Choosing a starter feed

[saramah]

Hello. I am looking forward to getting my chicks, hatched from a friend, in about a month. I am looking at some starter feed to make sure I have some on hand and am overwhelmed by the variety. How do you pick?? I have narrowed it down to two that I think are good. I am looking for organic feed soy and corn free. I am looking to order from Azure Standard, as my local store has little organic feeds in stock. Any tips or wisdom is welcome, this is my first time with chickens - SO excited, as are my 3 daughters

Scratch & Peck Feeds Naturally Free Poultry Starter Feed, Soy and Corn Free, Organic
Ingredients: Organic Peas, Organic Wheat, Organic Barley, Organic Linseed Meal, Fish Meal, Organic Camelina Meal, Vitamin and Mineral Pre-mix:, Organic Vegetable (Flax) Oil, Limestone (Calcium Carbonate).
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein MIN 20.50%
Lysine MIN 1.00%
Methionine MIN 0.40%
Crude Fat MIN 4.00%
Crude Fiber MIN 5.60%
Ash MAX 8.50%
Calcium MIN 0.90%
Calcium MAX 1.30%
Phosphorous MIN 0.75%
Salt MIN 0.20%
Salt MAX 0.40%
Omega 3 Fatty Acids Min 1.00%

Magill Ranch @Cascade Starter Poultry Feed, Organic - Corn & Soy Free
Ingredients:Organic Peas, Organic Barley, Organic Wheat, Fish Meal, Organic Flax Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Dehydrated Seaweed Meal, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Organic Wheat Middlings, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Menadione Nicotinamide Bisulfite, Riboflavin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenic Acid, Niacin Supplement, Choline Chloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Thiamine Hydrochloride, Pyridoxine Hydrchloride, Biotin, 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, Dried Asperfillus Niger Fermentation Extract.
Guaranteed Analysis
Nutrient Name Amount
Crude Protein min 19.58%
Lysine min 1.13%
Methionine min 0.39%
Crude Fat min 6.03%
Crude Fiber max 5.05%
Calcium min 1.25%
Calcium max 1.28%
Phosphorus 0.98%
Salt min 0.38%
Salt max 0.47%

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Welcome to BYC!

I am not familiar with either of those feeds, but their ingredients look similar.

 

[KrystalRose]

I got some sample packs of layer feed and scratch from the scratch and peck place and was impressed by how good the feed looked, it was actual grains and whatnot instead of preformed pellets or crumbles. If I could get a store to carry it here I would buy it, but I cannot afford to ship it. So I have to settle for the organic layer pellets from Organic Pride, which isn't bad, I just prefer to see the actual grains for more natural feedings.

Never heard of the other feed company before.

I did find a place about 4-5 hours from my home in northern Idaho that sells organic feed that is organic real grains and whatnot like Scratch and Peck has, and they sell it by the one ton pallet load, if I can get a trailer and enough money I am totally making a trip, the cost is about half of what the organic feed is in town and a ton would last forever, plus they sell organic hog feed and cow grain. So maybe look around for any organic feed processing plants near you that maybe sell in bulk for lower cost.

 

[Eggmachine11]

Scratch is not feed,it is a treat.
Medicated chick feed is one of the best thing I have used.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Medicated chick starter kind of goes against wanting them to be organic.

Anyway, I agree that the ingredients in those feeds are pretty similar. I'd probably choose the feed with the higher protein content. Good luck

 

[KrystalRose]

I know scratch isn't feed, they actually have complete layer feed that is not in the pellet/crumble form, it is in the whole/cracked grain form for the most part, they add other stuff for the right calcium, and vitamin contents and such. I don't have the ingredient list on me but it was a huge list of good stuff.

 

[kmartinez]

My tractor supply organic feed is in these small bags its down right expensive and aweful when you have 17 chicks...I have checked all feed stores around me even mom and pop feed stores no big bags of organic chicks starter or developer. However in nashville i came upon a feed store that sold 50 lb bags of certified organic layer by coyote creek. So i googled them and ordered their developer because I have enough starter to get me to their 7 weeks. I chose that brand because once I need layer feed i know were to get it locally in big 50lb bags to save me on shipping costs. I wish i could find a farmer making and selling organic feed. I found an ad once on craigslist but forgot to write the number down and now the ads expired

Shipping feed in large bags is just not cheap it costs as much as the feed