HUGE FEED SAVINGS! Small Scale Feed Mixing at Home!
Huge feed savings! Small scale feed mixing at home! In this video, Tim explains how to save money by mixing your own feed at home! Save money and create better quality feed at home following our simple to follow instructions!
#sheep #goat #hobbyfarm
Rather you are new to raising sheep and goats, a hobby farmer, a seasoned professional, or just curious about feeding sheep, goats, lambs, and goat kids, this video is for you! Are you spending too much on complicated feed mixes from the local farm store? Would you like to save a ton of money and have your livestock actually perform better? This video will teach you everything you need to know about mixing feed at home to include feed additives, how to calculate feed rations, the tools and equipment needed to mix feed at home, and more! You don't need a lot of expensive equipment or gadgets to do this yourself! Anyone can mix feed at home and Linessa Farms, LLC is going to show you how!
All our videos at Linessa Farms, LLC are made specifically for viewers like you. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us and we will make a video to help answer your question if applicable! Feel free to contact us any time at www.linessafarms.com
Please subscribe! Check out our other videos at www.linessafarms.com
Be sure to check us out on instagram at linessa_farms
If you have questions or would like us to make a video for you, please feel free to contact us anytime at customerservice@linessafarms.com
Thanks again for watching!
Make sure to check out our other videos for great tips regarding sheep, goats, hobby farms, and more!
www.hunternutrition.com
Dear sir, After watching an exhausting amount of feed clips on KZhead, I’ve realised your clip is THE most informative and detailed one I have ever watched. A very big thank you. I believe you have have the best interest of viewers on your mind when narrating your clips. I wish the very best for you and your family for all you have done. Please keep up the excellent work. Your efforts are GREATLY appreciated. God bless.
This video was helpful. The only thing I wish it had were possible alternatives to the soy and corn possibly.
THANK YOU! I've been guessing at mixing my grains for sheep and cattle, and your math sure helped me understand where to go from here.
Thank you for watching our videos! We normally respond right away but somehow you got lost in the shuffle. We are glad to hear this helped you out. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
Feel like I’ve ‘come home for good advice’; I was born in Rensselaer, raised in Morocco, reside in Alaska. Just bought our first dairy goat. NEEDED this info! Thank you so much
Hi Debra! Thank you for the kind words and thank you for watching our videos. I was actually stationed in Fairbanks for many years. I always enjoyed Alaska and our oldest daughter was actually born there. If you need any help with goat issues, please keep us in mind.
@@LinessaFarms My hubby is Tim too (always a fav name!); you’re my new favorite place! Heading to your website now; my dad and brother still live in Newton County; May need to come visit ya’; please look us up if you come north. God Bless 😃
@@LinessaFarms Thanks for the info. Can i ferment their feed in water like people do for chickens?
Thank you for the information.
Rather than cleaning our frequently used cement mixer I bought one of those monster auger drill bits marketed for making holes to plant trees - it's about as long as my forearm and wider than my hand is long. I put all my ingredients in a metal rubbish bin and mix with a drill - carefully! If I'm inattentive and pull the trigger too hard and fast while lifting the drill I end up wearing the grain mix surrounded by happy hens :P
That’s a great idea. 👍🏻 Sounds like a fine art. 😬
Thank you so much for this information. 😊
You’re very welcome. Thank you for watching!
Great video. thank you
You’re welcome. Thank you for your feedback.
Thank you so much for this information.
Glad to help. Thank you!
I needed this video ....thx.
You are welcome. Thank you!
The mixer is GENIUS!! Although I don't feed soybean... Cause soy contains estrogen-like chemicals called isoflavones. I've learned this from feeding horses.
Thanks for watching our videos and thanks for taking the time to leave us a message. We appreciate it. Soybeans are hard to avoid in sheep and goat feed but we appreciate you keeping up on what you’re feeding. We hope to be hearing from you again in the future.
@@LinessaFarms this was so informational! Thank you fur the video. What are your thoughts on feeding barley?
thanks for all the good information your giving us, i wonder, do you make your own mineralsalt for sheep?
We don’t make our minerals from scratch. It’s too easy for us to mess up here on the farm. We have a few different formulas put together for us by a feed mill near our home. You can see and purchase our mixes at www.linessafarms.com
Thank you for your very informative video's. Question: How do you determine how much limestone and biomos you add?
