Nutrena or Purina?

[Curlymg]

My closest feed store (about an hour away) carries both Start & Grow Sunfresh Recipe by Purina, and Natural Chick Starter Grower Feed by Nutrena. I'm pretty sure they sell them in #25 and #50 bags. They're roughly the same price, but I was wondering what should I get?

I currently have 8 two week old chicks that are being fed Medicated Chick Starter by MannaPro (my local Wal-Mart has it), and it's almost empty. I want to switch as soon as possible to the other feeds, since Wal-Mart only has this available in #5 bags.

I want to know, what's the main difference between these two brands? Your experience? Why should I get Purina, or Nutrena? All information, suggestions, etc is really appreciated!

Note: I don't care about price, I just want what's best. And with whatever brand I end up choosing, I'll be using their Layer feed as well.

 

[Kevin565]

I'm not sure about the specific differences but I've almost always used Purina feeds. I've never had any issues with it and it seems to have the right nutrients for all of my fowl.

 

[Curlymg]

Thank you!

 

[speckledhen]

Well, do you have any other choices? Personally, if I had a choice of a good, non-dusty feed containing animal protein of the porcine or fish meal type out your way, I'd choose that. If not, get the least dusty, best-smelling one, even if it's vegetarian and supplement with animal protein like eggs or fish.

I've always been anti-Nutrena, mainly because they're owned by Cargill and Cargill came out in support of that dastardly NAIS bill the USDA is trying to get into law, but that's not related to the feed quality, per se. I noticed that their chick starter was in 40 lb bags rather than 50 so be sure you're getting a full 50# of feed for your money.

 

[Curlymg]

My only other choice for chicken feed in that feed store is organic. I'd buy organic feed (since i've read all over it's best) but I rarely drive up there and I was thinking of buying 3-5 bags of either Purina or Nutrena in order to make my visit worthwhile and i'd have plenty of feed before having to make another trip. If I buy organic, honestly I don't think I want to spend the money to drive there often to purchase only a bag of organic feed.

Which brings me to another question. About how long would a #50 bag of feed last with 8 chicks, about 2 weeks old and growing? As soon as I find out which are roo's, I think i'll be down to about 3-5 pullets. How long would a #50 bag of feed last with that many chicks?

 

[speckledhen]

You don't want to stockpile feed too far ahead, especially with that few birds eating it. Chicks do waste quite a bit and it's just a fact of life with them, but you want it as fresh as possible so as not to have the nutritional value depleted. 50# should last several weeks with so few at that age, I'd think.

I don't think there is a hill of beans difference in Purina and Nutrena feeds except that the smell of Purina chick starter makes me gag-smells like chemicals to me compared to the brand I use, Tucker Milling. Nutrena is a tad better smelling, but not much.

 

[Curlymg]

I was unaware of the nutritional value going down!

I guess i'll just have to make a visit everytime they are almost out of feed. Personally, I think i'll give Nutrena a shot, unless they end up only having #40 bags, then i'll use Purina. I'll still keep an eye out for other brands though. Thank you!

 

[A.T. Hagan]

http://www.nutrenaworld.com/nutrena...try/naturewise-chick-starter-grower/index.jsp

http://poultry.purinamills.com/OURPRODUCTS/Products/StartGrow/default.aspx

I've used them both. Can't say I noticed any difference between them. I'd go with whatever is freshest and seems most palatable to your birds. The Purina version is what I mostly went with back before I want to the starter I'm using now.

 

[Aginnever]

I only buy Nutrena, I have bought other brands, but always go back to Nutrena. You can literally smell the freshness.

 

[Timothy Menezes]

I like that brand too. But FYI this thread was from 2012