Do the different brands of chick feed produce different results?

[AOrchard]

So I noticed with my layers the brand of food (ie different combinations of ingredients) changes how the eggs taste. I pick my layer food based on this. For chicks / starter, does the brand of food actually change anything? Do you notice, I don't know, better feather development or something, on certain brands? Or for babies is it all more or less the same?

(Assuming all feeds are nutritionally complete, have a reasonable amount of protein, and excluding medicated vs non medicated for chick feed, which are obviously different)

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Poultry, or any other animal will develop based on overall nutrition, not necessarily brand of feed.
If the 30 nutrients animals need are delivered in the correct percentages, development will be appropriate. If one or more nutrients is deficient, there may be problems.
It isn't necessarily the brand but what the nutrient balance is in each run of feed. That means vitamin, mineral, amino acid, fat, energy makeup.

Some companies make sure those nutrient levels are substantial, others are less diligent. They all change ingredients from time to time, sometimes that is based on price or availability. It is a competitive industry but they try to achieve an acceptable level of nutrients at a price they can absorb.
They assay ingredients as they come into the mill by the trainload and the computer program determines the balance of ingredients to achieve the best nutrition for the price. From there, the program determines the blend of ingredients and the amount of goodies that are added to the grains and legumes added to create an acceptable feed.

 

[AOrchard]

Poultry, or any other animal will develop based on overall nutrition, not necessarily brand of feed.
If the 30 nutrients animals need are delivered in the correct percentages, development will be appropriate. If one or more nutrients is deficient, there may be problems.
It isn't necessarily the brand but what the nutrient balance is in each run of feed. That means vitamin, mineral, amino acid, fat, energy makeup.

Some companies make sure those nutrient levels are substantial, others are less diligent. They all change ingredients from time to time, sometimes that is based on price or availability. It is a competitive industry but they try to achieve an acceptable level of nutrients at a price they can absorb.
They assay ingredients as they come into the mill by the trainload and the computer program determines the balance of ingredients to achieve the best nutrition for the price. From there, the program determines the blend of ingredients and the amount of goodies that are added to the grains and legumes added to create an acceptable feed.

So... you would pick a chick feed based on a company that you feel produces feed more consistently batch to batch?

But as long as the nutrients are present in good levels, you don't see any other difference in the chicks?

I used the layer example above because it's other reasons to pick feed that are not a chicken health issue (I think). It's not that I see less problems with certain brands/ingredient lists due to nutrient deficiencies, but I find that certain layer feeds produce vicarious and bonus benefits like egg taste. It's sounding like there are not any of these bonus benefits for chick feed?

 

[Heaven 11]

It would make sense that what goes in affects what comes out. I am a brand new chicken mama and am excited to figure out which feed produces the best tasting eggs. How fast do you notice a difference once you switch a feed for your layers? This is really interesting!

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

@AOrchard - can you share some of your observations on what makes your egg flavor better or worse?

“Better tasting” is of course very subjective...but I’m just curious!

 

[AOrchard]

@AOrchard - can you share some of your observations on what makes your egg flavor better or worse?

“Better tasting” is of course very subjective...but I’m just curious!

Of course! I had started with some kind of fancy layer feed, I wish I remembered the name. It was the only one I found locally that came in 25 lb bags instead of 50 lb bags, and I hadn't built up my farm muscles yet. It seemed like a good feed, high protein, there was some stuff in it that was supposed to make the yolks very orange (which it did), and then added stuff like probiotics and minerals for the hens. Plus I could carry it! I think it even had some dried fruit in it?

I found those eggs to be... almost a little bitter? It left a kind of funny sharp taste on my tongue after eating them. It was very distinctly different than store eggs, but I wasn't necessarily a huge fan. I sort of figured that was just how homegrown eggs would taste, didn't think much of it.

Then there was a good sale on Producers Pride layer pellets, so they were on that for a few months. Within a few weeks they weren't that weird bitter anymore. Much milder flavor, and even tasting a bit sweet when hard-boiled. Once summer kicked into gear and they could eat more bugs and plants in addition to pellets, then the yolks got even darker, and the overall egg flavor was much more present.

I tried a few others in there and through price and availability didn't stick with them.

They are on Purina All Flock now usually. Hard-boiled eggs are maybe a little less sweet than they have been in the past. That could also be winter though, in fall I enjoyed just plain eating a hard boiled egg on its own, I haven't enjoyed that as much this spring. Will have to see when the weather warms up and they're getting a little bit of natural food to go with the pellets. I have never gone back to that 25lb bag fancy feed after trying others, I did not like those eggs at all.