Which of These two chicken feeds is the best?

At my feed stores in town I have the options for organic chicken feed in the two labels below. I am not sure if having wheat middlings as the first ingredient is better or not than the corn on the other labels first ingredient. I read that wheat middlings is a by product of wheat. I tried scratch n pecks gmo free one and it was expensive for paying for so much dust.

I feed my chickens also sprouts from wheat, barley and oats as a treat with BOSS mixed in. I read somewhere that I should be feeding scratch in the winter to help with egg production by giving a boost of carbs. I am new to this and not sure what the best treats or food is for that matter! Appreciate any help on this.

If there is a suggestion of a good brand I can see if the feed store would order for me. I am on central California coastal area.

Thanks!

Ps the ripped label shows 17% crude protein

I'd go with the Modesto one. It's a bit more protein, includes kelp meal and even one microbial product (the apergillus niger one). I'm not that familiar with A. niger, but I have seen it listed before...it might be a live probiotic or just a fermented food. Good in either case in my book. Kelp is full of trace minerals, good stuff. And 16% protein many of the nutrition experts on here on BYC think is an absolute bare minimum and a bit more is better.

If you ever can find an organic feed with some sort of animal protein in it, that's even better, especially in the winter and/or if you don't free-range. They do better with a little animal protein.

You can feed treats and/or scratch, but keep it minimal. Most treats and scratch are very low protein...if they are only getting 16-17% protein and you feed lots of low protein treats, they don't get enough protein and egg production can go down. If you want to balance out protein in treats, look into mealworms. You can buy them freeze-dried or if you're a bit ambitious, you can raise your own fairly easily (and very cheaply).

What I keep reading over the past 18 months on BYC here is commercial chicken feed has the perfect balance of nutrients for chickens. It can be fun to feed treats, but if you go overboard, it will greatly upset that perfect balance and can affect egg production and/or health.

I like the ingredients #2 better.

Thanks.! It just seems weird that the first ingredient is corn and yet people say don't feed them very much scratch which is cracked corn...

I read about King Brand and so I emailed them to see if they supply anyone in my area. They had no corn, soy or GMOs. Would love to try that without having it shipped..

Corn by just itself is not a complete balanced food.A complete balance ration feed that has corn as main ingredient is ok.
Corn itself is about 8% protein. Layer feed is 16% protein and has added vitamins,nutrients,amino acids etc..

http://ucanr.edu/sites/placernevadasmallfarms/files/102993.pdf
This link has some good info on feed.

Thanks I will check it out!

In my book, non GMO corn is okay, GMO corn is not. There are some things that you can find non GMO without it being organic (and the expense of organic), but corn is generally not one of them. If you want non GMO corn, you will likely need to get organic.

Oh, and after all the reading I've done, I've decided that corn is very much a desirable ingredient in chicken feed, at least some percentage of it. I'll now choose a feed with corn over one without.

I wouldn't feed either one..... They don't list the amounts of Selenium or Vitamin E.... Critical to laying hens...

kperki said:

I am not sure if having wheat middlings as the first ingredient is better or not than the corn on the other labels first ingredient. I read that wheat middlings is a by product of wheat.

Click to expand...

Don't let the name fool you. Yes, wheat midds are the byproduct of white flour. The starchy portion is removed to mill the flour and what is left is the bran and germ. This is where all the good stuff is, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. Wheat midds are a valuable component of all animal feeds.