Is this a good non-GMO feed?

My local store just started selling this. Is it a good feed for roosters and layers? I have no idea how to tell. Cost is $13 per 50 lb. bag.

Mtnmomma3 said:

My local store just started selling this. Is it a good feed for roosters and layers? I have no idea how to tell. Cost is $13 per 50 lb. bag.

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It's a little lower in protein than I prefer (I like 20%) - but is sufficient on that count. It does not show a calcium content breakdown, is not labeled as a layer ration and does suggest supplemental calcium - so my presumption would be that it has minimal calcium content and *should* be safe for all flock members - but that does make offering that extra calcium for your actively laying birds very important. You could contact the milling company and ask what the calcium content is just to be sure (I probably would)

http://www.tuckermilling.com/nongmo.html

^ Here is the Web page with some supplemental info about this particular feed.

It adds at the bottom to make sure and include free-choice calcium for your laying hens, so no worries about feeding it to your entire flock.

I agree with Ol Grey Mare that 16% is the absolute lowest of the low range when it comes to feeding your featherkids protein. Personally, I would track down a soy- and corn-free grower/finisher ration around 18 - 20% and offer calcium free-choice. I have mixed ages of both roosters and hens, and the extra protein is good for the ones growing, doesn't bother the adult birds, and the hens have access to all the calcium they need.

Food for thought!

MrsB

I am feeding it right now. It is adequate and a good all-round feed for mixed ages and sexes, however, it is a bit low on the protein side for a molting flock. It is like feeding grower and having to add calcium, though the protein percentage is at the layer percentage, not the grower. For the price, you can't beat it, IMO. It really depends on why you're feeding it and who you are feeding.

I bought a bag of their 22% super layer to add in with the non GMO feed because I have a bunch of molting birds who need to gain some weight. I am a proponent of Tucker Milling feeds, generally. They still have animal protein in them, which I love, and they smell fresh, not like chemicals as some do.

Mtnmomma3 said:

My local store just started selling this. Is it a good feed for roosters and layers? I have no idea how to tell. Cost is $13 per 50 lb. bag.

Click to expand...

No, that is not good quality. You could do worse, but you could also find a much better ration. Wheat is the first ingredient, then fish meal. Diets high in wheat and fish meal are known to cause immuno- deficiency problems resulting in enteritis.
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/184/necrotic-enteritis

Black oil sunflower does not offer much for nutrition either. Non-GMO is a label meant to sell a product. It doesn't mean it is organic (even USDA certifications are not truly organic). If you look at feed tags such as the ones I'm about to show, you'll see the difference in ingredients for a base diet:
http://www.modestomilling.com/poultry.html

http://king-brand.com/new/index.php...category_id=79&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=6
KING BRAND
ORGANIC POULTRY
LAYER CRUMBLES
______________________________________________________________________________________
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude Protein, not less than....17.0%
Lysine, not more than....................0.7%
Methionine, not less than.............0.3%
Crude Fat, not less than................2.5%
Crude Fiber, not more than..........5.0%
Ash, not more than........................15.0%
Calcium, not less than.................3.5%
Calcium, not more than............. 4.0%
Phosphorus, not less than.........0.5%
Sodium, not more than.................0.3%
_________________________________________________________________________________
INGREDIENTS
Organic Corn, Organic Soybean Meal, Organic Wheat, Ground Limestone, Organic Flaxseed, Monocalcium &
DicalciumPhosphate, Diatomaceous Earth, Mineral Sea Salt (Redmond), DL Methionine,
Hydrolyzed Yeast,Brewers Dried Yeast, Calcium Carbonate, Organic
Garlic Granules, Organic Horseradish Powder, Organic Star
Anise Oil, Organic Juniper Berry Oil, Reed Sedge Peat, Cal
cium Bentonite, Choline Chloride, Manganese
Oxide, Niacin Supplement, Zinc Oxide, Vitamin E Supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, D
-Calcium Pantothenate,Vitamin A Supplement, D
-Biotin, Riboflavin Supplement, Tribasic Copper Chloride, Vitamin B-12 Supplement,
Vitamin D3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Dimethyl Pyrimidinol Bisulfate (Source of
Vitamin K activity), Ethylene Diamine Dihydroiodide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Sodium Selenite.

