Organic feed...any users?

[3peeps]

I just talked to the lady at the feed mill and some organic feed is coming in next week. She says that it's made up of organic whole grains that are ground and not cooked and processed. Sounds like it's done locally.

Anyone have any experience with organic feed? Any brands in particular that you like? Ingredients to look for?

 

[Sheila]

We've been using Green Mountain grower. It costs $22.00 and change for 50 lb. Feeding 24 hens and two roos that are about three months. Will be going to layer in a month or so.

Wondering if anyone uses Nature's Best, also organic and if there is any price difference.

Here's a link to the MA organic group's listings of feed sources for anyone in this area:

http://www.nofamass.org/programs/grain.php

Hopefully, the more people use organic feed, the more should be produced and ultimately become a little more affordable.

 

[devora]

We get organic layer pellets from a local supplier (we get it thru our ag store). The girls love the stuff and I feel great about feeding organic and buying local. It's basically grain and calcium. The big test for me was "Will they eat the stuff?"

 

[momma-hen]

We have been using Natures Best temporarily. Just went from $22+ to $24+ for 50 pounds, Will be going back to feeding organic whole grains. Don't like all the soy in the premix, and the girls are less than pleased with it since they were raised on whole grains.

 

[skatcatla]

I can't get organic starter feed unfortunately, but once they start laying, my local feed store carries an organic lay feed.

I don't like feeding non-organic, but buying bulk organic grains for them at the local Whole Foods market would be very expensive; and buying organic feed over the internet means having to get it shipped from across the country which means the carbon footprint of gas for shipping offsets any environmental benefit from feeding organic. So I'm stuck until they start laying.

When I talk to the people who sell eggs at the local farmer's market, most of them don't give any feed at all it seems, they just give them leftover fruits and veggies..but they also free-range their chickens over a large farm and I can't do that.

 

[pattycake]

I've been using Nature's Best, my chickens think it's okay, but I let them free range for the bulk of the day so they don' t have to depend on it. I'd rather use a more local product, but this works for now.

What are the farmer's market people going to do in winter? Seems like you'd have to use supplementary feed then -- leftovers wouldn't give a very balanced diet.

 

[skatcatla]

Well this is in So. California, patty, so there really isn't a "winter" here. Most of the farms in the central valley have produce of some sort of year round. Certainly our farmer's markets are open all year! We are very lucky.

I should also specify that by "leftovers", they usually mean any produce that's not perfect enough to bring to market.

 

[LindaN]

I try to secure products locally as much as possible. Like skatcatla, I'd rather not support the habit of burning lots of fossil fuels to ship products all over.

The closest feed store to me does not have organic feed. The feed they stock comes from about 80 miles away. I do have the option of looking for other feed stores and determining what they have available. I just haven't had the time to do so yet.

If I can get a good locally produced organic feed then I'd buy it.

 

[SeaChick]

I buy organic layer feed (two brands available here, Blue Sea and Nature's Best) but I have to say the girls don't seem to be eating much of it. I think they fill up on greens (our poor Hostas mostly!) and bugs when they're allowed out of the run, plus the treats. Right now I am using us a couple of big bags of hulled sunflower seeds, sprout-starting seeds, and organic oats that came out of some rental homes I cleaned this summer. PLus the carrot tops, split tomatoes, garden weeds we have from the still-producing veggie bed, plus the heels of bread they love so much.

I am going to price oout making my own feed this winter. Or at least supplementing the organic layer pellets. Would really love to use local ingredients as much as possible. The rest of us are eating as local as we can. Bought a quarter organic grass fed cow, quarter organic pig, and share in a winter veg CSA for us this winter...

Stacey

 

[kstaven]

Always do organic feed here. In BC we don't have the luxury of year round fresh feed but it is always easy and cheap to cut a deal with local farmers for whole grains at the end of the season and stock up.

They alo love to share in the hay the cow and goats get.