Homemade Grain Ration

This is the mix I’ve used for my milking does for at least a decade. I separate each component and feed it in separate feeders to rabbits and chickens. It’s a versatile combination of grains that can be used for just about every type of livestock I’ve raised. It is also locally readily available so I buy each grain by the ton, allowing for maximum cost savings but requiring organization of ample storage space.

The mix is simple:

• 2 parts whole barley
• 2 parts whole oats
• 1 part field peas

These are available online at sources like Azure Standard or New Country Organics, but if you can find local sources you’ll save a lot of money.

Now let’s calculate the total protein percent of the ration.  First, we’ll use feedipedia.org data to find the crude protein percent of each component.

• Barley 12%
• Oats 11%
• Cull peas 24%

My recipe is in parts, but for ease of translation, let’s assume each part is one pound.  To calculate the overall protein, we add up the protein percentage for each pound in the ration.  Since there are two pounds each of barley and oats, we would add up two barleys and two oats, so it would look like this:

12% + 12% + 11% + 11% + 24% = 70.  Then we would divide that by the total pounds in our ration, which would be five for this example: 70/5 = 14, so the protein % of this ration is 14.  If we needed more protein, we could increase the peas to an equal part.  The math would then look like this:

12% + 12% + 11% + 11% + 24% + 24% = 94.  94/6 = 16%.

Keep in mind when determining how much protein you need in your grain that your total protein includes all sources of feed, so don’t forget to look at your hay as well.  Alfalfa, for example, already comes in at ample protein with 18.4% average crude protein – yet another reason I like it for my hay ration.

Tip: The Clemson calculator has pretty similar numbers to the Feedipedia data, so if you don’t want to do the calculations manually you can simply go here and enter your feed ingredients to let it do the work for you.  The above screenshot shows what it looks like in a sample ration that is quite close to what my Nigerian Dwarf milkers might eat in a given day.

Something I have considered but not yet implemented is to offer these separately to the goats as well.  Chickens and rabbits demonstrate their ability to self select based on their changing dietary needs, so it makes sense that when being milked, goats may prefer one over the other at a given time.  Please let me know if you try this.

Continue the discussion in the Nutrition forum.