Thoughts on Purina feeds?

[kerbotx]

There's not a great deal of choice in my area, so I've tried several Purina products over the years. I absolutely love their Flock Raiser crumble, since my birds love it; it's my go-to product when integrating chicks into the main flock. They like it dry & wet. I also like their Start & Grow Medicated for the baby chicks. However, I do not care for their layer feed...

I was buying it a few years ago, and the chickens liked it. But then they started adding more molasses, and my chickens do not care for that at all - was especially unpalatable as wet mash. I complained to them, they sent me some coupons, but I won't buy it anymore. I'm not saying it's a poor quality feed - I do consider molasses to be a cheap additive, one I don't expect in a so-called "Premium" brand - but mainly, it's just that my chickens won't eat it.

 

[kerbotx]

You might consider placing that barrel on a pallet or something similar, to allow for ventilation underneath - could be a source of humidity buildup otherwise, depending on your climate.

 

[21hens-incharge]

According to the farmer the feed will not degrade due to it being very dry. I have confirmed this with another farmer who also buys 3 barrels at a time from them. I asked, does the food get sour? Rotten? Spoiled? They have both confirmed that it does not As they have both been feeding it to their chickens for over a decade. Which is why I went ahead and bought that much. It is stored in a large metal barrel with a seal

My understanding is that the nutrients begin to degrade as of the mill date and by 6 months are degraded enough to be offering reduced nutrition for the birds.
I don't know if that applies to whole grains in the same way it applies to things like pellets and crumble.

I agree getting the barrel onto a pallet is a good idea.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I'll never buy another purina product. The next all flock that I bought was 20% nutrena. My birds love it and better still, NO DUST.

Nutrena is owned by Purina.. The great thing about having a monopoly.. they'll still get your money.

Dumor is also made by Purina.. who is a parent company to so many.

I use Purina flock raiser because it's readily available to me at a price I can accept and importantly with a turn over that keeps mill date fresh enough.

Yes, sometimes I buy 300# at a time.. and go through it in about 6 weeks or less. I store inside my house.. According to my research nutrient degradation is factored into NORMAL shelf life expectancy and accounted for.. this is presuming that conditions were kept ideal during TRANSPORT and storage regarding all.. temperature, humidity, and pests. Whole grains will still diminish, just at a less rapid pace than milled ones which now have more surface area.

According to the farmer the feed will not degrade due to it being very dry. I have confirmed this with another farmer who also buys 3 barrels at a time from them. I asked, does the food get sour? Rotten? Spoiled? They have both confirmed that it does not As they have both been feeding it to their chickens for over a decade. Which is why I went ahead and bought that much. It is stored in a large metal barrel with a seal

Sour, rotten, and spoiled are completely different than diminished nutrients. Unless they've had an analysis performed after their period of storage or somehow added stabilizers.. I'm gonna say they know not what we are asking.

A metal barrel is fantastic way to create spoilage.. if the sun shines on a cold morning and sweats inside.. the moisture trickles down eventually becoming moldy feed from underneath. If using a metal can.. indoor or shade is huge factor.. temperature swings are undesirable to shelf life.

My birds eat the "mash" referred to as dust.. in the Purina products... which I have experienced.. but is NOT an issue for MY flock.

@Azureduckchick The truth is companies change their formulations all the time. Not all GMO's are bad or created equally. But if you're not gonna switch anyways.. why not ask for a comparison of organic feeds made by Purina companies to see if there's anything you're actually interested in.

I found an interesting list of "allowed synthetic substances" in Organic keeping...
http://www.usfarad.org/uploads/5/4/9/6/54966231/farad_organic_treatment_guidelines.pdf

Shocking to see Ivermectin as allowed and all kinds of other BS if it has cas#! Yet Lysine makes it on the prohibited list?? I must be missing something...
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Lysine

 

[ChickenCanoe]

When I switched my birds from starter/grower to all flock, I bought a bag of purina 20% all flock. The bag was 50% dust and my girls wouldn't touch it. When I contacted purina about it, they totally ignored me. I'll never buy another purina product. The next all flock that I bought was 20% nutrena. My birds love it and better still, NO DUST.

What was the mill date on the bag of dusty feed?
I know of many feed stores that will keep feed on their shelves till it sells, even if that is a year or two. Regardless of which company manufactures the feed, Old feed will be worthless.

