Scratch & Peck or Blue Seal?

[nine9d]

Hey all,
I'm interested in organic feeds for my newly coming bantam flock and narrowed it down to these 2 brands.

Scratch & Peck Feeds
Blue Seal OrganicLife

I will be fermenting my feed as well, as I like what I read about the benefits of this. I do have a Blue Seal store about 10 minutes from my house, so the convenience of that would be great. I would have to buy S&P online as no one carries it in my area, but I would do all my shopping online if it were up to me. For about the same price, I would get a 50lb bag of Blue Seal vs. a 25lb bag of S&P. The price really doesn't bother me so much, I am just more interested in what people have experienced with the 2 brands and if someone has used the both of them before.

I did like the fact that S&P is soy free and corn free and used grains, but not because I'm a health nut, I just liked their concept. I recently learned of the organic line from Blue Seal, and read a lot about it (even though it has soy and corn).

Any help or info would be appreciated.

Thanks all!

 

[WhiteWyan]

If I were you, I'd do both. Ferment the Blue Seal and offer the S&P dry

 

[CannedMonster]

I’m very interested in what others have to say too. I’ve been considering S&P but I’ve never heard of Blue Seal and have no idea where to get it.

 

[nine9d]

If I were you, I'd do both. Ferment the Blue Seal and offer the S&P dry

You know, I was thinking to possibly do both. But I know with S&P most things that I read says that it is best fermented. It seems that it has powders/dry vitamins in it that makes it best used as fermented feed.

I would probably use the Blue Seal as a dry feed for times when I am away by placing it in a auto-feeder. In other situations though, I would ferment this as well.

I also do like the variety of some of the other products that S&P offers. But I still would like to see some recommendations here. Any and all advice is welcome, thanks so much!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I use Scratch & Peck and have no experience with Blue Seal, however if Blue Seal is local it might be fresher, which is preferable.

The reason S&P is better fermented is there's a lot of fines in it, and fermenting it (or at least wetting it) helps the fines stick to the grains so the chickens will actually eat it. Mine were billing out the fines or ignoring it when they were given the same feed dry. Fermenting it also helps (at least in my case) to prevent the chickens from picking and choosing their favorite grains in the mix.

 

[nine9d]

I use Scratch & Peck and have no experience with Blue Seal, however if Blue Seal is local it might be fresher, which is preferable.

The reason S&P is better fermented is there's a lot of fines in it, and fermenting it (or at least wetting it) helps the fines stick to the grains so the chickens will actually eat it. Mine were billing out the fines or ignoring it when they were given the same feed dry. Fermenting it also helps (at least in my case) to prevent the chickens from picking and choosing their favorite grains in the mix.

How much of it do you go through, and how many chicks do you have?

Does anyone else have more info that I can use? Thank you.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I currently have 3 hens. I buy a 40 lb bag every 4 months maybe (not great for max freshness I know, but I can only go through feed so fast!) I also feed Payback organic layer pellets so the S&P is half the feed they get.

 

[lazy gardener]

I use Blue Seal and have been pleased with it. Their feed is much fresher than what TSC has. Blue Seal has their Extra Egg Layer Pellet, but also carries a Back Yard Basic which has the exact same formulation from what I can see. The latter is about $2 less per bag.

 

[tigger19687]

B.S. also has a non-gmo feed too which, if you are in Derry NH is about $20 for 50# bag

 

[katieuppi]

I don't have experience with any food other than Scratch and Peck, but I'm very happy with it. My birds are in good condition, their feathers are bright and shiny and I'm very happy with the quality of their eggs. As 4 adults they eat a 40# bag per month. They do not free range at all, but get some greens and veggie scraps each day, as well as a ration of mealworms or soldier fly larvae each day. I do not ferment my feed, but I do moisten to make the fines adhere to the larger pieces. It used to irritate me that I couldn't put out more than a days worth of food, but then I realized the rodent population will go after any uneaten food at night. Better not to leave it out.