What feed do you reccommend I get and why?

[jtakacs]

Anyone have any brands that have organic feed? I live in the Minneapolis area and I'd have to drive quite a long ways to get to a feed store. I'd be willing to order online I just can't find any brand names. We have 8 birds and lately they are just tearing through their food.  We'd like to feed them organic and let them free range in our yard as much as possible. 

I threw out the sack but it was white w green lettering... next time I get one I'll post it.

We eat 99% organic and so do the ladies... I started with crumbles two weeks ago but they made a mess of it.

I switched to 50-50 layer crumble/pellets and will do that until the crumble is depleted then all pellets.

Right now the don't seem to eat a ton of food. I think its the 20 pound feeder just doesn't go down quickly with only 4 hens.

 

[Sam3 Abq]

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.

Do you use the pellets or crumble ? what did you use for starter/grower ? My plan is to use Purina Flock Raiser then move on to Layena (crumbles for both ).

 

[themadchicken]

I feed my flock a cracked 4 grain mix with egg shell and oyster shell mixed in. It is only a 12-14 % protein but this is what i have fed them for the last four years. I also feed them all my table scrapes. They are free range all year but have only the grain and table scraps during the winter. Out of 15 hens i get around 10 eggs a day during the summer and 6 during the winter. I also add a poultry supplement to their water that gives them all the vitamins and minerals that they might not get without that expensive pellet and mash food. My flock is healthy and fat. 75 % of my flock is molting but still producing eggs. I love my girls!

 

[Bitterroot]

Wish I could get the Scratch & Peck, but have been using a locally made organic feed made by Big Sky Feed and am pleased.
http://www.montanaflour.com/product-info/organic-feed/feed-products/

 

[Triplell]

I have tried many different feeds and love the pellet the best. I use Dumar laying pellets. Yes it does have a lot of powder but I save the powder for the winter time when I make a treat for them using the powder, oats, black pepper, powder milk, with just a little millet with real warm water. They go crazy for tis mixture. They only get it on the cold nights to help keep them warm. If I have some that are molting or the Roo has been to rough with them I will mix some layer pellets with some Poultry All Flock from Nutrina at a rate of 50% of each. I have a pen right now with 6 girls that have no back feathers or head feathers.It will only take about 5-8 weeks and they will be back in the layering pen again. Plus they usually don't stop laying with my mixture. I always oyster shell, grit available at all times. Every Sunday and Wednesday I put Vitamin / Electrolytes in their water year round. I have also found that no matter what feed I use the poo smells no matter what. I have used around 6 different brands / types of feed that makes no difference in the smell . Poo is Poo and it all smells!

 

[earlybird10842]

First of all, I am very new to BYC ( just joined today! ) and I love it already!

But anyway, I don't have chickens yet but we are planning on getting some this month. We would go to the Tractor Supply Co. here. We went yesterday and I saw brands like Purina Layena, Dumor, and some others that I don't remember. What brand do you reccommend, even not in those listed?
Thanks!

We actually change brands, depending upon which feed store we end up buying the food from. The chickens don't seem to mind. We usually get Purina Layena. But if they are chicks, before you give them layer feed, give them medicated starter, then switch to normal starter, then give them layer feed when they begin to lay. I don't think it matters what brand you get, (or if it is pellets, mash, or crumble) but be sure to give them a food meant for chicks their age.

 

[Flybybirds]

I really like the Nutrena feeds. I get them at Tractor Supply. I started my pullets on their medicated Nutrena nature wise chick starter. It comes in a big bag but all natural. The pullets you are thinking of getting are they vaccinated already? Mine were not so I put the babies on medicated feed for a while. Be sure to check dates on the bags. Dumor is good but I don't think they have a natural feed. I put the pullets, when they gained some size, around 18-20 weeks, on pellets. With my hens they don't waste as much as when I had them on crumbles. It took a little time to get them used to the pellets but soon they were gobbling it up!!! Also, being in Florida, I had the problem with humidity and the crumbles molding. I haven't had to supplement calcium much with this feed. When olderThey have grit free choice to move the crop. Freshly cleaned waterers everyday. We clean feeders once a week or more if needed.

 

[turtleguy]

I feed them Layena, I was gonna start with Dumor starter/grower, but that meant I would have to buy Dumor starter/grower, Dumor grower/finisher, and finally Dumor layer pellet.
That would have been 150 lbs of feed for only two (started w/four but 2 died the first few weeks) birds that would have to eat it within 20 weeks. It clearly was not practical. My TC didn't have any small bags under any brand.
I returned my bag about a day before the chicks arrived and got the Purina Start and Grow.

My chicks recently turned 18 weeks and I still have some Start and Grow left, Just bought a bag of Purina Layena Layer pellets. I like the pellets because my birds spilled so much I had to shovel out moldy dirt from under the feeder every few days. I like Layena precisely because it doesn't have proteins from other animals. Chickens in the wild would get their protein from insects, plants, and the occasional snake or lizard. So it seems more natural to me.

Also, the feathering is absolutely astounding, even for the white leghorn. I mentioned that two chicks died, I initially bought two more sickly (my dad picked them up, I was to busy, and my dad knows nothing about chickens) who were supposedly two weeks old from a local hatcher. They feathers were not as bright and they were tiny. They didn't survive the night, but I couldn't get a refund. Don't know what they fed their birds, but there was a difference in apperance from my chicks (who were 2 weeks old as well).

 

[enola]

I make my own

What do you use to mix your feed? Does it save money?

 

[bhaugh]

What do you use to mix your feed? Does it save money?

I'm not sure it saves me money since organic human grain costs more than chicken feed. But it gives the hens variety. I use the following grains and mix and match.

quinea
oats
wheat germ
millet
corn
bulgar wheat
sesame seeds
other grains on sale
penuts

Then I add black sunflower seeds, mealworms (fed separate) and what ever else I have to throw them. Today the girls had mashed potatoes. Boy was that a hit