 

[lancasterflock]

Nutrena is owned by Purina.. The great thing about having a monopoly.. they'll still get your money.

Dumor is also made by Purina.. who is a parent company to so many.

I use Purina flock raiser because it's readily available to me at a price I can accept and importantly with a turn over that keeps mill date fresh enough.

Yes, sometimes I buy 300# at a time.. and go through it in about 6 weeks or less. I store inside my house.. According to my research nutrient degradation is factored into NORMAL shelf life expectancy and accounted for.. this is presuming that conditions were kept ideal during TRANSPORT and storage regarding all.. temperature, humidity, and pests. Whole grains will still diminish, just at a less rapid pace than milled ones which now have more surface area.


Sour, rotten, and spoiled are completely different than diminished nutrients. Unless they've had an analysis performed after their period of storage or somehow added stabilizers.. I'm gonna say they know not what we are asking.

A metal barrel is fantastic way to create spoilage.. if the sun shines on a cold morning and sweats inside.. the moisture trickles down eventually becoming moldy feed from underneath. If using a metal can.. indoor or shade is huge factor.. temperature swings are undesirable to shelf life.

My birds eat the "mash" referred to as dust.. in the Purina products... which I have experienced.. but is NOT an issue for MY flock.

@Azureduckchick The truth is companies change their formulations all the time. Not all GMO's are bad or created equally. But if you're not gonna switch anyways.. why not ask for a comparison of organic feeds made by Purina companies to see if there's anything you're actually interested in.

I found an interesting list of "allowed synthetic substances" in Organic keeping...
http://www.usfarad.org/uploads/5/4/9/6/54966231/farad_organic_treatment_guidelines.pdf

Shocking to see Ivermectin as allowed and all kinds of other BS if it has cas#! Yet Lysine makes it on the prohibited list?? I must be missing something...
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Lysine

Yes, very aware. Which is why it is on crates in our Garage. No sunlight even sees the barrel. I have seen the eggs for years that this feed produces. All of their hens are super healthy and the egg yolks speak for themselves. Silly you would think I wouldn’t have looked into ALL of these factors lol

 

[lancasterflock]

I think you should always do what YOU think is best for your own flock. Just in my own personal beliefs, I think I trust a farmer And my own eyes over the fda anyday. Simply based on the things the fda does allow as “safe and or organic” makes me question their validity on anything else.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Yes, very aware. Which is why it is on crates in our Garage. No sunlight even sees the barrel. I have seen the eggs for years that this feed produces. All of their hens are super healthy and the egg yolks speak for themselves. Silly you would think I wouldn’t have looked into ALL of these factors lol

When I lived inland, my garage got over 120+ degrees easily and it didn't have to see sunlight in order to degrade food product being stored in that location more rapidly.

I don't presume anything about anyone.. but I did state that guaranteed analysis at the end of storage is not the same as spoiled or rotten.. so what I share is pertinent to the conversation and for general information purposes to anyone who might view the thread.

It's fantastic that you found something local that works for you! I love local when possible.. it just happens Purina has several mills in California.. But I'm always keeping my eye open for a better product that's still in my price range, especially if supports it my local suppliers/community. I didn't mean anything directed at you specifically though.

Well, I've seen some pretty crappy so called farmers who are clueless about animal welfare.. so trust my own eyes over FDA, a government entity that's heavily lobbied.. I can go with that to a degree... And note that labels have a lot of feel good messages (think "cage free"), I prefer truth that's verifiable (personal experience counts even though it may be anecdotal).. I would still like at least an original guaranteed analysis if not being worried about my storage there of. I've done a LOT of nutritional research and very little of my information is FDA related.. usually hatchery/industry (big chicken) or veterinary resourced..

 

[DrTheMomm]

I have been using DuMor because that's what TSC had. I have no idea which is best because I am new at keeping chickens. Does anyone have opinions/experience with DuMor?

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I have been using DuMor because that's what TSC had. I have no idea which is best because I am new at keeping chickens. Does anyone have opinions/experience with DuMor?

I feed DuMor and have been happy with it. My TSC was out of DuMor starter today so I paid more for Purina. As some others in the thread mentioned, it’s mostly powder. Blah.

As someone above mentioned, pellets are the way to go once they’re big enough.