Can Someone Rate this Feed for Me?

[hokankai]

I found someone nearby milling their own feed, and I wanted to know how the ingredients/protein look for the price. Here's the add:

"Soy-Free non-GMO chicken feed. Compare these ingredients with anyone else and you will see this is the most natural food you could be giving your animals. We buy our organic grains direct from the farmers right here in Washington which keeps our carbon footprint smaller and allows us all to support our own local farmers and communities. We are dedicated to producing high quality feeds because we believe that "you are what your animals eat!"

NATURALLY FREE STARTER Chick Feed 40 lb bag $24.99
Chick starter ground mash has 20.4% protein and is used to give baby chicks and broilers a healthy start. Use this feed for the first 8 weeks; 4 weeks for broilers.
Ingredients: Peas, Wheat, Barley, Flax meal, camelina meal, Triticale, fish meal, poultry vitamin & mineral pre-mix (Nutri-balancer), non-GMO vegetable oil, limestone.

NATURALLY FREE GROWER Chicken Feed - Local Pick-Up - 40lb $22.99
Use: Grower whole-grain mash has 16.5% protein and is used to support growth in young pullets. Use this feed for pullets 8-20 weeks of age, or until they start laying eggs. Ingredients: Wheat, Peas, Barley, Triticale, camelina meal, fish meal, poultry vitamin & mineral pre-mix (Nutri-balancer), non-GMO vegetable oil, limestone.

NATURALLY FREE LAYER Chicken Feed - Local Pick-Up - 40lb $22.99
Layer whole-grain mash is a complete chicken feed and contains 16.4% protein. It can also be used to supplement a pasture-based diet. Use this feed when chickens reach 20 weeks of age or begin laying eggs. Ingredients: Peas, Triticale, Wheat, Barley, camelina meal, limestone, oyster shell, fish meal, poultry vitamin & mineral pre-mix (Nutri-balancer), non-GMO vegetable oil."

Thanks!

 

[arenea74]

Have you bought this feed? I was searching GMO in the threads and found your post. I just watched Food Inc so my mental wheels are turning.

 

[ChickenAl]

I see the list of ingredients include fish meal which is an excellent source of protein in place of the soy. I did notice that it says non-GMO, but Organic is not mentioned for the list of ingredients. Might be that the source the grains from organic and non-organic farms. Flax meal, which can turn rancid more easily than flax seeds is listed in the starter but not in the grower or layer. Not sure why. They seem to use the Camelina for Omega 3. Also, no corn in the mix. Triticale is also a good grain. Limestone is a source of calcium and also may provide some of the grit necessary to help the birds digest the grains. Would be a a good idea to provide supplemental grit according to the age of the flock. Starter grit for the young ones and the larger grit for the adults. Free ranging will usually provide enough grit.

Sounds pretty close to what we are now feeding our flock. Since it is a mash you may get more waste as they pick and choose what they like to eat out of it and toss some on the ground. The peas, which I am assuming are field peas may or may not be liked by your flock.

I've done a fair amount of research on feed since I got into raising chickens and believe you have a good feed in this mix. We have gone through a few brands in 16 weeks, finally settling on Countryside Organics out of Virginia. As a comparison, this is the list of ingredients in their layer feed;


Crude protein, minimum..............................................17.00%
Crude fat, minimum.......................................................2.00%
Crude fiber, maximum...................................................8.00%

INGREDIENTS
Organic Field Peas, Organic Corn, Organic Oats, Organic Wheat, Calcium Carbonate, Fish Meal, Organic Alfalfa Meal, Organic Flaxseed, Organic Rice Bran, Sodium Silico Aluminate, Dried Organic Kelp, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Yeast Culture, Roughage Product (organic wheat middlings),Organic Sunflower Oil, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Menadione Nicotinamide Bisulfite Complex, D-Calcium Pantothenic Acid, Niacin Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Biotin, Folic Acid, Manganese Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Extract, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Dried fermentation product of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Dried fermentation product of Lactobacillus casei, , Dried fermentation product of Lactobacillus plantarum, Dried fermentation product of Enterococcus faecium, Dried fermentation product of Bacillus coagulans, Dried fermentation product of Bacillus licheniformis, and Dried fermentation product of Bacillus subtilis.

Our ladies have only been on this for a week and one has just started laying. All the eggs have had great shells and deep yellow/orange yolks. We do get ours in 50lb bags for $23.50 but the shipping adds $16.50, so yours, even though it is a 40lb. bag, is reasonable because you can pick it up.

Overall, you should be satisfied with that feed. The only way to know is to try it out. Good luck, and let us know how it works out.