So, there are three very important things on a bag of poultry feed.
FIRST is the guaranteed nutritional analysis.
Nutritional Information
| Guaranteed Analysis | |
|---|
| Crude Protein, min | 16.00% |
| Lysine, min | 0.80% |
| Methionine, min | 0.30% |
| Crude Fat, min | 3.50% |
| Crude Fiber, max | 5.00% |
| Calcium, min | 0.85% |
| Calcium, max | 1.35% |
| Phosphorus, min | 0.65% |
| Salt, min | 0.25% |
| Salt, max | 0.75% |
Niacin isn't listed, because it very rarely is - so we'll have to pay extra attention to the third factor.
SECOND is the date of manufacture. FRESH is best, you want your birds finishing the bag, optimally, before the feed is three months old (an admittedly arbitrary date, but a good target to strive for).
THIRD is the ingredients list.
Ground Corn*, Soybean Meal*, Ground Wheat*, Wheat Middlings*, Roasted Soybeans*, Ground Barley*, Calcium Carbonate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Salt, Reed-Sedge Peat, DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin A Acetate.
From all these things, we see its a low protein (lower than I would use or recommend) feed at the upper end of the normal (by comparison to other feeds) fat range [which is somewhat typical for All Flock-style feeds], of about 1% calcium, which is just fine for all ages. First two ingredients are corn (cheap filler, low in both lysine and tryptophan, but a good source of methionine). Soy (together with quinoa) is one of the few complete protiens in the plant world. I like to see that on a label. Wheat is low in Methionine (something corn provided plenty of), but relatively high in tryptophan (something the corn lacked). Unfortunately, like corn, its also low in lysine. Barley is like a low quality wheat in a lot of ways, I'd rather see oats there, but I don't object to it.
and reading further... "Niacin Supplement". Gothca. You want to see this, or brewers yeast, or anotherniacin source on a bag intended for ducks, geese, and other waterfowl. An excess of it won't hurt your chickens.
I will tag some people who will hopefully know 
