ORGANIC feed, scratch, and whatever else may apply!

[E-Chick]

I'm trying to put together a "sticky" post of everything organic. Got the okay from the big rooster himself.

I wanted to do so a few weeks ago, but have had so many things going on lately. Birthdays, anniversaries, work, guests, travel, and so on.

If you can PM, email me, or post your connections here, I'd surely appreciate it! I know that I am not the only one looking for sources!

Besides organic, I personally, need to find "soy free" feeds and so on. I realize that some of you don't give a squat about spending more money on some tree hugging, hippy, pesticide free thing, but I don't have much choice. I'm highly allergic to soy (which is in MOST feed) and would love to eliminate it from wherever I can...like the dust from the feed, and the trickle down affect from the feed to the hens to the eggs to me, yikes!

I'll work on this over the next few weeks to see what we collectively come up with! Hope this it is of interest and benefit to you! If not, thanks for reading the post anyways, and keep me in mind if you happen to find an organic and/or soy free source!

Thanks in advance!

 

[GardeNerd]

I think it is a great idea!

 

[lisahaschickens]

until recently, I was buying my organic, soy-free feed from Countryside NAturals, and I think it is a superior product. However, having it shipped from Virginia to the West Coast cost more than the feed itself. It was still worth it, though.

Then, recently, we found a local mill that is producing custom organic/pesticide-free soy-free feed for us.

But, if you're not near Portland, OR, then Countryside is my best recommendation until you can find something local. It is worth asking around at local mills. We are saving a ton of money.

Good luck to you!

 

[littlelemon]

Where do you live? I believe there is a farmer in Ohio who mills a soy-free feed. I have never bought it myself, but I had a friend who was considering getting it due to customer demand for eggs from soy-free feed.

 

[fourhorses44]

I'm not sure if this applies as "organic", but I know there are lots of posts from people who want to mix their own feed and, it seems to me, no good answer. All they (and me) want is an actual recipe or at least some idea! But it seems the common advice is that "if you have a small flock, it's too expensive to mix your own". I suppose that may be true, unless you already have the ingredients on hand that you use for other purposes!

I'd venture to guess that probably MOST people who own chickens also have other livestock that they feed. Personally, I have horses and two goats. I already buy alfalfa pellets, dry COB (Corn, Oats, Barley), and Black Oil Sunflower Seeds (BOSS) to feed to my horses. After a little research, I found that the goats and chickens can eat this stuff as well. Well, why not mix my own then? My chickens all HATE the layer pellets and waste it like crazy - so is it really cheaper?

Here's my recipe (for what its worth - I don't know if this is "balanced" and I don't know what the protein level is off the top of my head). I feed this to 12 laying hens, 2 roosters and 8 chicks. Oh, and 2 goats. Any advice to "tweak" this recipe is welcome!

In a rubbermaid tub, I mix the following:
3 big scoops Dry COB
1 big scoop BOSS
1 big scoop cracked peas

I feed it free choice in the coop.

I'm trying to figure out how to add alfalfa as well. The pellets are too big and hard for the chickens. And I soak them into mush for the goats and horses. Still working on that, but once I figure it out, I'll add some alfalfa to the mix.

I should clarify that these chickens are free-range on our property with plenty of bugs, worms, and grass to eat. I do also sprinkle a little bit of oyster shell on the ground by the coop every so often (when it needs replenished).

 

[ChooksChick]

I've altered the chicken feed recipe at a local mill a bit- they use Alfalfa Meal. Perhaps you could use the meal version or mill it yourself in a blender or some such?

 

[Eureka Jennifer]

Oh YES !

Countryside Naturals, we ordered it for our new soon to arrive baby girls.... The box smelled soooo good and when you open it, holly cow. I have searched out tons of feed and this is an amazing product. Totally worth the high shipping price we have to pay living on the west coast. They had me at field peas.... lol..


INGREDIENTS
Organic Field Peas, Organic Wheat, Organic Corn, Fish Meal, Organic Oats, Organic Flaxseed, Organic Alfalfa Meal, Calcium Carbonate, Hydrated Sodium Calcium Aluminosilicate, Dried Organic Kelp, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, d-Pantothenic Acid, Niacin, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Biotin, Folic Acid, Iron Polysaccharide Complex, Manganese Polysaccharide Complex, Zinc Polysaccharide Complex, Copper Polysaccharide Complex, Cobalt
Polysaccharide Complex, Yeast Culture, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Bacillus Licheniformis, Bacillus Subtilis, Lactobacillus Lactis, Enterococcus Faecium, (Dried Aspergillis Oryzae Fermentation Extract)

Certified organic by
Global Organic Alliance, Inc.

.... and look at all those beautiful beneficial bacteria for chickie intestines.

So if you cant tell I LOVE this feed I hope they love it too. The one 50 lb bag should get my 8 bantam girls feed till they are ready to go outside.

 

[Chris09]

Countryside Naturals... Wow big $$$$ there..

I just can't see paying $25.30 for a bag of 19% pro. chick starter plus shiping when I can get buckeye 28% pro. starter for $20.00 a 50 lb bag... Its not oganic but when I get 400 lbs a month I would pay $326.20 for 8 bags of Countryside Naturals shiped and for the same price I get 16 bags of 28% pro buckeye starter...
I know they say it good but thats to much to pay...
alls good and I hope it works..
chris

 

[gjoyner]

Hi! this is a great idea. I am looking for organic chicken feed in the Denver Co area. Cant seem to find any..but I just moved here. Also..right now I am feeding my two chicks chick starter granules..but they are a little over a month old. what do I feed them next? I see there is stuff called layer feed or broiler feed...just wondering where to go from here..they are almost out so I figured this wast he best time to switch.

 

[lisahaschickens]

If you go with Countryside, they suggest -

starter for 2-3 weeks
broiler feed for 3 weeks to first egg
layer after that (or slaughter while still on broiler if they are meat birds)

it's a protein percentage thing. Different people have different opinions, but generally it's higher protein on starter and then a gradual decline to layer, which has the lowest protein plus more calcium. Countryside is 19% starter, 19% broiler (bigger pieces), 15% layer + calcium.

My organic starter from McMurray was 20%. I have seen people use as high as 25%. My own layer feed (custom made for me here at a small mill) will be 18%, which is high for layer, but is recommended for my larger breed birds by the nutritionist who makes the feed.