Michael makes the point that just because something says non-gmo does not mean organic. Some folks seem to equate the two things.

Interestingly enough, sort of off topic,Tucker Milling also has a formulation that is supposed to be specifically for free range flocks that is even less protein, 15%. Not sure why that would be something anyone would feed, even free ranging their birds on lush property, no idea the reasoning behind it and it has no animal protein at all as their other feeds do.

Here is the information on that feed:
Quote:
I just want to find a good feed that is less than $14/ 50# that does NOT have calcium and does have adequate protein levels, other than chick starter. Locales have a lot to do with what we have to feed our birds!

We got into the GMO talk on another thread. It got shut down so I'm afraid to get involved in this again.

Lord have mercy, some topics can be worse than religion and politics.

speckledhen said:

Michael makes the point that just because something says non-gmo does not mean organic. Some folks seem to equate the two things.

Interestingly enough, sort of off topic,Tucker Milling also has a formulation that is supposed to be specifically for free range flocks that is even less protein, 15%. Not sure why that would be something anyone would feed, even free ranging their birds on lush property, no idea the reasoning behind it and it has no animal protein at all as their other feeds do.

Here is the information on that feed:
Quote:
I just want to find a good feed that is less than $14/ 50# that does NOT have calcium and does have adequate protein levels, other than chick starter. Locales have a lot to do with what we have to feed our birds!

Click to expand...

Where I am, you'd be lucky to find high quality Oregon Tilth certified or CCOF certified poultry feeds for under $30 per 50# bag. I get a member discount at a feed store, so it is a few bucks cheaper. Only bottom of the barrel feeds sold at places like Tractor Supply could be had for $14 around here. It seems 16% is the standard, even in the older books by professors like Jull and Heuser. The layer pellets I feed are 17%. I can bump it up occasionally for purposes of moult with digestible proteins of a good amino acid profile such as nutritional yeast (not brewer's) a few days a week. I'll use 1 tbsp in 2-3 lbs of feed which has been mixed well with 4 tsp of wheat germ oil. It gives extra A,D, & E, and helps the nutritional yeast powder stick to the pellets. This is why feed supplements are big business, and there are some great quality supplements formulated for poultry which take the work out of formulating them yourself. I'm sure you know about them.

Layer rations may provide just enough for hens to produce eggs, but won't really improve quality it seems. I seem to remember seeing Breeder Pellets when I was a kid, but don't see them anymore. I've had some trouble with enough calcium. Oyster shell doesn't seem to be utilized by my birds very well. They just don't really eat it, or enough of it. Calcium gluconate additions, bone meal powder, are a few I've tried along with a water dispersible vitamin with good amounts of D3, among other nutrients. I've seen improvement for the most part with my young flock.

My problem with soy-free rations is what is often used to replace it with a lesser amino acid profile, such as linseed or canola meal. Much of the canola is GMO too. So the trickery in labeling continues; USDA labels, soy-free labels, GMO-free labels, and I've even seen soy and corn-free labels. I try to provide a balance of animal and plant proteins from what they may not find on range here, which according to many feed trials performed over a long period of time, prove to be beneficial.

Should I be caring more about my chickens health? Because I often buy the cheaper stuff!

collingwood said:

Should I be caring more about my chickens health? Because I often buy the cheaper stuff!

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The cheapest isn't usually the best and the most expensive doesn't mean it is best. I've seen rations which were expensive, but preferred an ingredient list of something else a few dollars cheaper. When birds are active, muscular and not skinny, have bright red combs and glossy feathering, good egg quality, they are benefiting from adequate nutrients.