Official BYC Poll: What Factors Affect Your Chicken Feed Buying Decisions?

[Cecisflock]

M going to sound bonkers but when the girls were babies I fed them Flock Party Rising Chick Feed Crumbles. Mainly because it had 22% protein and an array of vitamins. Then at around 5 weeks they were switched to Purina Chick crumbles at around 20% then we went down to a purina 18% crumble at around 10 weeks. Now they are Nutrina all flock at 20% protein. I noticed that DuMor all flock has weird bad bits of burned ingredients and bits of PLASTIC. Every time I opened the bag there was plastic and it smelled horrible. Never again. Anyway I HIGHLY recommend Flock Party 22% for baby chicks. I didn’t lose a single one!

 

[Cecisflock]

should I feed my pet ducks medicated? I don't sell them or anything like that. Or should I stick to Non-medicated

NO! Ducks cannot eat medicated food.

 

[myluckychucks]

For me protein and vitamin and mineral concentrations are what matters most. I live in an area where there are few options for feed. The local TSC's feed has changed in quality and you could see the difference in the quantity of eggs and the vigor of the birds. The negative effects were obvious. I really liked purina gold'n but the TSC will no longer order it for me and the closest dealer is 60 miles away. Jones feed is the only product I can find that has quality and is available only 15 miles away. With Jones feed the birds are brighter looking, the diarrhea they got from the poor quality feed is gone and there are more eggs once again. If I had a choice I would feed purina layer feed.

 

[CAB68]

Regarding lowest price - for my area, that means hitting up the local feed mill, but they changed their formula last time around, where it includes a lot of wheat, less milo, maybe more corn... But the chickens don't seem to eat it as well, after they pick out the wheat, of course! May have to switch things up next time.

For brand name - mainly that means there are brands/formulas I avoid, no matter what the price is - Dumor for stinky poops, most Purina for too much molasses, most Kalmbach for anise & other stinky spices/oils.

For other - chicken's preference, or at least what I *think* they like It makes me happy when I can find a feed that my animals will eat with enthusiasm.

What brands cause less stinky poop? I am new to chicken husbandry

 

[lifein1840]

Feeding the flock is hands down the most important part of raising and keeping poultry, And choosing which feed to buy for your birds can be a complex process with many variables. There are so many choices involved in feeding your flock and it can be difficult to decide what to feed them. In this poll we would like to find out: What Factors Affect Your Chicken Feed Buying Decisions?

Please place your vote above (select up to 5 options), and elaborate in a reply below if you chose "Other".

View attachment 2796186

Further Reading:

• Feeding Chickens: An Introductory Guide
• Feeding Options At Different Life Stages
• Everything You Need To Know About Raising Baby Chicks

(Check out more Official BYC Polls HERE!)

I always switch to a "feather fixer" or "all flock" feed in the fall and winter for the higher protein. This year I'm using "all flock" because I have young pullets. I just make sure I have extra calcium available for the hens.

 

[416bigbore]

Interesting post, we feed fermented feed. I buy a variety of small grains from our local farmers and then ferment them and then add a mixture of poultry vitamins and minerals right before feeding. So far so good with our small mixed flock of ducks and chickens.

 

[wolfinator]

I started out feeding mine Purina Layena or chick feed depending on age. As my flock grew and the price increased, I switched to Dumor (TSC) and my chickens balked, heavy reduction in laying so I switched back. Over the last couple years, Purina feed went up again (now almost $22 for 50# bag, I had more mouths to feed so I tried Rural King's Country Road feeds and they loved it. The egg quantities are the same as with Purina but half the price, until this year. The price nearly doubled since January, $8.99 now is $13.79 for 50# bag. A bunch of my girls are over 3 now with half of those being sexlinks so egg production had dwindle (until my 5-6 month olds lay) so I had to find a cheaper alternative. I just started feeding them Producers Pride,$8.79 40# bag (bought at TSC), so far they like it and egg production is about the same but time will tell. Mine get fed fresh garden vegetables almost daily throughout the growing season plus weeds and we buy discounted vegetables and greens once garden is done. I noticed on days they get greens, vegetables or weeds they lay more eggs collectively than giving scratch.

I have almost 100 chickens, ducks and guineas ranging from 2 months up to 4 1/2 years old that share 2 pens and 5 coops depending on their ages. I use small coops and move them to larger ones until they're ready to join the main flock. They can interact with wire in between them, I rarely have problems when they join flock due to this.

Main coop, 2 dogs kenneled beside them deter predators and our garden. I use solar lights around coops.

Partial view of smaller coops, there’s 2 more beside the blue (juveniles) one. The far right coop is my original from 2015 which now houses my 4 guineas with their own fully enclosed pen.

Oh, I've even tried organic feed with them 2 years ago and never will again. The feed was like powder and my one rooster, Jokester, sneezed from the dust it created with a bunch of them eating. He inhaled the dust and it suffocated him in front of me . I couldn't save him.

 

[Sunrise Yolks]

Feeding the flock is hands down the most important part of raising and keeping poultry, And choosing which feed to buy for your birds can be a complex process with many variables. There are so many choices involved in feeding your flock and it can be difficult to decide what to feed them. In this poll we would like to find out: What Factors Affect Your Chicken Feed Buying Decisions?

Please place your vote above (select up to 5 options), and elaborate in a reply below if you chose "Other".

View attachment 2796186

Further Reading:

• Feeding Chickens: An Introductory Guide
• Feeding Options At Different Life Stages
• Everything You Need To Know About Raising Baby Chicks

(Check out more Official BYC Polls HERE!)

Health and laying longevity are my main concern. I feed mine a homemade mix of black oil sunflower seeds, cracked or whole corn, rolled whole oats, millet, and flax seeds. They also get vegetable and fruit scraps, and a daily small (8 oz. canning jar for 9 hens) treat of mealworms. They have a bowl of crushed oyster shell and grit available as well.

 

[Scrat]

They get a Layers feed ,but they really look forward to the moistened scratch that I give them ... it activates the germination process and not only do they get moistened feed ( good in winter and just before going to roost ) but the germinated seeds are higher in nutritional value. They love it !!!

 

[PioneerChicks]

I like high protein, 18-25% whenever possible. Soy free and Non-GMO and Un-medicated for me, though the latter might change now that I have cocci in my flock. I don't care much about whether it is organic or not. I like whole grains if possible. Yep, I'm picky!