The biomos will have very specific instructions on the bag. Limestone can be added at a rate of 1-2 pounds per 100 pounds of feed (1-2%).
Love you you tube
Thanks for your work on these! I just got into goats after years with my gateway drug, chickens, and love them. Paying $22 a bag for mixed feed is a little expensive, as you point out...not so bad for the small herd we have, but getting into yard clearing and petting zoo/education work as we're planning to, it'll add up. Being an old grumpy math/science/CS teacher, I appreciate your emphasis on the science parts of every video I've watched. Question, though...you went with the next size up cement mixer. How much of, say, a 50# bag of feed can you mix at a time with that? I'm looking at the price difference between the 3 1/2 cu ft and the 1 1/4 cu ft models and wondering where the reality of weight/repetition/time breaks in there.
Seems like I can only mix about 50-75 pounds well at a time regardless of the mixer size. If you pack it too full, it just doesn’t seem to do a good enough job evenly coating the dry material around and we start seeing clumps. I wouldn’t go any smaller than a 3 cu ft based on my experience. Good old Harbor Freight mixers seem to work ok. I doubt they would hold up long with cement but since the weight of the feed is significantly less, we can get a good 3-4 years out of one.
Very helpful! I'm in Spencer and a boat newbie - still making lots of mistakes. For your goats do you add the anti-coccidia to your feed? If so, when do you use it?
You should consider adding medication to your animals in confinement and your babies up to about 5 months of age. All our babies get anti coccidiosis medication. You can pick up decoquinate at TSC. It will be in a bag labeled sheep and goat DQ medication feed or something similar to that.
I’m about 15 minutes in. I’m struggling with goat polio and I was told it could be feed related. I mix my own ration very similar process and ingredients. To cut cost I get used cooking oil from our local convenient store for free. It’s soybean oil and they seem to like the taste of the used fryer oil.
Hello amber. I dont know much about the used oil as we’ve never used it or heard of anyone using it. Goat polio would be a vitamin B deficiency. Good healthy gut bacteria is a helpful way to make sure they keep their vitamin B levels up. You may want to consider a good free choice mineral for moms and routine vitamin B injections until they are eating creep and hay well.
Vitamin B1 deficiency. That’s what I understand. I think vitamin B supplements are pretty important in goats diets especially when treating them for parasites. I’m learning a lot from Tim and this channel.
Vitamin B1 deficiency. That’s what I understand. I think vitamin B supplements are pretty important in goats diets especially when treating them for parasites. I’m learning a lot from Tim and this channel.
I am a new subscriber. Where do you buy your Bio mas and other special ingredients? Thanks
We use and recommend Hunter Nutrition. They arguably have some of the best quality products in the United States and they ship pretty much everywhere. Order online, mail in, or call them to find out where local distributors are in your area. www.hunternutrition.com
Thank you for your subscription.
Just want to make sure i hot this right for our adults i could do the 6part corn 2 part oat 1 part SBM... 1 c limestone...1 cup molasses..what else should i add for complete nutrition?
thank you very useful information, my question is how much does a 40 kg ram feeder cost.
Hello and thanks for the question. The cost for us to produce high quality, 16% protein feed at our location is about $9 US dollars for 50 pounds. This would equate to $15.87 US dollars for 40kg. Much of the cost is based off the current prices in your area for the ingredients.
You have a Komondor? I have a Komondor Pyrenees mix. Fantastic guardian!
That’s really cool. It would be neat to see what the coat is like. Our full Komondor were a little too aggressive with our animals and we switched to GP which we wish were a little more aggressive. Sounds like a good mix.
@@LinessaFarms Thanks. He’s white with a light tan saddle. Think Old English Sheepdog coat with scattered cords, some cords on chest, belly and flanks. I trim him for Texas summers. He was a rescue and needed a flock when I needed a dog.
Hey new subscriber here! Thanks for the great content. I just have a few questions if you don't mind answering. I am gonna be getting some goats soon (of Beetal variety) here in Pak. But I am a complete noob in this field. From my research I know that you have to feed a balanced diet, depending upon the purpose/type of breed. I will be mainly rearing goats for meat. I will be feeding my goats alfalfa/grass hay/goat feed mix/minerals/etc. For the goat feed mix, soybean is an expensive source of protein here in Pak, what alternative do you recommend for protein portion? I will try recreating your formula as shown in the video and see how it works for me. Also, do you know if there is like any book available that teaches you stuff like this? Finally, any advice for someone just entering this business? Thanks!
