A Guide on How to Grow Your Own Chicken Feed

Inside: Grow your own chicken feed with nutrient-rich plants and seeds that boost flock health, improve nutrition, and reduce your homestead feed bill.

Raising backyard chickens is rewarding—but feed costs can add up fast. Whether you’re looking to supplement commercial chicken feed or move toward a more DIY chicken feed approach, growing your own chicken feed is a great way to lower expenses, improve nutrition, and gain more control over your backyard flock’s diet. The good news? You don’t need a lot of land or money to do it: just a little planning, the right plants, and common sense.

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Table of Contents

Why Grow Your Own Feed?

Commercial chicken feed, especially organic feed, can be expensive and full of animal fats and soybean meal. Making or supplementing with your own feed allows you to use organic ingredients, kitchen scraps, fresh greens, and other nutritious food sources from your garden or compost pile.

Growing your own also:

Reduces feed costs
Improves nutritional value
Offers fresh greens and high-protein food
Supports a balanced diet for both layer chickens and meat chickens
Makes for healthier chickens and nutritious eggs

The Best Plants to Grow for Chicken Feed

Sprouted Grains and Legumes

Sprouts are packed with vitamin C, fatty acids, and essential nutrients.

Mung beans, wheat, barley, lentils, and field peas sprout quickly and are easy to grow indoors year-round.
Soak, rinse, and sprout in jars. In a couple of weeks, you’ll have a nutritious, high-protein snack your chickens will love.

Great option for the winter months when greens are scarce.

Black Oil Sunflower Seeds (BOSS)

These are one of the main ingredients in many homemade chicken feed recipes.

High in fatty acids, amino acids, and protein.
Easy to grow in a sunny spot.
Use the entire plant—chickens enjoy the greens and seeds.

Harvest and store in a dry place for year-round use.

Herbs for Happy Chickens

Herbs are a great addition to the chicken's diet and can support overall health.

Oregano, thyme, parsley, comfrey, and basil are top picks.
Grow in containers or raised beds in or near the chicken coop.
Use fresh or dried in smaller quantities.

Herbs may reduce parasites and boost immunity.

Flowers and Seeds

Not just for beauty—flowers are a good plant for chickens, too.

Calendula, nasturtiums, echinacea, and marigolds provide nutritional value and help with digestion.
Sunflowers and zinnias attract insects for a bonus protein source.

Plant around the coop or use chicken tractors to rotate access.

Greens and Cover Crops

Leafy greens are one of the best things you can grow for your flock.

Kale, lettuce, mustard greens, turnip greens, and alfalfa hay.
Consider planting a cover crop like clover or field peas to restore soil and offer grazing.

Protect new growth with fencing or frames so chickens don’t eat it all too soon.

Where to Grow It: In and Around the Chicken Run

You don’t need enough land for full-scale grain crops. Focus on smaller quantities and smart placement:

In the run: Use raised beds, grow bags, or vertical towers. Keep some plants in cages or behind hardware cloth so they can grow while chickens peck off leaves.
Outside the run: Grow in separate gardens and bring in harvested plants, clippings, and seeds.
Movable chicken tractors: Let your flock forage on different areas without overgrazing.

Rotate and protect as needed for regrowth and sustainability.

Extra Feed Sources You Can Grow or Collect

Oyster shells (or crushed eggshells) for calcium
Compost pile for bugs and scraps
Maggot bucket for live protein (controversial but nutrient-dense)
Extra milk for calcium and protein (in moderation)
Vegetable oils or fish meal (sparingly) for high protein feed

Use food scraps wisely—avoid moldy or toxic foods.

The Flip Side: What You Still Might Need

Even with a thriving chicken garden, you may still need to supplement:

Commercial feed, layer feed for guaranteed enough protein
Calcium carbonate for strong eggshells
Occasional visits to the farm store or local feed mill for specialty items

But the best way to start is by adding a little at a time. Growing your own food for your chickens can be much fun, and the nutritional needs of your flock will be better supported with variety.

Growing your own chicken feed may seem like a lot of work, but it pays off with healthier chickens, better egg production, and more nutritious eggs. You don’t need to replace commercial chicken feed entirely—just focus on giving your backyard chickens access to more fresh greens, sprouts, and good stuff from your homestead.

Start small, plant smart, and you’ll be giving your flock the right thing in no time.

Frequently Asked Questions About Growing Your Own Chicken Feed

What is the 90/10 rule for feeding chickens? Our top advice is to follow a 90/10 rule for laying hens: 90% complete layer feed and 10% chicken treats to help provide a balanced diet to your birds, and make sure that they are getting the nutrients they need.

What is the best chicken feed to grow at home? Wheat, oats, barley, and other grains work well. Corn is a main staple.