Best feed for chickens??

Lucysmom002

Songster
8 Years
May 6, 2011
408
3
111
Wisconsin
I have bought the Fleet Farm "Sprout" brand starter/grower, both medicated and non med. I have bought the Purina Layena and starter grower. I have bought the custom mix from the local grain mill. I do buy the scratch feeds too and mix that in or give as a treat. I've seen people feed cracked corn.
What is the best feed for layer hens??

They do not like the Purina stuff, it lists all by-products on the label but claims to be nutritionally balanced. This new layer feed is a pellet.
They eat the Sprout feed and like it. It is a crumble.
I've had the mash and they eat it OK but not great.

My adult hens are heavy, solid but not fat. My 14 week old chicks are light in weight and I can feel the breastbones but they are healthy and happy otherwise. My birds are out on grass all day also.

I give them watermelon, other fruit and bread as a treat now and then. They get runny poo from it though.
 
anyone?
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I feed the Blue Seal Layer pellets or the Blue Seal Egg Maker crumbles. I mix it with goat milk and kelp in a big bucket and put it pans for the girls every morning. They LOVE it. They also get left over goat feed, dog or cat food, my leftovers and whatever I think they might like. I give them a little bit of scratch and BOSS too.

I've tried the Agway pellets and the Purina pellets too. They don't seem to awful picky except they do like crumbles better than pellets.
 
We feed Sprout as well. It seems to do the job and it's the only brand available through fleet farm in the 50lb bags. We just bought our last non medicated starter. We are switching to layer in 4 weeks.
 
So scratch feed is supposed to be used as a treat and not to be overfed then.
I guess Sprout is okay then? I know lots of horse people say they will never use that for their horses, some say they do. I guess everyone is different in opinion.
Thanks for the opinions so far. I like reading them and hearing what everyone feeds.
 
I've no experience with all the brands out there except the well known Layena feed, however, I'll just say this -

The best feed is the stuff with the LEAST percentage of corn, soy, and wheat, but preferably with something less "mainstream". The best feed is the stuff that also actually includes flax meal, fish meal, or greens like peas. Remember, chickens want diversity, and chickens want both greens and also some form of good meat/protein (not Soy!) and also fatty acids (like from flax or fish)
 

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