This is a tough question. You will have to talk to your local feed distributor and see if you have any high protein grains available. Soybean is near 40% so you will have to check and see what (if any) your alternatives are. This book is your best option. www.premier1supplies.com/p/pipestones-veterinary-guide-to-sheep-and-goats?criteria=Pipestone%26%2339%3Bs+Veterinary+Guide+to+Sheep+and+Goats&species_id=0&cat_id=0
How do you determine how much molasses to add? Does the protein percentage have anything to do with the amount of molasses added?
Hello! Thank you for watching our videos and thank you for the question. Molasses helps in 3 ways. 1. It makes the food more appealing to the babies and helps to increase their desire to eat it. 2. Molasses helps to provide energy to the lambs and kids in the form of sugar. Molasses also has many beneficial nutrients such as iron, b vitamins, selenium, etc... 3. Molasses keeps feed from being dusty and also works well to make the food sticky and thus giving a more even feed consistently. For example, if we add limestone to our feed, we do it after it has been coated with molasses. This allows the limestone to stick to the feed evenly. We generally add about 3 cups of molasses per 50 pounds of feed but you can experiment and see what works best for you. 👍🏻
@@LinessaFarms Thank you 😊
Can you please share your feeding instructions i.e. how many cups of the finished feed do I feed each goat? Please tell me how many cups/lbs per adult goat and baby goat. Thank you!!!
I am in the process of putting this video together for you now. Sorry about the delay.
How much do the additives dilute the protein %? Do you calculate that in?
Yes. You have to calculate that in. We have a video showing you how to calculate the protein levels. kzhead.info/sun/fNyoZdWDraZ6eY0/bejne.htmlsi=i5OHU0GpA-mgKfgw
I’m getting two Boer goats to be pets. Would it best to use what they’ve been eating currently before changing feed for a period of time. I’d like to mix my own feed but don’t want to shock or cause digestive problems. This video helped a lot - still learning
Hello, Mary. Yes. It would be helpful to slow transition them over to the new feed. We will usually mix old feed in with ours over the period of a week or so.
@@LinessaFarms good idea, didn’t think of that 🙄 thanks
How much oil do you add per hundred lbs. I use an old Montgomery mixer and it will easily mix 75 lbs. I have been grinding my own chicken feed for years and just started with goats and sheep. Thanks for the tip on Hunter Nutrition.
I would start at 3 cups molasses and 1-1/2 cup oil/top dress per hundred pounds and see what you think of the consistency. I have thick molasses from my supplier but I’ve also seen it very thin. I just want enough to coat my feed and allow equal distribution of my powdery/dry materials. Too much wet stuff is just a waste of your money. In a nutshell, you want as little as possible to do the job. Hope this helps. Let us know how this works for you. Also, we have a brand new online forum you can checkout at ableapprentice.com
@@LinessaFarms Thanks for your video and info. I just ordered Show Pro Gold for my oil and have adjusted my molasses down. My first batch had too much and what you recommended sounds about right. I plan on using the oil as a binder for my chicken feed as well. That was new information to me and I had been concerned that the Fertrell's Nutribalancer and calcium carbonate I was adding was not being distributed equally. This should reduce the dust as well. Thanks again for the info. BTW, I joined the able apprentice forum you suggested.
@@LinessaFarms I got my Show Pro Gold today and did a mix using your instructions. Everything went well until I dug a hole in the mix, poured in my molasses and covered it up. After the mix was done I still had lumps of molasses, but at least it did not coat my mixer. I believe my molasses is too thick and since it is cold, it makes it thicker. I read on a UC Davis pdf that heating the molasses of up to 110° and adding enough water to lower the brix from 80 to 70. Since I don't have a brix meter, I would be guessing. Too much water and it could be problematic. If you have any advice on water to add, let me know. I would guess no more than 5-10% of the volume but that is a wild guess. Any thoughts you may have would be welcome. BTW, I ordered one of those metal oil cans with a flexible spout and though of dribbling it in while the mixer was running if I could get it thin enough to go through the spout.
