Are layer pellets all natural or is there artificial ingredients in it

[trunkman]

I'm really wanting real natural eggs with no artificial ingredients. I'm wondering most layer pellets are natural or are they like everything else, full or msg's and artificial stuff.

 

[WhoopiePie]

that depends on what brand you get
in my situation i only have a few chickens and i'm in a city so i buy from PETCO online, it's called Brown's Layer Booster:

Corn, Soybean Meal, Wheat Middlings, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Soybean Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate , Salt, DL-Methionine, L-lysine, L-Threonine, zinpro availa zn-organic zinc, Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract Dehydrated, Amprolium Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Lactobacillus Casei, Bifidobacterium Thermophilum, Enterococcus Faecium, Choline Chloride, Naicin Supplement, Roughage Products,Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A-Acetate, Vitamin D3 supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavini Supplement, Folic Acid, Menadione Nicotinamide Bisulfate, d-Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Copper Sulfate, Mineral Oil, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride and Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide.

all the strange sounding stuff seems to be vitamins and minerals, so it's fine for me. it doesn't have any animal products so i let my girls out in the yard to get bugs and worms and i also feed canned tuna and kitchen scraps.

some might suggest making your own feed, which i tried but it's way too expensive if you don't have a mill nearby.... but it's the best way to know what's going into your chickens/eggs though.

you can try to ask your supplier what's in your feed if it's not on the bag.

 

[HeritageHens]

If you are paying less than ~$23 for 50 pounds, then yes, the food is probably loaded with non-natural (non-organic) stuff. Here's the contents of organic food that I feed:

 

[Akane]

Define artificial... Natural also has a sketchy if any definition. Most vitamin supplements are not from "natural" sources and are in nearly every pet food plus fortified human foods. Every ingredient except those are from some part of an animal or plant so are those artificial sources or natural ones? If they are cooked do they become artificial? How about if they are separated in some way? Such terms are useless. The main thing to look for in animal feed of any kind is as detailed of ingredient name as possible. Random vague byproducts are generally considered the worst since it can be anything including undigestible stuff or sweepings off the floor. The less detailed the name the less likely they are to know what all it's made up of (back to the sweeping of random leftovers off the floor) or practice any good quality control on it.

 

[Liamm_1]

Quote:
The ingredients list you pasted specifically states 'up to 16 weeks'. hence, it is not layer feed, which is what the OP asked about.
Aside from that, I agree that organic is the way to go. I plan to go organic once mine are off the Purina medicated chick starter

 

[tammyd57]

If the package doesn't say 'organic' then there are most likely artificial ingredients in it. Note that I said 'most likely', because the organic description is hard to get for a product, so some products that really are organic can't use that label. It's odd, but a farm can be completely organic for 100 years, but if the farmer can't document that, then he can't claim he is organic.

 

[woodmort]

Depends on your definition of "natural" and "organic". Most of the ingredients in most brands are natural but if it isn't labeled organic then they are not organic. If you're interested in going organic, you're going to pay more for the feed and, probably, have a tougher time finding it. I decided long ago to not worry about it as long as my birds were getting a diverse diet from free ranging where there are no pesticides used.

 

[rockinpaints]

Do the hens like the layer pellets verses crumbles?

 

[SeattleChickenHead]

all natural means nothing, literally there is no law as to how the phrases "natural", "all natural", or "made with natural ingredients" are used, IN FACT these phrases are usually a guarantee the product will contain Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), petrolium derived fertilizer, chemical insecticides, fungicides, animal products from animals fed hormones and antibiotics....

ALL corn and soy not being labeled organic in the US are GMO also wheat and safflower are almost always GMO, not only are GMOs and petrolium distillates bad for you and your chickens, theyre bad for the entire world and your great great grandkids. Thank you for your interest in "all natural" chicken as your neighbor on this planet I and many others appreciate it. The only reason food ever became so cheap and "un-natural" is because that is what is profitable for shell, bp, phizer, genentech etc, and if they can get rid of you before you turn 65 then it becomes very profitable!

As people "vote" with thier dollar bills and organic, non-GMO feed becomes the norm it will cost less and less.

 

[catdaddy66]

Quote:
Chickens are like most any vertebrate; they have their likes and dislikes unique to each individual. That being said, chickens also like to eat what the other birds are eating. Most will eat what they are familar with, and even tolerate some changes in the diet. I started mine on crumbles so they really eat that well. I recently switched to a bag of layer pellets 'cause it was what TSC had w/ higher protein levels. My hens ate it but reluctantly at first. I didn't like it for whatever reason and switched back to crumbles. I guess I would say try it and see what happens... I think hungry chickens will eat what is available. Mine eat both types (and I supplement w/ cracked corn/ BOSS once or twice each week) and seem very healthy. Today my brother looked in on them and said "Those are good looking hens!" As long as they eat a healthy diet, I think you will be fine. Good luck!