Best brand of feed to feed show brids?

[srw72478]

Whats the best brand of feed to feed show brids and the percentage???? I ve been told to mix scratch with trukey feed that is 16% to get better feathers is that true?

 

[Neil Grassbaugh]

Are you wanting to know about meat type chickens or Standard Bred exhibition stock?

 

[greathorse]

At the risk of hijacking SRW I would like to know the feed to use for Large fowl exhibition birds.

 

[Rock N' Faverolles]

I just feed purina Layena and give them scratch grains for a treat and a few other side benefits.

 

[srw72478]

Show brids not meat brids. Right now we are feeding nutrena chicken feed. We normally show large livestock and got into chickens for then younger ones ages 6 4 and 2 who are too young to show big animals but gives them something to do and show at our county fair with the older ones. We recently went to a chicken show and was told to feed them turkey feed...just checking it out before we try it.

 

[pardenx3]

When we started feeding Layena, we noticed a difference in our birds. Their feathers seemed to look brighter, and they acted almost like they had more energy and felt better.

 

[onthespot]

I have been offering my flocks choices. I have two feeders and put Layena in one, Flock Raiser in the other. They seem to be eating what they need from each. Eggs are good, no thing shells or anything. They were being slow to start back laying this spring, but a couple week after I changed their feeding program most pens started to crank out eggs and their feathers look luxurious and thick!

 

[Crunchie]

Quote:
That's an interesting idea. I might have to give that a try, if for nothing else than to see what they go for! It would be a fun experiment.

I feed a 22% protein game bird starter to all of my birds. Oyster shell is available in any pens with with hens of laying age. They get scratch as an occasional treat (it's all they would eat if I left them to their own devices, total chicken crack, and my peafowl will nearly run me down to get to a scoop of scratch

). I feed black oil sunflower seeds, also as a treat, a few times a week. On top of that I try to get the ones who don't free range (i.e., my silly Polish) fresh greens when I can. I also put apple cider vinegar in their water, and a few times a week (alternating days they get the sunflower seed) I sprinkle their crumble with flax oil and top it with powdered probiotics.

The brand of feed I use is Blue Seal. I wouldn't say it's any better than any other brands, it's just what is easily available to me and the birds seem to be doing well on what I'm feeding. I'm only offering the above as an example--it's just what I do, and there's folks out there who have been doing this a LOT longer than I have who are in a better position to offer actual advice. I feed the high protein diet because protein is so essential to feather growth, and I breed Polish--they have a lot of feathers to grow.

I also don't feed a layer in my breeding pens because I have a lot of roosters and they just don't need all of that calcium--unnecessary calcium isn't healthy. By offering the free-choice oyster shell, only the chickens who need the calcium are consuming it.