Does Feed brand matter?

[Chickeninthemeadow]

I am starting chickens (buff orpingtons) soon. I know I want medicated chicken starter and either 24 or 20%. Apart from that, is there any difference in brands of feed? I come from the dog world and I bash stuff like Ole Roy, Pedigree, and Dog Chow all the time. You might even call me a dog food snob because I do believe there is a huge difference in the quality and that it does matter.

My dogs are not just dumb dogs and I don't intend to treat my chickens as just stupid chickens either. I want to give them the best I can afford, even though they will at some time end up in the stew pot. So, any thoughts on this?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Of course there are differences in brands of feed. Some are organic and some are not. Some contain animal by-products and some don't. The different brands get the same general analysis, but they get there by using different mixes of grains and other products. I don't know what is important to you personally. You'll have to do your own research (which I understand your post is a start) and decide for yourself what is important.

I spoke to my vet about dog food. His comment was to use a nationally known brand, not one of the discount brands, and they will do find. I feel the same way about chicken feed. I'm not concerned about chickens eating animal by-products since they are omnivores and not ruminants. I'm not organic but I don't indiscriminantly use chemicals either. I feed them the least-expensive (cheapest) nationally known brand I can find, let them free range (no fences and access to true pastureland), and don't worry about it.

Some people go to great lengths to formulate their own feed with specific additives and with or without certain products. I expect you will fall in somewhere between them and me. Good luck!

 

[bluere11e]

I am concerned with what goes into my chickens as well as my dogs, my horses and myself and family. There's a LOT of hanky panky going on with feed companies with the notion to pad the bottom line. Hence all of those dogs and cats dying and the big food recall because China used Melamine to boost protein percentages. Now, and even then, GMO is suspect.
The way I look at it is if it's good for me, it's good for them. I feed very little commercially prepared feed. I want to know what's in it. I do feed my hen's Layena, but it is more like a supplement rather than the total feed. They get free range, most of my table scraps, all the fruit from my Banana and papaya trees.. Over ripened fruit and veggies from my garden (they dont like cabbage) Whole oats, Black OIl Sunflower Seeds (BOSS) wild bird seed. old bread and what ever they pick up running around on 5 acres..
They're HAPPY chickens that live happy lives.. Their eggs show it. Gorgeous orangey yellow yolks that stand up like golf balls. Firm whites that hold their shapes and aren't loose and runny. My horses get as much local hay and pasture as they want to eat. I feed whole oats and the old ones get Alfalfa/Timothy Pellets soaked in water to help them chew.
What sort of changed my mind is about 15-20 years ago, I used to buy the cheapest chicken crumbles out there. (4.00- 5.00 a bag) It always had a mouldy, wet stall smell to me. One day, I visited a relative Chicken farm In North Carolina.. It was the SAME smell inside those buildings! I found out that after they remove those chickens for processing, the litter (shavings and poop) are used as filler and ground in with corn, rendered animal fat and meat ( road kill, euthanised pets..etc) and other chaff for commercial chicken diets.. It kind of made me sick, considering euthanasia meds,odd ball medications, amprolium and other antibiotics are used, passed through into the shavings and compounded in another chicken. Sort of like little fish and mercury after a while, the big fish have too much mercury and we aren't supposed to eat it.
So, now, I spend a little extra money for Layena. It's supposed to me 100% plant material .. Some other feeds do have rendered meat for higher protein)
But it's about 1/10 their over all diet.
That's just me, I too am a dog food snob because of what goes in the feed.. When you read the labels on bargain/grocery store brands.. You'll see Poultry digest.. another word for poop. My dog gets Taste of the wild or instinct, and even then a small amount, as he gets to have some of what the family eats. He's a sucker for asparagus, broccoli,brussel sprouts and whole grain noodles, he gets a fresh egg every day (cooked though) and he likes swwet potatoes, peas and brown rice too.
You are what you eat and the current statistic says 1 out of 2 people living to 75 will get some form of cancer in their life times.. not good odds. I blame it on commercial foods and what's in our air..

 

[Chickeninthemeadow]

Thanks for mentioning that bluerelle, my dogs are going to LOVE this, forgot about giving them fresh eggs almost every day. We rarely give them to them now cause we run out so often.

I feed Blue Buffalo Wilderness and TOTW as well. I will have to look a little more into what is in the chicken feed, though I probably won't go to the extreme of 'home cooking' for my birds. Thanks for the information (both of you btw). It will all depend on what I can find locally though. I'm not big on buying feed on the internet.

 

[Five Dog Farm]

We feed our girls nutrena 16%layer. seems to be fine. never heard anything bad about it. We sell our extra eggs to pay for the feed and supplies. Here in Illinois we pay about $11/ 50# bag

 

[cmtigger]

Just a note- the Purina that produces livestock feeds is not the same Purina that makes dog and cat food. While there are regional brands that may be better, I have usually just stuck with Purina for my guinea pigs (labdiet), rabbits and chickens(layena) because it is consistant and they do well on it.

 

[Cindy in PA]

The Purina that makes chicken feed DOES make dog food, just not the "Purina" you find at the grocery store. They sell their pet feed through feed stores.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
I thought Purina sold their pet food division to Nestle.

 

[cmtigger]

Quote:
The company that makes livestock feed is Purina Mills, the company that makes the dog and cat food, like Dog Chow and Purina One is Nestle.
http://www.purinamills.com/ Some of their feeds are still called "chow" but others have other names, like Mazuri and Labdiet. It doesn't mean that Nestle doesn't sell to feed stores. Looking through the Purina Mills sites, I did see that they do custom dog diets under their Testdiet and Labdiet brands, but that is not something that the general public is going to find at a feed store. (they are specially developed for different types of lab situations.) Feed stores CAN get labdiet, but I've found that other than a few animals (guinea pigs, mini pigs, etc) they don't usually carry it other than special order.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Quote:
The company that makes livestock feed is Purina Mills, the company that makes the dog and cat food, like Dog Chow and Purina One is Nestle.
http://www.purinamills.com/ Some of their feeds are still called "chow" but others have other names, like Mazuri and Labdiet. It doesn't mean that Nestle doesn't sell to feed stores. Looking through the Purina Mills sites, I did see that they do custom dog diets under their Testdiet and Labdiet brands, but that is not something that the general public is going to find at a feed store. (they are specially developed for different types of lab situations.) Feed stores CAN get labdiet, but I've found that other than a few animals (guinea pigs, mini pigs, etc) they don't usually carry it other than special order.

Wrong. Purina Mills Has "Exclusive" brand dog food that has been in my feed store for several years. I don't know if they make a cat food.