Is there a good, natural chicken feed?

[chellyroo]

My chicks are only a week and a half old, but I am already wondering which feed will be best for them when they get into the growth and layer feed stages. I guess I should be concerned with what's in the chick starter they're eating now, but that's another can of worms (not literally!

) I've looked at organic feeds online (I don't think there are any local sources) and it's about $35/50 lb bag including shipping, which is too high for me to consider. But I don't want my chickens eating junk food, and I assume chicken feed is like any other food, there's good and bad right? I've also read some on mixing your own feed, but I really don't have the room to store lots of various bags of seed and such. Is there a good feed that is natural and free of any chemical additives and other unwanted stuff?

 

[katrinag]

I feed Purinia(sp?) layer feed and I really like it.

 

[Akane]

Chicken feed is all pretty equivalent unless you go looking for organic feed or similar. Unless you really want to go organic your best just buying age appropriate feed of whatever your feedstore carries and then giving good quality supplements. Sunflower seeds and flaxseed provide some good vitamins, minerals, and omega fatty acids. If your chickens don't have access to grass throwing them lots of different vegetation is a good idea. Free ranging provides the best quality and variety of diet because they can catch their own bugs for protein and eat a variety of greens. They'll eat a lot less chicken feed if they have plenty of good free ranging ground.