Fish meal in layer feed - should I buy it??

[sevenbabychicks]

Hey all,

I'm thinking of switching from Purina Layena to a local, organic option which gets its protein from fish meal. I've heard that feeding seafood to your flock makes their eggs taste fishy... is this true?

 

[HLAC]

I occasionally supplement my birds feed with ground up dried fish. No problems with fishy taste. I was told that it would take at least 30% fish in their diet before it affected taste. I have no way to verify that though. I feed much, much less than that. However the person who told me that was a very reputable source.

Anyhow, I don't think they would put enough in the feed there to make the eggs fishy. I think fish is a better protein source than just the plant proteins and synthetic amino acids that are in layena.

 

[Rusty's Ranch]

My birds have been eating soy free feed from Countryside Naturals. They use fish meal. No difference in the taste of their eggs.

Now when they eat sauerkraut ... that's another story. They may love the stuff, but don't do it!!

 

[sevenbabychicks]

Thanks, guys! I'm really excited to get this feed now. There's so much great stuff in it - I'm really hoping it'll make their poop more solid. My stoop is getting to be hard to clean.

 

[elmo]

Rusty's Ranch :

My birds have been eating soy free feed from Countryside Naturals. They use fish meal. No difference in the taste of their eggs.

Same here.​

 

[dadsdeercamp]

i might have to give tis a try also

 

[mistymeadowchicks]

Rusty's Ranch :

Now when they eat sauerkraut ... that's another story. They may love the stuff, but don't do it!!

Really?? '

' Thanks for the warning! I just read a post about sauerkraut being a great source of probiotics. Guess I'll stick w/ yogurt since I can only handle the stuff in very small doses--sure don't want it in my eggs.! '

'

re: fish meal. My local feed mill uses it as their protein source. My chickens love it & their eggs are wonderful!​

 

[classicsredone]

Does the sauerkraut flavor the eggs? People feed chickens cabbage all the time, so I'm wondering why kraut would be different.

 

[Rusty's Ranch]

I can't be certain, but I'm pretty sure it was the kraut. The eggs tasted really strange for awhile and that was the only difference in their diet that we could attribute it too. As soon as we quite feeding them the kraut, the eggs went back to normal. Maybe it was the amount they were eating. Perhaps a small amount wouldn't matter. My girls were eating a couple tablespoons a day.

 

[classicsredone]

I think it was my post they might have been referring to. Mine get a cup or so split between 8 pullets once or twice a week. I'd think a lot would flavor the eggs. Did they have a sulfur flavor to them? I'd think brassica family plants (cabbage, broccoli, etc.) would lend a sulfur taste to eggs.

I've been trying to figure out how much fish meal, garlic, etc. it takes to flavor eggs. If you look at humans, you have to eat a LOT of garlic, curry, etc. for it to start making your sweat smell. I think I read below 30% in chicken feed and you should be safe. I'm not positive, though. I can't imagine you fed the chickens 30% of their diet in kraut, unless you had a surplus.