Complementary and alternative medicines such as tea tree (melaleuca) oil have become increasingly popular in recent decades. This essential oil has been used for almost 100 years in Australia but is now available worldwide both as neat oil and as an active component in an array of products.
Conventional Grain and Legume Feeds for Chickens. Most grains in commercial feed for poultry (corn, legumes, and small grains such as wheat, rye, oats and barley) are easy for the homesteader to grow. I grow âHickory King,â a. vigorous, large-ear feed corn.
Feather meal is used in formulated animal feed and in organic fertilizer. Worldwide, more than 25 billion chickens are used for human consumption. Feather meal is made through a process called rendering. Steam pressure cookers with temperatures over 140Â°C are used to cook and sterilize the feathers.