Is this too much to ask of my chicken feed?

[HennaRose]

Right now my girls are getting Scratch and Peck Naturally Free - organic, whole-grain, no corn, no soy. They seem to be healthy, they're laying well, their feathers are shiny and smooth. The problem I'm having with the feed is it has fish meal AND crab meal in it, and the eggs have begun to smell and taste like fish, which is offputting. I got chickens because my kids eat a lot of eggs, only with this fishy taste they won't eat the eggs. (And I am inundated with eggs, because I'm getting 7-8 a day and the neighbors don't want fishy-tasting eggs either.)

I was making their feed before but it was so much more expensive because I was having to buy ingredients from bulk shops (no grain mills). Homemade feed was running me about $100 a month; S&P is costing me about $70 a month. Is it too much to ask of my feed to be whole-grain, organic, free of corn, soy, and fish/crab, and be not hopelessly expensive? Are there other options for me?

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

If u have a local mill they might have a feed type like that

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

http://www.newcountryorganics.com/shop/certified-organic-soy-free-poultry-feeds.html

Here is a link for organic feeds u might be able to find one that fits ur price range and don't cause the eggs to have a fishy taste

 

[HennaRose]

That has the same ingredients as what they're currently on, only it has corn in it. And I mentioned no local grain mills in my first post.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

O sorry I'm sure I could find one do u have a local tractor supply

 

[HennaRose]

Yes, but the local one doesn't sell any whole-gran feeds. They only have crumbles and pellets, and most of it has corn and/or soy in it. I don't know about fish meal because I wasn't looking for it at the time I switched to whole-grain. They've been getting whole-grain feed since the oldest birds (a year old now) were about three months old, but I've only been buying the Scratch and Peck feed for the last few months.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

O with the link there is different kinds of organic feeds

 

[HennaRose]

I looked through all of them. Fish meal in every list.

It is a bit cheaper, though, so I might still switch brands.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Would u maybe consider looking into just a layer feed specifically designed for the layer hens and has lots of calcium I might be able to give u what kind of feed I have and use and give u a look at the label to let u see the ingredients

 

[HennaRose]

They're on a layer feed now. Whether a feed is for laying hens or not has to do with the protein and calcium in it.

I want the feed to be whole grain, and not have corn, soy, or fish in it. Organic isn't necessary, but it is a big plus. (Basically, I want nutritionally dense feed that doesn't make the eggs taste like fish.) I'm having a hard time finding commercial feeds that meet those requirements.