corn and or soy free... is there something wrong with this feed

[donandmelissa]

We try to be soy free so when looking for soy free feed I seen corn free. What would be the benefit of this? Is there any other people here who eat mostly organic? What feed to you use? Our or ping tons are only 2 weeks old and going through a bag every couple days because they knock most of it out. So this is getting expensive.

 

[Madison-Jamil]

My family eats organic. Our birds are 8-9 weeks old and we have been using scratch and peck feeds. I used the starter till they were 6 - 7 weeks old and now they are eating the grower. Last time I had chickens over 15 years ago I used crumble and pellets so this has been a lot different as I have to make sure they have grit this time, but they are enjoying the scratch and peck and not tossing it all over the place. In fact they eat pretty much every bite if I empty the remnants of the feeder on the grass for them during their daily outside time.

http://www.scratchandpeck.com/shop/naturally-free-starter/

 

[yyz0yyz0]

Our or ping tons are only 2 weeks old and going through a bag every couple days because they knock most of it out. So this is getting expensive.

I had a lot of waste in the beginning with my chicks till I modified their feeder to help reduce the waster. I have the classic gravity chick feeder with the ports all the way around. I took masking tape and used it to partially close off the outer portion of the holes so the holes became smaller. They could still get all the food out they wanted but they did not scatter as much of it as before so I had less waste.

 

[Nupe]

If you keep their brooder dry, (I used a thick layer of pine shavings) they will eventually eat the food they threw all over the place and they'll enjoy doing it. You just have to pay attention and not refill the dish until they've cleaned it up. Make sure you raise up the feeder and water dish as high as you can where everyone can still reach and the water won't get spilled/trampled so much, making the bedding soppy.

As far as soy and corn free, the only advantage I really see with those feeds are for people with allergies and can't handle the food. A lot of research went into chicken feed to make it a complete and cost effective diet. I don't see Scratch and Peck feeds as any more natural because a Chicken's natural diet doesn't consist of mostly grains. The rest of the nutrition relies on a protein, vitamin and mineral powder that can easily get wasted. The manufacturer of the feed recommends fermenting to keep it together but their vendor who supplies the powder doesn't agree. (There was a thread discussing it here on BYC with reps from SnP adding commentary. If I had the time I'd dig it up.) Anyway, I find the official regulatory definition of "Organic" as a farce, so I don't bother seeking it out or paying more.