When we first started mixing on our farm, I was getting clumps as well, specifically during the winter months. A few things I found that helped. 1. I always try to keep my molasses in my shop/warm until I go to use it. 2. I mix the molasses with large pellets and corn first and then add additional ingredients that have a powder form last. So, things like soybean meal, limestone, even my oats... won’t get added to the mix until after pellets, corn, cracked corn are coated. My number one item that wants to cause clumping is the soybean meal and I always add that at the very end. 3. A little bit of the molasses will surprisingly go a long way depending on how pure the molasses is. Aim to use as little as possible to coat the feed. 4. Unfortunately, the cold weather makes it tricky in general... mixing the feed up here in NW Indiana during the winter months for sure makes it more difficult. Hopefully this helped? Let us know. Thanks for keeping us posted on your progress, it is appreciated.
@@LinessaFarms Your suggestion makes sense. I will let you know how that works out. I am going to assume I add the oil before the molasses as usual so the oil & molasses are coating the large items before adding soy and powders.
Do you feed beerwaste for goats and what is the effects of it regarding fertility issues. Thanks.
We have not fed our goats any brewing waste but we have multiple friends that have without any issues. It is difficult to say if anything will hurt your goats because all brewing ingredients change based off the type of beer being made. I think it is relatively safe to feed brewing waste as most of it is just fermented grain. Sorry we weren’t able to give you more information.
Fed sheep with spent grain from a nearby brewery for years. No issues that i know of
How Long can you store the mixet product? Or do I have to mixet it dayli??
Thanks for watching our videos! Mixed feed will keep for a month or more as long as you keep it in a container with a lid. We like to use plastic garbage cans. We usually don’t keep more than a week or 2 on hand. You’ll definitely want to watch out for mice!
Can my chickens have all stock feed with molasses , cracked corn & pellets this is what we use for our goats and steers ?
Hello and thanks for the question! Your all stock feed won’t hurt them but it may not have enough copper for any of your livestock, specifically the goats and the birds. Next time you’re in the farm store, take a picture of the labels on goat and chicken food and compare it to the label on the stock feed you are purchasing to see where you’re at nutrition wise... also, be cautious about your calcium to phosphorus ratio. See our video about urinary calculi, please.
We have launched a brand new forum for questions and answers! Be sure to check this out at ableapprentice.com
You can also watch our video on “sheep and goats together” which will tell you about the copper bolus option for your goats.
Thank you so much for your reply and have a Great day !
Hello, after making this feed how much of the feed do u feed a sheep per head in a day. And can this feed cause bloating???
Hello and thanks for watching our videos. Generally, hay and roughage is more of a bloating concern than grain (as long as intake is controlled). You can start with 1 pound per head per day and move up to 2-2.5 pounds per head per day. Hopefully this helps!
Can you do a video on how to mix without buying specialty pellets? Nobody out west carries these, and its $400 to ship a small pallet of them from Hunter
Already did it. kzhead.info/sun/oZ2GlstqeWljhZE/bejne.html
You can also purchase small quantities of feed from our company! www.foundationfeed.com
If feeding 1 flake hay per head, and 2% body weight in feed. How much feed could be subtracted by supplementing in a weekly amount of 7 large carrots, 1.2 sunflower heads, 1 small butternut, and 0.5 small sweet potatoes per head? I've read various information regarding this and was curious as to your thoughts on it.
Also with the addition of barley fodder fed at 1-2% weight per head. With all of that combined (the hay, fodder, veggies) im uncertain as to how much mixed feed they should get...
Holly, I think your mix of feed is great and gives them lots of different, natural ingredients and natural forms of vitamins as well. Nutritional value will change based on multiple factors AND nutritional requirements of the livestock will change as well due to lots of factors from temperatures, age, stress, pregnancy, etc. There is no complete answer. If you average 1 pound of quality feed, such as yours, per head per day, that’s a great place to start. Monitor your animal’s fat cover and body condition by feeling the ribs on their side. If you feel all ribs, they are too thin. If you feel no ribs at all, they are getting over conditioned. The “perfect” fat cover and body condition will feel almost like the top/back of your hand. That is to say, you can just barely feel the ribs but not too much or too little. Adjust your feed accordingly. We know many farms that change their feed constantly or seasonally. Don’t stress about it. Just keep an eye on them and you’ll be fine. If you have nutritional concerns, you can add a good free choice mineral specifically designed for their species. 👍🏻
@@LinessaFarms thank you so much!!! I also really appreciate you explaining the markers on condition, that was much easier to understand than other ways ive heard it explained. I feel much more confident now with my feed route. As always, I'll be sure to follow up with my vet as needed. Thanks again! Keep up the amazing videos ❤️
What can you use instead of soybean or beet pulp?
