feed--Purina Layena or Dumor layer?

[they'reHISchickens]

I'm with you for buying local, farmanimallover, but the mill where we could get chicken feed mills it too fine and we have found less waste with the pellets. My son and DIL use the local mill for their large flock but they have a full farm-sized chicken house and the old feeders and don't have the waste problem. We are going to get the local scratch grains however, and mix in some BOSS with them.
DH is so envious of those old large chicken houses!

 

[awtandrocks]

My chooks aren't laying yet but I'll voice my observations on feeding.
I started my chicks on Dumor because thats what TSC carried and they liked that, then I decided to support my local feed store and he sold FRN crumbles and had no problems there, then the local guy went out of business and when i went to TSC they had Layena (pellets) so I tried that and my chickens seemed to dislike it, (didn't eat near as much they would of the crumbles of other brands) so I've switched back to Dumor crumbles and the chickens seem pleased.

 

[madmantrapper]

I used the Dumor til someone said they were being discontinued so I switched to the layena. Chickens didn't seem the mine. The other day I was going by the local Southern States and bought some of they're brand pellets, they are also working fine. I do find that there is less waste with the pellets.

edit: I just want to add that the TSC in my area only has dumor crumbles no pellets, so if you want pellets you have to get the layena.

 

[Terri O]

Dont be jealous of full sized coops! I dont know if they all are, but mine is drafty, has vermin under the floor and the wild birds can get in! I am glad I got 40 more birds in it this fall--they all seem much warmer than last year...even though it is 0 at night. They are a nightmare to clean out in spring...i am actually thinking about building a new one...raised off te ground a bit! TErri O in WI

 

[Shadowhills Farm]

Well, we have 5 girls ( Buff Orpington, 2 Rhode Island Reds, White Orpington and a Maran mix), plus our Pekin girl. We have been feeding DuMor ever since we started to have chickens, and have been very please with the quality of feed, feed efficiency and the quality of eggs.

The Buff Orp and the Pekin usually lay one egg per day. I know we had a bad cold spell here, plus the Buff Orp molting, so of course there would be a decline in egg production. It's been warmer here, and there are days where there are NO eggs at all. Have been getting about 2-4 a week total for the Buff and Pekin.

The Rhode Island Reds are 34 weeks of age- no eggs. We just got the White Orp and the Maran mix (old enough to lay eggs), no eggs from them either.

The Tractor Supply we have is getting pricey for DuMor. $11.50 per 50lb bag. We remember when it was cheaper than that! They've also raised prices on scratch- about $10.00 for 50 lb bag. We've also noticed that in our Chick Starter, hard clumps of feed...... very weird and we've never had that problem.

We went to a local feed store today and got the Layena Layer Crumbles. $12.40 for 50 lb bag. Tractor Supply sells it for $13.49 for 50 lb bag.

Put the Layena out for the herd....immediately started t eat it.

Hoping for some eggs soon!

 

[pardenx3]

I switched mine to Layena, and the chickens look a lot better and they they have the prettiest richest colored yolks. A real dark yellow. They also seemed to increase their laying. We went from about eleven out of fourteen laying daily, all fourteen laying almost everyday in the summer.

 

[savingdogs]

We have only fed Layena (after Flock Raiser) but we are getting a fantastic amount of eggs from our girls, sometimes more than one a day for some, and the eggs are gorgeous and yummy. They seem to love it.

 

[RGraham]

I use Purina pellets, and it seems that they don't waste much. But I also let them out to free range, and I can't believe how much that saved on feed. Everyone should have free range chickens if possible. I just shut the door after sunset, and open it in the morning. Life is great in my chicks world!

 

[kuntrygirl]

I stopped using all commercial feed. I buy my feed from a local mill that makes their own feed. So glad that I switched.

 

[dcross07]

DuMor is made by Cargill. Which also makes NatureWise, Producers Pride, etc. They are in competition with Purina Mills. I quit using DuMor in March of 2012 after there was an extensive recall in all their poultry feed lines - starter, raising, laying. There was an abnormally high amount of toxin from mold in their feed. The DuMor was a couple of dollars cheaper than the Purina Mills, but I exclusively use Layena now. Have not seen any problems with the chickens or any mayor differences in eggs. The chickens eat both equally well.