Brand choices for chicken feeds (how do I know who is "best"?)

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Rc_Rosealetta

In the Brooder
Aug 31, 2020
22
45
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Elyria, OH
Fellow chicken tenders,

I'm fairly new to having my flock (got them in August already laying). The feed that they were on, I cannot get where I live as I drove an hour to get them. Since that bag ran out, I've had them on Purina Omega Crumbles and Pellets as they seem to like one over the other on a day-by-day-basis. I'm not sure they "love" it. And the scratch grains I give they're not super interested in either...

How did you choose what you're feeding?

What I have available to me locally:
Purina (TSC)
Nutrena (TSC/Rural King)
Dumor (TSC)
Producer's Pride (TSC)
Nature's Best (TSC)
Blue Seal (TSC)
Country Road (Rural King)
Kent (Rural King)
Buckeye (ohio brand)

Online Delivery available:
Kalmbach
Henny Penny
anything on Chewy.com or Amazon

Which do you/your flock like? How did you choose that brand/variety/flavor? Which would you recommend from what's available to me? I'm located in Ohio if that makes any difference.

Thanks!
 
Rc_Rosealetta said:
Fellow chicken tenders,

I'm fairly new to having my flock (got them in August already laying). The feed that they were on, I cannot get where I live as I drove an hour to get them. Since that bag ran out, I've had them on Purina Omega Crumbles and Pellets as they seem to like one over the other on a day-by-day-basis. I'm not sure they "love" it. And the scratch grains I give they're not super interested in either...

How did you choose what you're feeding?

What I have available to me locally:
Purina (TSC)
Nutrena (TSC/Rural King)
Dumor (TSC)
Producer's Pride (TSC)
Nature's Best (TSC)
Blue Seal (TSC)
Country Road (Rural King)
Kent (Rural King)
Buckeye (ohio brand)

Online Delivery available:
Kalmbach
Henny Penny
anything on Chewy.com or Amazon

Which do you/your flock like? How did you choose that brand/variety/flavor? Which would you recommend from what's available to me? I'm located in Ohio if that makes any difference.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I always use the same thing, Purina, mine love it.
 
I have a local feed store that I trust. Just the other day I sent DH for the first bag of layer feed and told him, "Get what they recommend. I don't care if it's pellet or crumble but if there's a choice get the higher protein."

My rationale for that last being that they get a lot of veggie trimmings and random scraps (though I try not to over-do the starchy stuff), and spend a lot of time foraging in their pen so they ought to have a higher protein feed to make sure they're getting a good balance.

These girls are young, but with the in-town flock I never had any issues with the chickens not liking whatever feed I gave them.
 
I used the Nutrena Naturewise All Flock Pellet - low waste, and my birds loved it, though it was more expensive than the Purina Flock Raiser Crumble which I would pick up as (cheaper) substitute. Pellet worked better in my J-style feeders, less clumping on high humidity days, and less waste overall (though the Purina bag was 10# heavier for only $1 more)...

I've swapped to a mix from a local mill, their 16% layer and their 24% Game Bird, giving me a 20% final with some added calcium. Its damned near powder, so I'm serving it as a fermented mash and not using the J feeders at all. And I'm doing it because I can buy 200# of it for less than 120# of the Nature Wise.

But if buying in those quantities isn't practical, or you have no local mills, I can recommend either of the products I first listed, both available thru TSC (and FarmKing, I think). Whatever you do, don't forget to free choice oyster shell.
 
I use Dumor crumbles. I have never used pellets.

Plus Dumor just changed the bag so that it looks more like a purina bag.

I've tried that fancy stuff like, "This has special ingredients, your hens love it!" and my chickens end up hating it.
 
Freshness counts. There will be a mill date somewhere on every bag. On Purina it is on the bottom seam strip. Nutrena has it under the bar code on the tag.
Buy some he freshest possible....always.
I try very hard not to buy feed that was milled more than a month before I buy. Not something that is always possible.
Feed degrades beginning on the date it was milled. After 6 months the nutrients are so degraded it is pretty useless to the birds.

That said....I like Purina Flock Raiser crumbles due to less dusty powder than I find in other brands.
If I cannot get fresh Flock Raiser I get Nutrena All Flock or Nutrena Nature Wise layer. I will not feed layer to my ducks as I have a drake but my chickens can eat it.

Also important..... Never ever go to buy feed when you are down to less than a weeks worth. You may find there isn't any of what you prefer to buy.
 
I recently switched from Nutrena Starter/Grower crumbles to Purina Flock Raiser crumbles. It seemed like EVERY bag of Nutrena crumbles was 90% dust and was getting very frustrating!

My girls seem to really like the flock raiser, and I like the high protein for them. I was going to switch them to the Nutrena Hearty Hen pellets once everyone was laying because I like the fact that it is non-soy, and was thinking probably won't be so dusty.

I am also near 2 local mills, Scratch n Peck and Conway Mill. I might switch to the Conway Mill because it's all local and the prices are very good.
 
Last edited:

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