It would depend on what you’re trying to do. There are a wide variety of things you can mix into feed. Cotton seed hulls, oats, barley, soy bean hulls, whole corn, cracked corn, alfalfa pellets. A lot depends on your geographical location and goals.
How much bio mos do you add?
The specific bio mos product you use should have directions for mixing. We have actually stopped using it because we weren’t seeing any overall benefits/changes to warrant its use. We have switched over to a brewers yeast product which seems to actually have better results and is a fraction of the cost of bio mos. I have looked at quite a few studies showing it’s effects are marginal at best as well. Although, if you are simply looking at it as an overall gut health product, I still think it’s pretty good. The brewers yeast product we use can be found here: linessafarms.com/product/brewmaster-brewers-yeast-10-pounds/ We have a few products which contain bio mos. These are our high octane fill pellet and club and spade show pellet.
@@LinessaFarms okay thanks. I just ordered some 😂 so I suppose I’ll give it a shot. I just didn’t know if you knew approx how much per ton of feed for instance. The directions I’ve found says 5g a day with no other references other than that.
@@whatifyourwrong9153 yes. If you are using the alltech bio mos right out of the bag, it’s advised rate is 5g per head per day.
@@LinessaFarms yeah that’s what I ordered. I’m going to be getting 500lb batches mixed at my mill so I gotta figure about how much I should add
is the 20.3% protien ration only for lambs or is it for all age sheep?
Hello Kori and thank you for watching our videos. The 20% ration is more of a young lamb or show lamb ration while they are growing and a producer is really wanting to maximize their potential. While we keep our lambs on a 20% ration for the first month or so, we will then drop back to a 14-16% ration until weaning. Our show lambs will get the 20% ration until we are done showing them (that is complicated and show feeding is a whole video series yet to be made). 😬 Our adults get 1 flake of good hay per head per day and 1/2 pound of 12% grain per day as well. This is more than enough for them to maintain a good body condition. Once babies are born we will usually up grain amount to help assist with lactation and then drop back down after weaning. When our ewes are on pasture during the summer months, they get no grain at all. This is what works for us but you will have to play it by ear to see what works for you. Generally speaking, 12% ration for adults is standard. There are situations which may call for higher protein % such as a sick animal you are trying to nurse back to health or maybe an animal you purchased which is underweight. Thanks for watching our videos and we hope this response was helpful. Please let us know if we can help in any other way.
thank you so much for replying, i’d like to say how much you’re video helped me, you explained the math so well and it just made so much sense, I have another question. I’m having a hard time finding the 40% lamp pellet you were talking about in your video, could you add a link to it or something like that, Thanks!
Kori, we don’t know where you are located but you will want to contact Hunter Nutrition in order to get the 40% mix. Hunter Nutrition Ships all over the United States! The product you are looking for is called “40% lamb supplement” and is located on page 7 of their catalog. It will cost you something in the neighborhood of $17 for a 50# bag. You can see Hunter Nutrition’s virtual catalog at www.hunternutrition.com You can also call their office Mon-Fri at 765.563.1003. We do not get compensated in any way for sending customers to this company; they are simply the best in the United States. 👍🏻🥳😬
How many cups a day do each animal get?
Billy Gaudet if you’re just maintaining, you can give about 8oz per head per day.
Please sir,am in Yaounde Cameroon,can I add cracked corn with soya beans which is not crack, and how long can I separate the baby goat from the mother
Cracked corn is safe to add to most rations without concern. If you would like to add cracked corn to any feed, it should be fine. You will not want to keep weaning babies apart from their mother for longer than 8 hours. That would be the maximum amount of time you would want to separate them. Newborns should not be away from their mother any more than necessary and definitely no more than 4 hours.
