Brand of feed

[PirateGirl]

The "best" feed is a brand that's local and fresh as possible and that fits into your chicken goals (you mentioned wanting organic, for example). Most feeds are very similar in terms of nutrient value.

Honestly, this is my typical answe. Go out and see what your local feed store carries and if you can’t decide what’s best from their selection we can help you sort it out!

 

[Henriettamom919]

My chicks are 4 weeks old..they are on starter feed...I know I’ll have to introduce grower feed soon. Wanted to know if there are favorite brands of food out there. I’ve read about so many...I’m overwhelmed. I have my chicks for pets...and eggs. I would like to stay as organic as possible!

I feed organic scratch and peck brand grower with oyster shell supplement for my layer girls. I ferment my girls' feed and whatever they don't eat I sow into flower beds and they eat the sprouts!

I love the feed; it's organic and super versatile and my layers make gorgeous eggs literally every day!

Welcome to BYC! We're happy to have you!

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

I always get DuMor brand for my chicks.. then as adults they get cracked corn, mealworms, seeds, fruit, etc..

 

[LaidWithLove]

Okay so, I have tried almost every brand I feel like, lol.
Worst: Purina and DuMor. Purina is what I am using now only because my store was out of everything else. I debated buying showbird feed.. seriously. Purina stinks so bad like chemicals, no way that is good. It also smells stale to me, but IDK.
DuMor was.. crappy. LOL, my birds pooped so much more and it smelled SO BAD. So, so bad. Avoid it. Not worth it.
Most Mediocre: Blue Seal. I was so disappointed, my birds got lax and lazy eating it. They lost their feather sheen, overall vibrancy. Not worth it.
Good: MannaPro. This is expensive, but I use it where my normal feed fails. It helped my chicks with more sensitive digestive systems.
Great: RuralKing Country Roads Chick Starter. Yeah, it's cheap, but it has given me the most consistent results and the healthiest looking birds. The only reason I am experimenting is so I can see if the benefits of the Kalmbach are really that good.
Best: Kalmbach. It is regional I believe, but it's only an hour from me to the plant in Ohio. I like what I have heard, that it is clean, fresh, and gives amazing results. I really like their options for chick feed, as far as different protein levels, non gmo and organic, to all flock starter which is helpful for mixed batched of turkeys and chicks. I will add more once I try the Kalmbach, I am going this weekend to pick some up hopefully!
(oh, this also holds true for grown birds save for the MannaPro and Purina which I haven't used on my big guys. RK brand feed has seriously been my best.)

 

[KSH1]

I started with New Country Organics, and I REALLY wanted to keep using it indefinitely, because I really like the farmer who sells it out of his tiny local shop and I want to support him. But the birds wasted so much of it, even when soaked or fermented, that I just didn't trust that they were getting the nutrition. I had a couple of chicks fail to thrive, which may be totally unrelated, and now I have a bantam who is growing and feathering much more slowly than the others. I've been transitioning them to Nature's Best crumbles and it's going well. They aren't wasting any really, and they attack like a bunch of velociraptors when I put down the trough feeders of it soaked. And those feeders are soon spotless. I dosed the tiny one a couple of times with NutriDrench, and have also added probiotics to the water. Although I would have said it was acting ok before, now it's a very busy bird and much harder to catch!

I'm trying my horses on the NCO feed in an attempt to keep supporting the farmer.

My only other organic option that I could find locally was Purina. New Country Organics does make a couple of crumble feeds, but they're MUCH more expensive. I haven't ruled out Purina, but I tried the Nature's Best for now.

 

[SouthernStorm]

We use Naturewise Chick Start and Grow by Nutrena. It includes the vitamins and probiotics that chicks need to stay healthy as they grow. Our chicks have always been healthy and strong, and cheaper brands are lacking in these nutrients. I find it less expensive overall to buy a quality feed instead of a cheap feed plus dozens of supplements or medications later. Brands like Dumor, Southern States, and Kaytee are not complete formulas and some have had recalls due to contamination. Also beware of organic feeds, as they often lack important supplements designed to keep your chicks healthy as they grow (btw...that info comes from a doctor of poultry science at Purdue University and not the internet).

 

[KSH1]

Interesting. @SouthernStorm do you have any more specifics on what they say is lacking from organic feeds, and is it all organic feeds? I'm happy to dig into this myself if you would rather just point me to a source. I'm always interested in learning more. (Weirdly, I don't seem to have much Nutrena around here.)

 

[Kayla's Lunch]

I started with New Country Organics, and I REALLY wanted to keep using it indefinitely, because I really like the farmer who sells it out of his tiny local shop and I want to support him. But the birds wasted so much of it, even when soaked or fermented, that I just didn't trust that they were getting the nutrition. I had a couple of chicks fail to thrive, which may be totally unrelated, and now I have a bantam who is growing and feathering much more slowly than the others. I've been transitioning them to Nature's Best crumbles and it's going well.


I feed New Country Organics grower and ferment it. My chickens don't always eat all their food. But it seems to depend on how much time they spend out foraging. Maybe I should try a different brand. Are you fermenting the Nature's Best?

 

[KSH1]

I am so far not fermenting the Nature's Best. I may give it a try. With the NCO, they seemed to prefer it dry, possibly because that made the sorting easier. But as excited as they get about crumbles that have been soaked briefly, maybe I'll ask what they think of fermented crumbles.

 

[itgirl]

I've raised very healthy chickens on Scratch and Peck. Fermenting it makes it harder for them to pick out only the bits they like, and since it's all gone at the end of the day I know they've gotten everything. I prefer whole foods for both myself and my animals. The only brand of pellets I have fed / would feed is Modesto Milling, because they have organic, soy-free formulas like Scratch and Peck, but it's a lot harder to find.