Purina or Dumor?

[Theeggboxtoo]

Is protein good or bad for the chickens?

 

[TN_BIRD]

Quote:
Protein is required.

The key issue seems to be what form of protein (animal protein or plant protein).

 

[Dead Rabbit]

i use southern states products now. layer products are 15% protein. i used to use dumor. it was comprable to SS products but now are higher priced. i once read that folks complained of dumor layer products made the manure smell much worse. i thought that it was a bunch of poppycock. but i experiemented on my own, i found the results to be the same. the smell was higher using dumor. so with higher smell, higher prices, i switched to SS. it was closer to home too.

protein is very necessary. animal protein is much desired. but animal protein found in layer products can be anything. bone meal, feather meal, blood meal, scraps like organ meats, leggs, etc.

i like to supplement animal protein by feeding dog food from a high quality dog food, or even cheaper and higher protein source is fish food. bought by the 50 lb bag. the source of these proteins is a crap shoot too.

 

[Mogli]

i feed mine dumor layer crumble from tractor supply company they like it

 

[buffs only]

I use FRM ( Flint River Mills ) feed. It's from Baimbridge GA and I like supporting the locals, I bet they have a feed dealer in your area that would love to get your business. I say lets boost the local feed sales.

Buffs Only

 

[Aria]

Quote:
We always use Blue Seal. When we first got our Call Ducks....the master blue ribbon breeder recommended Blue Seal. AND when we got our Silkies...we asked her which feed. And she
replied Blue Seal. Blue Seal it is. Regards. Aria

 

[chicmom]

Quote:
We always use Blue Seal. When we first got our Call Ducks....the master blue ribbon breeder recommended Blue Seal. AND when we got our Silkies...we asked her which feed. And she
replied Blue Seal. Blue Seal it is. Regards. Aria

How much does the Blue Seal cost? And Fred, I wanted to take advantage of the local mill prices, but their layer feed was just a powdery food, and for some reason, that bothered me. Is powder versus crumbles a bad thing?

 

[LizaBlue]

I'm a first time poultry owner, so I read a lot of books and online stuff before I got any chickens, and once I had chickens, I was given turkeys and guineas by my mother in law. I had read that a certain percent protein mix was good for chickens (can't remember recommended amount right now) and that turkeys and guineas needed more protein, but more protein was fine for chickens too. I checked the labels of all the brands carried locally (TN CO-OP, MS CO-OP, TSC) and discovered that only Dumor carried anywhere close to the recommended 26% protein. All of my poultry seem healthy, strong, and well developed, and ever since the hens started laying there have only been perfect, hard shelled eggs. The rooster we ate had plenty of meat on him, even though he free ranged over 2 acres, so no complaints there either. I don't know which is "better" since I haven't tried anything else, but I can tell you that Du-mor has Done-fine by me!

 

[KandiandJerry]

I deal with a local feed mill which also use to own a chicken business they make there own feed there and I buy there laying mash and lots of people around town swear buy there feed and it is the powder kind. but works better than crumble

 

[Fred's Hens]

Quote:
We always use Blue Seal. When we first got our Call Ducks....the master blue ribbon breeder recommended Blue Seal. AND when we got our Silkies...we asked her which feed. And she
replied Blue Seal. Blue Seal it is. Regards. Aria

How much does the Blue Seal cost? And Fred, I wanted to take advantage of the local mill prices, but their layer feed was just a powdery food, and for some reason, that bothered me. Is powder versus crumbles a bad thing?

The typical local mill does not own a crumble or pellet making machine. Those would be expensive and likely raise the price. It is entirely up to you, but for the cost savings? Example: I pay $19.50 per 100# of premium 17% Hubbard layer mash. Yes, it is a coarse flour in consistency. But, if you put a few scoops of feed into a pail, add a couple cups of water and stir, guess what? It turns into a feed very, very similar to crumbles. It'd be hard to tell the difference. The hens love it I think precisely because it has that bit of moisture.

I would pay an additional $6-$8 per hundred pounds to buy that feed in pelletized form and it likely wouldn't be as fresh, as our local mill grinds every week.