Feed brand

[Pigeon28]

The person I’m getting my pigeons from feeds his birds purgain pigeon feed but I can only find browns pigeon feed locally. Anyone have experience with either of these brands? I’ll post a pic of the feed that he feeds with the ingredients but the browns isn’t as high in protein, crude fat or fiber.

 

[backyard pigeons]

The person I’m getting my pigeons from feeds his birds purgain pigeon feed but I can only find browns pigeon feed locally. Anyone have experience with either of these brands? I’ll post a pic of the feed that he feeds with the ingredients but the browns isn’t as high in protein, crude fat or fiber.

I LOVE purgrain. It's what I feed. I get it with 16% popcorn. "The sparkling clean pigeon feed". It really is. No dust whatsoever at the bottom.

I have no experience with browns, other than looking online. But, it really needs more protein if you ask me. What variety of Brown's would you feed?

I also mix in about 30 pounds of chicken layer pellets to the feed. And about 25 pounds of wheat. this makes the feed go from $0.64 a pound to $0.32 a pound. The birds are healthier. Wheat is the best grain for pigeons. so I recommend adding in more..the chicken layer pellets seem to help the baby's live, so I would do that for the breeders, but not for the flyers. I hope this helps.

 

[Qwerty3159]

I feed the Brown's Breeder's Blend and have for about a year straight now.
https://www.chewy.com/browns-breeder-kafir-premium-pigeon/dp/187428

I think BP is right and this feed could use more protein! My birds have been fine on it, but I also mix in whole corn with more in the winter so this might make up for it.

 

[biophiliac]

I get a pigeon mix from a local company -
https://delongcompany.com/images/557/DELONG PIGEON FEED.pdf
I get the 'non corn' version. I add some corn in winter. I always add safflower bc my birds love it and that prob why some are Fat - they are greedy and pick out all the safflower. LOL For pairs feeding babies I add a mix of smaller seeds.

My mix has a lot of wheat and it is the least favorite so if there are leftovers it will be the wheat. I used to add all flock pellets but the birds aren't keen on them so now I only use them to make formuly for hand feeding babies. It has more dust than I would like but the birds have done great on it. I recently saw a guy on YT who washes the corn and spreads it out to dry in the sun on a tarp before feeding it to his birds!!
Oh, and the cost of the 50# bag of pigeon mix is about $22, it just increased slightly.

 

[biophiliac]

Oh, and I think both Browns and Purgrain are great choices! I had not heard of Purgrain but now I'm intrigued by @backyard pigeons glowing review. No dust?

 

[Old_Strain_Lover]

I'm feeding Brown's this year as it's currently the easiest for me to get. Using the developer right now during breeding and pleased with it to this point. What kind of pigeons are you getting, and what are your plans for them? Protein requirements are going to vary depending on the season (breeding, racing, molting, rest etc.). 16% is more of a conditioning mix, and also often used for breeding, but even 14% and 15% proteins mixes are fine for breeding (I'm currently using a 14% mix). A lot of people feed a high protein percentage year round and in my opinion its not good. It's not needed and it's also taxing on the kidneys... the birds will have looser and smellier droppings on top of it. Also if it's during racing you really wouldn't want to use a 16% either... during racing you want to use a lower protein percentage and higher carbohydrate feed. Not sure what your plans are, but Brown's feed is fine as long as you are aware that feed requirements change depending on the season (this goes for any brand).

 

[Old_Strain_Lover]

I feed the Brown's Breeder's Blend and have for about a year straight now.
https://www.chewy.com/browns-breeder-kafir-premium-pigeon/dp/187428

I think BP is right and this feed could use more protein! My birds have been fine on it, but I also mix in whole corn with more in the winter so this might make up for it.

Corn is low in protein (about 8%), so the more you mix in the more you are going to lower the protein of the mix.

 

[biophiliac]

Corn is low in protein (about 8%), so the more you mix in the more you are going to lower the protein of the mix.

Yes. And if I were try to increase protein I'd add … peas?

 

[Old_Strain_Lover]

Yes. And if I were try to increase protein I'd add … peas?

Yes... peas, roasted soybeans, or something like a grower/all flock pellet. Some people even add in pelleted fish food to boost protein as they are very high protein foods, but I personally don't recommend doing this as I just don't feel very high protein levels are needed. Even safflower will boost protein to a certain extent, but the drawback is it's very high in fat so you can't use too much of it (plus they will get spoiled on it and want to leave everything else).

 

[biophiliac]

Thanks. I don't need to increase protein as mine is already 15% but it is good to understand what each ingredient brings to the mix. I should probably reduce my safflower - mine are spoiled already!