Man this Organic feed looks so different to their regular feed!

[modenacart]

Organic = waste of money.

 

[speckledhen]

Organic or not, that looks like scratch grains. Many people believe that the word "scratch" just means feed, so they use it for all chicken feed. All layer feed I've ever seen has a protein content on it (well, my scratch does, too).

 

[silkiechicken]

If you added a handfull of corn to it, it would look like our scratch. Scratch content varies by season and location though. Looks like a pile of hulls to me. Or what my little hamster leaves behind after eating the seeds. Spoiled little hamster loves peanut butter chips and will eat out ONLY the heart of a piece of corn leaving the rest. No wonder rodents destroy seeds so easily!

I find non pelet food, including mash, dusty in comparison because they are all just ground but not compacted again.

I thought land o lakes was bought by purina?

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
Yeah it has a place for the protein content, but it doesn't have any numbers. Either way, its being used as scratch grain which is hilarious considering the scratch grain is almost the same price at my co-ops.

I got regular layer mash, it's got a bit more bits, or chaff than the last bag of the regular stuff I got, but chaff is also roughage, I was just not impressed with the fact that the "organic," appeared to have absolutely nothing in it.

Organic IS a ripoff, and it's not like it really gets you much more money for your eggs, and most people wouldn't know the difference.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
IDK, but my bags still say Land O Lakes and there is no mention of Purina on the labels. Who knows REALLY these days LOL.

I like the mash better than the pellets or crumbles. I can get crumbles, but it's so boring and when I think about it, would I like to eat the same thing over and over and over with no variety? You know there is something wrong when the bag says, "textured layer crumbles," haha textured. It's like tofu textured to seem like beef or chicken.

I'm using the "organic," as scratch, they love it and it's making time in the snowy run more interesting anyway. I'm making them decorations tomorrow for Christmas day, hanging them from the ceiling of the coop and letting them at 'em. Are chickens alright with peanut butter? I was going to smear toilette paper rolls with peanut butter then roll it in scratch (or organic feed LOL). Or how about apples? ... Apples rolled in peanut butter and scratch would be awesome, IMO.

 

[silkiechicken]

Sounds like you got some spoiled birds!!! Those sound like good treat ideas!

Not sure if it makes a difference in comapnies if you're in canada vs the US. I just use pellets due to waste issues.

Edit: Maybe Land O lakes and purina joined? http://www.lolfeed.com/contents/poultry/poultry.asp?page=4

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
I can't seem to get pellets, our co-op sells crumbles and mash, the way I figure it is that the difference in price is like zero, and mash is just more interesting lol. Plus it smells amazing, and the crumbles don't. Mine eat all the bits off the floor anyway, whatever they spill they seem to gobble up almost right away from the floor, or when theres nothing else to do they search for all the little bits they left behind. Turns out, feed laden bedding makes awesome dusting areas, they like to dust bath under the feeder as well. Once I walked in and thought they were all dead, but turns out they were just lying still for a few minutes after dust bathing.

Edit:

That's so weird, probably. Though, my layer is 17% not 18% I believe.

Not like they're missing out on the 1% with the extras they get.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Same here, for the co-op and the local feed store both.

I use crumbles, b/c the feed store's mash has a huge amount of fine dusty stuff which I assume is Important Nutritional Additives but which the chickens mostly ignore/waste.

Chick-a-dee, it may be a little bit rash to say that all organic feed is a pointless ripoff just because you are dissatisfied with one bag from one supplier

Pat, who would feed organic if I could find a good and moderately affordable supply (not so much for the chickens' sake as to encourage organic farming practices as being better for us all to live around)

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
Why do you think organic is a ripoff?

 

[cmom]

I agree with some of the other posts. The organic feed looks more like scratch to me too. I feed my birds crumbles. I have their feeder hanging just over the top of their backs. They don't waste any. I tried the pellets but they didn't seem to eat it very well. Maybe it's because I started them on the crumbles so that is what they're used to.