best brand of chicken feed?

[AlienChick]

I am so blessed to have found a local dealer who sells the Blue Seal Organic feed.
It's cheaper than the feed at TSC and it's organic!! Wooohooo!
I only pay $14 for a 50-lb bag.

 

[tclegg]

I only have 3 choices--Nutrens-Dumore and Purena--where I live...after I researched Purina is the best..I feed my girls Purina..I have read what others have posted about their feeders--and that is good. I do not have that options.. So for me and my "girls" I feel Purina is the best and until I can find the best option available to us I am sticking to Purina. They feed my dog and cats. But on that not it is up to u to check all options and as a responsible pets and flock owner to check out all options and decide what is best for your pets/flock/brood? I am not saying, if I find something in my area better for my "grils" I won" change, I will..but for now Purina is the best for US..

 

[Cindy in PA]

Quote:
So you feed your dogs & cats PMI Exclusive feed or something?? If not it is not the same company as Purina One & Purina Dog Chow. Two different companies.

 

[perchie.girl]

To me feed discussions sometimes get confusing. Because there are national differences between what feed is offered. Especially in areas where there is access to feed mills. The nearest feed mill to me is an organic mill and they have a minimum buy of 2000 lbs, and its about 150 miles away.

I fed Purena Startena to my Guinea Keets because they needed higher protein gamebird Startina is 30 percent. Then switched to Purena flock raiser when they were old enough. And when I get going with better paying job am going to also buy Mazuri for my whole flock. Mazuri is a Purena product developed for Zoos. And it is very pricey but for home flocks it can be used at a 1 to 10 ratio.... as a supplement. 1 part Mazuri to 10 parts Flock or Layena.

Because we have two big zoos here in San Diego county.... San Diego Zoo and the Wild animal park there are several breeders here that breed exotics. Therefore I am lucky in that the feed store I use happens to carry Mazuri. Otherwise it would be prohibitive.

But all this said. This is the feed available to me, and within my means of purchasing. I have had success with it and unless something comes around with a better lable I have no reason to change.

 

[rjlanger2]

Fortunately, I have a few choices for feed. In my opinion, feed is something that is purchased based on information, price, emotions, and personal experience.

I prefer to use an organic feed (and I have in the past), but at $28 for 50#, it is just a bit too pricey for me. The girls love H and H!

Dumor - A bit less expensive than other "commercial" brands; provides the necessary nutritional value*, but also provides for more aromatic chicken poop. I had to supply more Dumor feed than I have with other brands.

Purina Layena - More expensive; provides the necessary nutritional value*.

Home Grown - Less expensive than Layena; provides the necessary nutritional value*.

Supplementing their diet with greens, treats, oyster shell, etc. can make a big difference in the end result.

I have enjoyed reading all the posts. Some of the posts are very adamant that their choice is the ONLY and CORRECT choice to make. I respectfully have to disagree. Feed is something that is purchased based on information, price, emotions, and personal experience. There is no one feed that is perfect, nor is there one feed that fits everyone's requirements. I believe that if you put the facts and the experiences out there, people will make informed decisions based on works best for them and their flock. Please, don't let the emotional aspects get in the way of presenting the info.

* Based on the tag attached to each bag, it SHOULD provide the stated nutritional value.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
x2 well said there is also a trade off with quality. Good quality and they will eat less and utilize more Good Poo Bad poo....LOL. I have heard with the Mazuri they will eat so much less that it will offset the amount per bag you spend over. I will be doing THAT experiment next summer.

It also depends on what they are getting sentimentally with regard to free ranging. I am in the high desert. Not much in the way of green foods. But there are lots of bugs and crawling critters. For the most part supplimental greens come from my dinner table and occasional bucket of soaked alfalfa pellets. (I choose those because the particles are small and when hydrated are very yummy to everyone from the horse and goats to the birds.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I'm back to using Mazuri Game Bird Breeder for my chickens & Guineas and they both really love it. I like the fact that it is small balls & not crumbles or pellets. I paid $19.74/40lbs. this time, but that is cheaper than the Organic I was feeding. I really like that it has fish meal & alfalfa right in it and soy is further down the line. I have also found that 40 lbs. lasts as long for my 13 chickens as a 50 lb. bag of layer feed. I also give the chickens a big helping of scratch, which right now is spelt, oats, sunflower, peas, wheat & a little millet. They get a handful of Ultra Kibble several times a week. I have to order 2 weeks a head of time, but I can buy Mazuri at my feed store. I am tired of trying to find the perfect feed, so this is it for now.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Very interesting.... Its a little more here for 40 lbs but not much. If you order it directly from Mazuri its 20+- a bag and to me 30 bucks shipping. The feed store here carries Mazuri exotics but Mazuri gamebird is a special order She said they could get it in for 25. Still. worth a try for sure.

 

[Ole rooster]

All I can find around here is Purina and Dumore. On the sack it says Dumore formulated for TSC. My choice is TSC's brand and Purina. Where can I find the others?

 

[jlesser]

Is this the Southern states feed talked about?

http://www.southernstates.com/catalog/c-1989-feed.aspx