Younger birds need smaller bits or ground soy. Milk is a good source of protein and can be fed instead of water for half the day, with water available the other half of the day.
Ground alfalfa probably is not available organically yet, but you can use hay and chop or crush it into pieces that are smaller than 1 inch, or feed the leaves. In addition to protein, an animal diet needs adequate sources of energy, vitamins, minerals and water. Laying hens need more calcium than is usually provided in the mineral mix; you must include either oyster shell, limestone or aragonite for chickens to make strong shells. You can feed the hens cooked egg shells to meet part of their calcium requirement.
I put the shells in the oven when I am baking something else, until I smell them cooking. After the shells are cooked, I crush them and mix them with the scratch feed or mash. You may add other supplements to the ration. Rock phosphate is a good source of phosphorus see accompanying table for amounts. Yeast provides B vitamins; diatomaceous earth provides minerals and some believe that it helps control internal parasites; probiotics add good bacteria to the gut; and kelp is a source of micronutrients.
Salt in some form must be added but can be reduced by one-third if you use kelp. A Poultry Nutri-balancer that contains many of these items is available from North Country Organics or from Fertrel No grain is ideal. Of the small grains that are available, wheat can slow digestion but is a good substitute for and is higher in protein than corn; barley is less palatable; oats have less energy and are fibrous; rye inhibits growth; millet is a good energy substitute but is low is protein.
Feeding laying hens a mixture of grain with peas or canola seed will not provide adequate protein quality to maintain egg size and production. Some soybean is needed as a protein source. Beware of soy and fish meal, however. Soy has a high concentration of phyto-estrogen and this is of concern to some people. Fish meal can have a high level of mercury and that is something you want to watch as well. There are so many good ingredients that can be added to homemade chicken feed there is no reason to buy questionable things.
You should be able to find all of the following ingredients in an organic variety. Most, like lentils, quinoa and barley, are sold at grocery and health food stores and are available in bulk. You may need to run by your local feed store for a few ingredients, particularly the oyster shells. Any ingredients that are hard to find in your area can be ordered online. Mix the feed by hand so that it is thoroughly mixed. It doesn't hurt to run your hands through it before feeding in case something settles.
This is based on a good bit of Internet research from a variety of places. You may find Bird Farm helpful. Whole grains could include oats, barley, rye, hard red wheat or durum wheat and upwards of 20 to 30 different organic ingredients. Many of the organic ingredients in chicken feed mixtures in our cooperative are grown right on the family farm. This means that there are fewer miles between growing the grain and feeding the grain to the chickens. And since we never use toxic synthetic chemicals, we save waterways from added chemicals and improve the food system for animals, people and the planet.
From seasonal non-GMO grain mixtures to shifts in diet based on temperature, Organic Valley farmers are vigilantly caring for their flocks with the right organic nutrients at the right time. As a chicken keeper, you need to find out more about these foods and if possible have a good stock of them for your birds. But if you cannot produce them, the best and easiest ways to feed your chickens organically is only to purchase these foods from the commercial organic feeds stores near you.
These foods come in the form of pelleted mixtures of whole or part of grains.
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