Chicken Feed Brand Comparison Chart??

[MountainFireflyAcres]

Is there not anyone willing to make a Chicken Feed Comparison Chart? I can look up dog food and cat food comparison charts all day long that are very informative in describing the different brands and what they contain and that lists in detail what to look for in the food and what to watch out for, ie the good and bad ingredients and why they are good and bad and even rankings of the brands out there from good to bad.
I have often looked up "best chicken feed brand" and "chicken feed comparison chart" and many variations of the wording and still I don't come up with much. There is one chart, the only chart that I found that compares the brands in respect to nutritional qualities. its titled "PoultryDVM: Poultry Feeds Comparison Lookup Tool" and while its the best I have found, I give much credit to the people that made it, very high credit in fact, but it still doesn't list ingredient comparisons or explain what to look for or look out for, etc.
I wish I knew the differences as to what ranks where so I could just scan the bags and determine if its a quality food or a mediocre one or somewhere in between like I can dog and cat food. It used to be my job at one point in my life to point these things out to people for dog and cat owners. Poultry feed is a completely different ball game and I have tried but have zero understanding due to the limited amount of writing on the subject.
I understand organic would be ideal and that their are many good brands and some ranking comparisons on them, but for those of us that planned to feed these until they realized how much chickens actually eat and the price of organic feed vs conventional I leave out organic in my thoughts on this.
The postings I see on this forum usually involve Purina vs blue seal vs southern states vs etc etc with people saying their own preferences without hardly any real facts to verify why one is better then the other.
Is there anyone out there that is knowledgeable enough on feed to be able to point out what to look for and why? not simply , no soy or no corn because I feed soy free? So that the rest of us not in the know can look at a bag and say ok, the top ingredient's are this and this and this which would make this pretty good or better yet make a chart or spread sheet?

-Brian

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'm no expert, but the things I look at are protein and fat percentages, and type of ingredients. From there I judge by it's smell, whether the chickens like it, and if they do well on it.

I like a feed with 18-22% protein, the main thing I'm looking at. All that extra stuff is personal preference. I don't have a problem with wheat, soy, or animal protein in my feed.

A lot of things these days are catch phrases and most don't even know why they don't want a particular ingredient, they just hear it and think it's good, or not good.

So, everyone has a different take on what makes a good feed, so it's impossible to organize them. Even dog foods are only broken down into better ingredients and poorer ingredients.

Maybe someday someone will take the initiative and make a list, but like most things chickens, everyone can do something different and feed something different without any one way being right or better.

 

[Folly's place]

There's a lot of fantasy 'information' out there concerning dog and cat foods!!! The 'good' and 'bad' ingredient lists, the protein %, the 'natural' vs. what, 'unnatural'?
For chicken feed, so far, there's less of that going on, which is a good thing.
I feed a 20% protein all-flock feed, Purina Flock Raiser, because it's good for all my birds, and is available fresh where I buy feed. Other people will make other choices, and I think that buying fresh is most important.
Livestock feed is more regulated than pet food (historical differences here), so it's actually easier to see what you are buying, and what it's designed for.
Beyond that, it's personal preference.
If I was actually allergic to a certain ingredient, for example corn, I would then avoid it in my chicken's diet. Not because it's going to be in their eggs (it isn't!), but because I wouldn't want to handle the feed, or inhale the dust in the coop.
Otherwise, I'm good with ingredient lists that meet the nutritional profile on the package.
I eat a lot of GMO inclusive foods, so there's no reason for me to feed a non-GMO diet to my birds!
A fresh feed that works for your flock is the best diet, IMO.
Mary

 

[GC-Raptor]

Chicken feed, ingredients change with the seasons. The exact same brand, and type of feed, say layers pellets may change ingredients several times during the year, and have different ingredients in different parts of the country from different mills. The analysis, percent of Protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, vitamins, will be the same though. Here is 4 tags for Feather Fixer, each a different mill date bought at the same store different times of the year.

. Here is 2 Hearty Hen feeds, bought at different times at the same store.

. Analysis is the same for each type of feed, only the ingredients change. GC

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Chicken feed, ingredients change with the seasons. The exact same brand, and type of feed, say layers pellets may change ingredients several times during the year, and have different ingredients in different parts of the country from different mills. The analysis, percent of Protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, vitamins, will be the same though. Here is 4 tags for Feather Fixer, each a different mill date bought at the same store different times of the year.View attachment 1288224 . Here is 2 Hearty Hen feeds, bought at different times at the same store. View attachment 1288230 . Analysis is the same for each type of feed, only the ingredients change. GC

I've noticed that too on my feed tag, I wasn't sure if other brands did the same.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

There are some feeds that have fixed formulas & don't change things based on price. Agway used to be one, but has now been taken over by Cargill, so don't know if they still are. Nature's Best Organic is another one that claims a fixed formula. I would guess most others are not.

You really don't want a fixed formula since the nutrient content of the ingredients change over time, especially from crop year to crop year. Also having a fixed formula can have dramatic effects on the price of the feed as ingredient prices change.

 

[imnukensc]

Here's one I just posted in another thread.

http://www.poultrydvm.com/feeds.php

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

Cindy:

There is a difference between a fixed formula ration and a fixed ingredient listing ration. I would not want a fixed formula ration because of changes in the nutrition found in feed ingredients. On the other hand, having a fixed feed ingredient feed allows the feed manufacture adjust the amount of ingredients to meet that nutrient guarantees for the feed.

Jim

 

[cin111]

I have read about and experimented with many different brands of chicken feed, and have always returned to New Country Organic's corn free layer, or starter if I have babies. Do some more research and come to understand that corn for chickens is like white sugar is to humans, not necessary and a cause of fat! Then we come to the ever-present soy. It's easy to find information regarding the detrimental effects of soy in our diets, and if it's in the chicken feed, it's in the eggs! The grains for the feeds for many popular brands are imported and grown how? I want grown in America, sustainably sourced, tested for purity, and none of that canola oil crap, in the feed for my feathered friends. Best of luck to you all!

 

[Cindy in PA]

There are some feeds that have fixed formulas & don't change things based on price. Agway used to be one, but has now been taken over by Cargill, so don't know if they still are. Nature's Best Organic is another one that claims a fixed formula. I would guess most others are not.