre-made organic feed. The good news? You don’t have to compromise your flock’s health (or your budget) to feed them well.
With a little planning and some DIY creativity, you can provide your chickens with a nutrient-rich, balanced, and affordable organic diet—right from your homestead.
🌾 Why Feeding Backyard Chickens Organically is Better?
Organic chicken feed avoids synthetic pesticides, GMOs, artificial additives, and questionable byproducts. The benefits include:
- Healthier chickens
- More nutrient-dense eggs
- Reduced exposure to toxins
- Better soil and garden when manure is used as compost
- Aligns with sustainable, regenerative homesteading values
But store-bought organic feed can be $30–$50 per bag. That’s where DIY and smart sourcing comes in.
🧠 What Do Chickens Need in Their Diet?
Chickens are omnivores with a few key dietary needs:
- Protein (16–20% average for laying hens)
- Carbohydrates for energy
- Healthy fats
- Vitamins and minerals (especially calcium for laying hens)
- Grit (helps them digest food)
- Fresh water (always!)
Laying hens in particular need extra calcium and protein to sustain daily egg production.
🥣 DIY Organic Chicken Feed Recipe
Here’s a well-balanced starter recipe you can tweak depending on what’s available and affordable locally. This mix makes roughly 25–30 lbs.
🧺 Base Ingredients:
- 10 lbs organic cracked corn – energy
- 10 lbs organic whole wheat or barley – carbs
- 5 lbs organic oats – energy + nutrients
- 3 lbs split peas or lentils – protein
- 2 lbs black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS) – fat, protein, calcium
- 1 cup kelp meal – trace minerals
- ½ cup flaxseeds or flax meal – omega-3s
- 1 cup crushed eggshells or oyster shell – calcium
- ½ cup food-grade diatomaceous earth (optional) – pest control and minerals
Optional Boosters:
- Brewer’s yeast – B-vitamins
- Garlic powder – immunity and anti-parasitic
- Dried herbs (like oregano, thyme, parsley) – immune boosters
Mix well and store in a dry, rodent-proof container. Feed approximately 1/4 pound per hen per day (more if they’re actively laying or molting).
💡 Tips to Keep Costs Low
🛒 Buy in Bulk:
- Use a local feed co-op, bulk grain supplier, or local farm.
- Look for bulk bins at natural grocery stores for peas, lentils, and oats.
🐣 Supplement With What You Grow or Scraps:
- Garden greens: Chickens love kale, lettuce, beet tops, cabbage
- Pumpkin & squash: High in nutrients, naturally deworming
- Weeds: Dandelion, chickweed, purslane = free food
- Sunflower heads: Grow your own BOSS
- Herbs: Parsley, mint, oregano, basil boost immunity
- Kitchen scraps: Leftover rice, veggies, and fruit (avoid onions, citrus, and raw potatoes)
🐛 Let Them Forage:
- Bugs, grubs, grass, and worms are protein-rich and natural for chickens.
- Rotate them through your garden beds post-harvest.
- Let them scratch in your compost pile (great for breaking it down!).
🌱 Grow Some of Their Feed!
If you’re serious about cutting costs, grow your own chicken food. These crops are easy and productive:
- Grains: Corn, wheat, barley, millet
- Legumes: Peas, lentils, cowpeas
- Sunflowers: Seeds are high in fat and protein
- Squash & pumpkins: Store well, chickens love them
- Greens: Swiss chard, kale, alfalfa
Even a small garden patch can yield enough to supplement your feed for months.
🪨 Grit & Calcium
Chickens need grit to digest food.
- Provide coarse sand, crushed granite, or store-bought poultry grit in a separate dish.
Laying hens need added calcium.
- Crushed eggshells (baked to sanitize and ground up)
- Oyster shell (can be free-fed separately)
Never mix grit or calcium directly into their daily feed—let them self-regulate.
🚫 What Not to Feed Chickens
Avoid these to keep your flock safe:
- Moldy food
- Salty foods
- Uncooked or green potatoes
- Avocado pits/skins
- Chocolate or caffeine
- Raw beans
- Citrus (in large amounts)
- Processed junk foods
🧺 Budget Feed Breakdown: Real Numbers
Here’s a sample of approximate cost breakdown when sourced smartly in bulk (prices vary by region):
| Ingredient | Cost per lb | Amount Used | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organic cracked corn | $0.45 | 10 lbs | $4.50 |
| Organic wheat/barley | $0.40 | 10 lbs | $4.00 |
| Organic oats | $0.60 | 5 lbs | $3.00 |
| Split peas/lentils | $0.75 | 3 lbs | $2.25 |
| Sunflower seeds | $1.20 | 2 lbs | $2.40 |
| Oyster shell | $0.60 | 1 lb | $0.60 |
| Kelp meal | $2.50 | 1 cup | $1.25 |
| TOTAL (~30 lbs) | — | — | ~$18 |
That’s about $0.60/lb, half the price of most pre-bagged organic feeds!
🥚 Bonus: Better Eggs, Happier Hens
Chickens raised on a varied, natural, and organic diet produce:
- Yolkier, tastier, nutrient-rich eggs
- Thicker shells
- More consistent laying
- Stronger immunity and less illness
Plus, they’ll live longer and scratch around like nature intended.
🐔 Final Thoughts
Feeding your chickens organically doesn’t mean breaking the bank. With a mix of bulk ingredients, garden scraps, and a little homestead creativity, you can keep your flock thriving on a clean, sustainable, nutrient-dense diet.
Let your chickens be part of the ecosystem—scratching, composting, and thriving. You’ll see the results in every egg.