@@LinessaFarms l really, appreciate you for replying to me,I wish to link with an NGO that may help women, and training them how to care for goat and sheep, to sell and make income for them self sir
@@LinessaFarms Beef is a major source of protein and source for income,am willing to join this NGO in any part of Africa to teach women how to rear goats and sheep to make income and be better
Anybody use calf manna . Alfalfa pellet and oats with molasses
Foundation Feed also sells a 40-45% protein pellet specifically for sheep or goats. www.foundationfeed.com
Watching this video in May 2022…corn at TSC has gone from $7 per 50lb bag at the time this video was made, to $16 per bag now and rising. 😮 sheesh…
That’s not cool. They are basically at 100% mark-up. Whole shell corn is at 7.88 a bushel this morning. Contact your local elevator/co-op and have them fill some containers for you. $16 a bag for corn is not acceptable.
Do you feed corn to your male animals?
Hello Joe. Thanks for the question. We do feed corn to our male animals (rams and bucks) on our farms BUT there are some considerations you should make. First and foremost, we do not, nor do we recommend only feeding corn to any male sheep or goat. We feed a complete, balanced mix of feed that contains vitamins and nutrients the animals need. Our main source of protein in our feeds is soybean. Our feed also contains selenium and other vitamins required to maintain good overall health. Male sheep and goats are susceptible to urinary calculi which are primarily formed by phosphorus salts. It is important to have a diet consisting of low phosphorus and adequate calcium in order to avoid this. In some cases, additions such as ammonium chloride to your feed ration can help as well. At the end of the day calcium to phosphorus ratios need to be at least 2:1 to prevent calculi. General mineral blocks are not enough to offset this imbalance. Good quality legume hay and lots of adequate water intake will also help. If you have any other questions, please let us know!
@@LinessaFarms I;'m going to assume this is only in males? Casterated Males?
Intact males are more susceptible to calculus than castrated males in my opinion but some people will tell you there is no difference and others will tell you that castrated males are more prone. I don’t have a good answer for you. I treat all males the same regardless if they are castrated or not.
How much of the biomass do you add?
excellent video, but the background music is really not necessary, even annoying. Eva
Yeah…. We’ve come a long way from some of our early videos. We agree.
At what age should I introduce the kids to grains
We introduce our kids to grain at birth although they will generally not go after it until they are 1-2 weeks of age.
Do you still make your own feed?
Yes! We sure do.
@@LinessaFarms that’s awesome! Thank you for the video. We have our first 6 Tunis and we are excited! Do you recommend free choice or regulated?
3 min before starting topic.
But what is the actual saving in doing this I really like the idea of having a better quality feed at a lower cost. But the math has to be done on each ingredient to get the actual cost what is you’re price per pound for your 12.8 and you’re 20% feed sir.
Price will vary based on the price of commodities and geographical location. With this being said and due to the commodities market, prices quite literally change per day. Currently our price for comparable products yield a savings of approximately .10 per pound which equates to approximately $5 per 50lb bag. Historically speaking our savings averages between $4-6 per 50 pounds of feed mixed. The more leg work customers do to find cheaper products, the more savings they will realize. All of our farm mixed products are corn based. By purchasing bulk corn from farmers, feed mills, or co-operatives, price is based on bushel. There are 56 pounds of corn in a bushel and current prices are around $6.50 per bushel. There are other costs to consider such as equipment, transport, etc…. Again, a lot of this comes down to the purchaser. We purchase molasses in bulk and pay $12 for 50 pounds. Compare that to what people would pay at a grocery store and there is a huge difference. Likewise, we pay $10 for a 50lb bag of sodium bicarbonate… I think you’re seeing my point.
@@LinessaFarms yes I see it am trying to get it together if I can get my feed down to 6 dollars per 50 pounds wow that would be so awesome. 6.50 divided by 56 pounds with your base corn of .116 every thing will have to be cheaper then the corn is that the case most of the time? Or would most of the savings be in the corn it’s self. Thank you for the information sir.
Your biggest savings will be on the corn. The cheaper you can get it, the better off you will be since this will be the bulk of your feed. Talk to local farms and grain elevators/co-ops to see what they can do for you.
@@LinessaFarms thank you sir am trying