Brand of feed

[SouthernStorm]

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.)

I got the information at a lecture with the Purdue DVM specialists, so there isn't a website I can point you to, but I think the reasoning behind it is that for any feed, animals, eggs, etc. to carry the label organic, they can not have any access to additives or coccidiostats that are found in most standard or medicated feeds in order to promote healthier chicks. As a result, if your peeps get coccidiosis or any other illness, you can't treat them without breaching the rules of organic labeling. You also can't feed them any non-organic treats, including store bought mixes, kitchen scraps of non-organic produce, grains, etc. without doing the same. You could probably email someone through the Purdue poultry extension to explore further. I hope I didn't hear them wrong during the lecture.

 

[Lauren F]

I use Prince Organic Crumble, it is very high quality. However, lately it has been more "powdery". I have switched to Kombach for now. It is excellent, highly nutritious organic feed, as well.

 

[Lauren F]

I got the information at a lecture with the Purdue DVM specialists, so there isn't a website I can point you to, but I think the reasoning behind it is that for any feed, animals, eggs, etc. to carry the label organic, they can not have any access to additives or coccidiostats that are found in most standard or medicated feeds in order to promote healthier chicks. As a result, if your peeps get coccidiosis or any other illness, you can't treat them without breaching the rules of organic labeling. You also can't feed them any non-organic treats, including store bought mixes, kitchen scraps of non-organic produce, grains, etc. without doing the same. You could probably email someone through the Purdue poultry extension to explore further. I hope I didn't hear them wrong during the lecture.

I recently had coccidiosis run through my flock of 27 adult chickens. I treated it by making a 9 by 13 pan of oatmeal mixed with a half a cup of oregano, two heads of garlic... Not cloves!... The whole heads crushed. I also added cinnamon, about 1/4 cup, and a bunch of apple cider vinegar, and Thyme, Chia oil, ground flaxseed, and chopped up dandelion leaves. I fed this to them every day for one week straight. All of my chickens were cured! Except one of my old hens, who was eight years old, she passed away from it. But the rest of them were cured. I am certified organic.

 

[sindy1200]

Purina

 

[KSH1]

Thanks @SouthernStorm. That sounds like an interesting lecture. I wondered if it was the lack of coccidiostats. I am not going to be certified organic; I'm too small for it to be worthwhile, and while I'm feeding organic due to egg buyers' preference, they know that I will also give occasional healthy treats that aren't necessarily organic and I will not let any of my animals suffer a treatable illness without treatment just for a label. Personally, I like some of the rules of organic certification but I think others are way overboard. But again, I will not label my eggs organic so for those for whom it's important, they will know to shop elsewhere.

 

[Taj_MaChicken]

If you are trying to stay organic, I liked Scratch and Peck's grower.

https://www.scratchandpeck.com/shop/naturally-free-grower/

Also, if you're going to purchase it online, it's cheaper at chewy than at amazon... it's what I use for my chickies and they love it.

 

[cmom]

My suggestion would be to talk to other chicken owners in your area and see what feeds they are using and what is available. I use Flint River Mills (FRM) which is only available in the S.E. U.S. but I know some of the farms used as test farms for their feed formulation and I do show my birds at poultry shows. I have used Nutrena many years ago.

 

[SouthernStorm]

Thanks @SouthernStorm. That sounds like an interesting lecture. I wondered if it was the lack of coccidiostats. I am not going to be certified organic; I'm too small for it to be worthwhile, and while I'm feeding organic due to egg buyers' preference, they know that I will also give occasional healthy treats that aren't necessarily organic and I will not let any of my animals suffer a treatable illness without treatment just for a label. Personally, I like some of the rules of organic certification but I think others are way overboard. But again, I will not label my eggs organic so for those for whom it's important, they will know to shop elsewhere.

Ok, so I asked around to my friends who were also at the lecture and they said it was because of the methionine, which is an amino acid used to promote bone and feather growth, as well as metabolic function in animals. Organic feeds can't include this additive, so chicks raised organically grow smaller than those on standard feeds. They showed slides of chicks raised on organic, standard, and Nutrena feeds, and the differences in size were astounding! Nutrena's Naturewise line is also vegetarian based, so customers of mine who have to avoid certain animal proteins are safe eating our eggs. We chose to not go organic because we keep a very large flock, but they are fed premium feeds, healthy treats, and are humanely raised, so our pastured/free range yolks are nice and orange, and buyers can see how they are sourced.

 

[Donny79]

I like kalmbach feed, birds seem to like it better and have had good results. (larger birds and burnt orange egg yolks). Poops stink a whole lot less as well. I feed 50/50 kalmbach and sweet mix for horses.

 

[KSH1]

Wow that's interesting about the methionine! I'll definitely be doing more feed research this afternoon! Thanks!