Purina

[Huntmaster]

Getting eggs at a grocery store works why not? It’s sure easier and before the last year cheaper.

Not a choice for me I'd probably go without haven't had a store bought egg in so long I couldn't tell you when it was.

 

[Aunt Angus]

People really seem to love their big box commercial feed on here. Slightly odd to me but to each their own.

Some folks don't have a lot of choice. The nearest mill is several hours away from me, or I would buy from them. I've used their products before and liked them. There are 2 feed stores within reasonable driving distance: a locally owned store, and TSC. The local store is more expensive, the feed I bought there usually had bugs in it, and I always had to dig for newer bags because much of their stock is older than I find acceptable. And they close at 5 and aren't open on weekends. The TSC is farther, but it's cheaper, the feed is fresher and bug-free, it's open 7 days a week, and closes much later.

I've tried ordering through various websites, but delivery here is spotty because of where we are. There are some weeks where we get no mail. Delivery is also more expensive.

But beyond that, I'm not arguing in favor of large stores. I'm arguing because I'm tired of sensationalism and glomming onto extreme ideas without evidence or logic. Not necessarily saying the extreme ideas are wrong or bad, but to go from, 'My chickens aren't laying like they should" to "The government/Bill Gates/the WEF are purposely poisoning our chickens to starve and control us" is a heck of a leap, and that mindset is helping no one at all.

Not that you're doing that. Just in general.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

The test that everyone who is worried can do at home is to immediately switch from the concerning feed to a new test feed for a week (or better two weeks) and then switch back to the feed that is causing the concern.
Record egg volumes before the test, during the test and after the test.
If enough people do this it should be pretty conclusive.

But it's not a good test because if the other possible factor at play is that they stopped laying for the winter, and you switch the feed now and they start laying again, how will you know if the factor that caused the laying was the feed or the changing of seasons/more daylight? You can't.

Edit: I realized after posting this that others made a similar reply before I did. My mistake.

 

[EagleEyes]

But it's not a good test because if the other possible factor at play is that they stopped laying for the winter, and you switch the feed now and they start laying again, how will you know if the factor that caused the laying was the feed or the changing of seasons/more daylight? You can't.

That's like fixing something by changing two or three things at the same time

 

[NatJ]

But it's not a good test because if the other possible factor at play is that they stopped laying for the winter, and you switch the feed now and they start laying again, how will you know if the factor that caused the laying was the feed or the changing of seasons/more daylight? You can't.

That test idea included SWITCHING BACK to the "bad" feed a few weeks later.

I agree that switching once, especially as the days are getting longer, does not prove anything about the exact cause of the problem.

But switching back to the "bad" food, while the days get longer yet, certainly might give useful information.

Switching back might show the "bad" food to be just fine, as the hens lay more and more eggs while the days get longer.

Or switching back might cause the hens to stop laying again, while the days are still increasing, which would be pretty good evidence that daylength is NOT the cause of the problem, and the food might actually be causing the trouble.

 

[RoyalChick]

But it's not a good test because if the other possible factor at play is that they stopped laying for the winter, and you switch the feed now and they start laying again, how will you know if the factor that caused the laying was the feed or the changing of seasons/more daylight? You can't.

Edit: I realized after posting this that others made a similar reply before I did. My mistake.

I am not saying it is a perfect test - but if the hens start laying with the new feed and then keep laying when switched back to the old feed, it suggests it was not the feed that was causing the lack of eggs.

 

[RoyalChick]

That test idea included SWITCHING BACK to the "bad" feed a few weeks later.

I agree that switching once, especially as the days are getting longer, does not prove anything about the exact cause of the problem.

But switching back to the "bad" food, while the days get longer yet, certainly might give useful information.

Switching back might show the "bad" food to be just fine, as the hens lay more and more eggs while the days get longer.

Or switching back might cause the hens to stop laying again, while the days are still increasing, which would be pretty good evidence that daylength is NOT the cause of the problem, and the food might actually be causing the trouble.

Exactly. Not perfect but is easy to do and can give useful information.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Exactly. Not perfect but is easy to do and can give useful information.

I gotcha now. Had to think about it, and my brain is slow atm.

And if it works for your flock, it works for your flock.

 

[RoyalChick]

I gotcha now. Had to think about it, and my brain is slow atm.

And if it works for your flock, it works for your flock.

Not my flock - not concerned about my flock.
I am suggesting it as a cheap and fast way for those concerned about their feed to do a little test on whether the feed is causing the problem with their hens laying.

 

[sammi_lynn12]

This is totally my opinion and what I have personally experienced first hand with Purina products so do with this information what you will.

My dog was on multiple Purina feeds. Different lines, Pro Plan, etc. We tried every Purina dog food line they offered per my vet saying it is really great food. She would puke 1-2 times a week. Some days she wouldn't eat all and go two days without eating. Her coat was dull and she just did not want anything to do with the food. She would consistently puke/dry heave one to two times a week on Purina. Finally stopped listening to the vet and switched her to Farmina dog food. She scarfs her food down and has not thrown up one time or had any other gut issues. She begs for more food and waits for her bowl to get filled now and I could hardly ever get her to eat any of the Purina food.

My cats were also on different Purina cat food lines during this period. I have three cats. All of them had runny/diarrhea poop, always. I also found mold in two different bags of cat food. I reported it and they sent me coupons for more Purina food in the mail. I switched them to Wellness Complete. They have had solid completely normal poop since.

My horses were on Purina grain. I actually had blood work pulled on her because her coat was soooo dry and dull I thought she was having other issues. Like her hair literally looked fried and was bristly to touch. Absolutely no shine to her and she just looked like absolute crap. She also was taking forever to shed out in the spring. Switched her to Buckeye and her hair has been bright, shiny, and sheds out fantastic in the spring since. Not to mention, the amount of feed required a day for Purina grain is insane. You have to feed 8-11 pounds a day of their feed and it is not cheap either.

So in conclusion, I don't think Purina products are all that in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, some peoples animals do fine on Purina products which is great for them but in my experience with ALL my animals which are different species, I have not been impressed with the results. It would not surprise me if their chicken feed is also poor quality. I have not done much research about Purina in general and who they are associated with and where they get their resources from but in my opinion, their quality of feeds does not match the price tag nor do I care for the results.