Is purina feed okay?

[K0k0shka]

Why do you not like Purina? My chickens only eat Purina Flock Raiser, which is 20% protein, with calcium on the side. They've been eating it for years and they are doing just fine. Healthy, with shiny plumage, laying nicely. I have no complaints at all.

Chickens prefer crumble over pellets because it's easier to swallow. If they have nothing else and are starving, they will eat the pellets out of necessity, but if given the choice, they will prefer crumble. I feed crumble because of that. I have a zero waste feeder, so that's not an issue for me. I have no compelling reason to use pellets instead of crumble.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Many of us - probably the majority of active posters on BYC Feed forums - recommend an All Flock-type feed for all birds of all ages, with free choice fresh clean water, free choice grit, free choice oyster shell (or similar calcium source). The only down side is a slight increase in cost - while there are numerous (admittedly small) benefits for the birds, and the bigger benefit that it works very well for mixed age and mixed gender flocks, as well as for birds who are not prime age high production layers.

We do so with sufficient frequency that some of us often simply link a post in response to the question.

The whole "Purina" thing... It is supported by a handful of largely unsourceable, unverifiable anecdotes, inconsistent and contradictory data points, no plausible method of operation, and some other claims that I would generously characterize as either "fantasy" or objectively (and trivially verfiably) wrong.