What feed do you reccommend I get and why?

[Betsy57]

I may have my son bring me some of the "scratch and peck".  He lives in Bellingham, and I live in Spokane. 

I have my birds on Nutrena's "Feather Fixer" pellets.  It has a non absorbed product that inhibits mite infestation.  Since one of my girls has a bare bum, I am trying to promote fast molting, and quick feather production.  Also preventing the mites sounds awesome to me.  I have really seen a difference in the girls' feathers. 

I am using Nutrena's Feather Fixer right now too. Can't be sure it is making a difference over the regular layer feed and with mites but they do seem to be molting quicker and not being completely naked.

 

[TXchickmum]

We love NatureSmart organic layer crumbles. -has been by far our favorite. -tried H & H Old Fashioned layer feed and did not care for it. -too dusty. -have used Purina Layena before. -chickens liked it just fine. It, too, created a bit of dust for which I didn't care. Some folks like pellets. I prefer crumbles. My flock seems to eat them well.

 

[Chicks Galore3]

I am using Sprout Layer crumbles - I like except for the fact it doesn't have enough protein. (16%). So I am going to switch to Sprout All Flock that has 18% and feed them oyster shell.

At first I fed them Naturewise layer pellets. I would LOVE to give it a raving review, because it had excellent ingredients and made my birds very healthy except....16% protein.

 

[KitaMick1]

Welcome, I'm fairly new here too. I don't have any suggestions on feed that everyone else has offered. But I do have a tip on the getting your pullets. If your limit is three, I'd get all three at the same time. In my experience, if you initially get 2 then add 1 later on. That loner will most likely get picked on by the first 2 and hens can be brutal. I started with 4 hens two years ago; this year I got six more very young pullets, 2 at a time. Well, needless to say, I have 10 hens but actually 4 flocks. The two-year-olds pick on the six youngsters, the nine month olds pick on the 7 and 6 month old, and the 7 month old pick on the 6 month old. Guess that's where the old saying comes from "Pecking Order".

 

[johndrean]

I've been switching a lot... maybe not the best idea for my girls. Lately I've been getting an organic, by NatureSmart, I think. I've also used Scratch and Peck, they seem to really like it and it looks good enough for me to eat too! I don't necessarily require organic, but I really like buying non-GMO when I can.

I like that Scratch and Peck is relatively local and a responsible brand (non-GMO), but the only place I know that carries it is in Spokane, a bit of a drive so I have to remember to plan for it when I go. I'm in Northern Idaho. I'd love to start getting feed that is grown/milled/mixed even more locally. We live on the edge of the Palouse, does any one know of a mill local to the Palouse/Inland Northwest that makes Layer Feed?

Thanks!

Oh, and I agree w/ KitaMick, max out your limit (I would even risk getting 4, in case you lose one)! I personally wouldn't feel too guilty about having one extra over the limit unless you think someone is going to inspect you... but that can be construed as risky/irresponsible advise I guess. I just know that I thought I wanted to play it safe and only get a few to 'try it out' but after the first season "needed" to max out my coop space. We added 2 more to our flock and they still are picked on by the others... a year and a half later.

 

[urbanchange90]

I may have my son bring me some of the "scratch and peck".  He lives in Bellingham, and I live in Spokane. 

I have my birds on Nutrena's "Feather Fixer" pellets.  It has a non absorbed product that inhibits mite infestation.  Since one of my girls has a bare bum, I am trying to promote fast molting, and quick feather production.  Also preventing the mites sounds awesome to me.  I have really seen a difference in the girls' feathers. 

Where would he find that? I'm in Spokane and am trying to find a good organic good supplier

 

[ChickyMomm]

I get Dumor. I love it, and so do my girls!

WELCOME TO BYC!!

 

[johndrean]

cortner1195 & urbanchange90, I'm in CDA. I've purchased Scratch and Peck at the Northwest Seed and Pet on Sprague, but would guess that they carry it in their store on Division too.

http://nwseed.com/

 

[browning6]

I think my birds waste a lot of feed when in the crumble form. I buy pellets, if they scratch it out on the ground they will still eat it. I also supplement with scratch just because my birds love it. I can go out with a pint of scratch and all 30 birds come running and i get to socialize more with my birds that way. I even have some hens that if I sit down, instantly jump onto my lap assuming they are getting scratch. I do this several times a day if I am home.

I looked up my local associated feed store and go straight to the source to get feed. It is fresher and their quality is great. I have found their products to be great and cheaper than the purina and other name brands.



Here is one of the gals on my lap.

 

[cstronks]

I use Purina Layena feed on my hens...it is a good feed, as their eggs have perfect shells...it is very expensive however at about 20 bucks a bag, so I am looking for a local alternative that sells in bulk.