From Waste To Taste
This is a blog p[ost about how we create animal feed at Mezzacello Urban Farm from slightly dehydrated edible weeds and assorted corn, hay, seeds, wheat germ, oils, and molasses. When all of this blended it is mixed with 1/3 it’s mass of water. This is then blended together into a paste, The paste is then extruded, left to dry and voila! Feed!
I shared this process at the Mid Ohio Farm and Columbus City Schools Ag Day Event 2025 in April. I brought a program that integrated AI, recycling, bioscience, botany, and ecology — and I had my 17-year-old HS intern teach it. It was so much fun. I love bringing this kind of content, ready made for safe hands on interaction, to schools and communities.
Finding the Right Balance
As you can see in the photos, I brought chickens and rabbits with me. The design challenge was to explain to kids not only the science of balanced feed for specific animals, but also the economics, energy loads, logistics, and technology needed to do this. For many of them, when I asked what do you think rabbits and chickens eat, their answer was, “animal feed”.
For many of these kids this was the FIRST they had ever heard that some weeds are in fact edible. The idea that we could collect weeds right there at Mid Ohio Farm and use AI to confirm this was mind-blowing! But when we looked at the recipes together, ideas started to click into place!
For Chickens
Chickens need grains, glucose, calcium, protein, and phosphorus to thrive. We discussed why they needs these minerals and components and what was “on the table” that we could give them so they would thrive? Remember, wet = mold so it MUST be shelf stable and not full of moisture.
For Rabbits
Rabbits cannot eat sugar or grains very well at all. They require similar minerals and nutrients as poultry, but their metabolism is geared more towards herbivores, whereas poultry are often semi-carniverous. This led the kids to question what made a diet herbiverous and what would harm the rabbits?
The Role Of Weeds and Waste
A collection of edible weeds found in the gardens at Mezzacello Urban Farm
Weeds are everywhere. But just because we don’t see them as ”convenient” or “useful” doesn’t mean they are not. Weeds are quite useful for feeding animals a healthy and balanced diet. Four weeds in particular are terrific:
Purple Dead Nettle
Dandelions
Wild Violet
Canadian Thistle (Must be shredded as it has thorns)
These weeds are super high in fiber, vitamin B, C, D, and E, full of protein, phosphorus, magnesium, and they are FREE! But they are also LOADED with complex sugars and water. Sugar is great for poultry, but not rabbits, so you’ll need to amend the rabbit feed.
These weeds provide a significant amount of moisture to animals that eat them natively, That moisture is deadly if you try to make feed from wet weeds; you’ll quickly get mold unwanted pests. So take the time to dry them!
The Recipes
For chickens you want a good balance of complex carbs and vitamins and minerals. Here is a good list of things that make a really well-balanced chicken feed:
INGREDIENTS
Cracked corn or cornmeal
Oats
30% dehydrated edible weeds
Oil
Sunflower seed shells and seeds
Eggshells
Wheat germ
Gypsum or diatomaceous earth.
DIRECTIONS
Place these ingredients into a blender and add just enough water to create a paste. Not too much, but enough that they blend.
Pour the mix into a cheesecloth or large window screen to drain excess moisture.
Then sun dry for a day do not leave this out overnight - store it in a secure space (free critter food!).
You can create a crumble, or you can use a pelletizer like I use to make pellets.
Pellets store easier and are better for chickens as they don’t male a big mess when they eat them.
For chicks or quail, just grind the pellets up a bit to get crumble, and add an electrolyte like pedialyte, dehydrated cucumber, or gatoraid for babies.
Store in feed bags you have saved from the feed store.
A 50lb bag requires 8 batches of feed in a Vitamix. The feed will expand as it dries.
For rabbits you want a balance of vegetbles, weeds, and vitamins and minerals. Here is a good list of things that make a really well-balanced rabbit feed:
INGREDIENTS
Timothy grass or alfalfa
30% dehydrated edible weeds
Oil (we use used cooking oil from deep fat fryer)
Dried eggshells
Wheat germ
Gypsum or diatomaceous earth
DIRECTIONS
Place these into a blender and add just enough water to create a paste. Not too much, but enough that they blend.
Pour the mix into a cheesecloth or a large window screen to drain excess moisture.
Then sun dry for a day, again, don’t leave it out overnight. Critters and rain will ruin your batch.
You can create a crumble, or you can use a pelletizer like I use to make pellets.
Pellets store easier and are better for rabbits as they don’t make a big mess when they eat them.
Store in feed bags you have saved from the feed store.
A 50lb bag requires 8 batches of feed in a Vitamix. The feed will expand as it dries.
