What Brand of Feed Do you prefere

[kglazier]

15 standard pullets, 4 laying, the rest are 15 weeks old. I've not been sure about brands so I usually buy equal amounts of Purina layina pellets, the cheap laying pellets, and starch. mix together and feed 1.5 lbs a day. my chickens also free range 2 hrs a day during week and all day Saturday and Sunday. I also provide oyster shell.

I am starting some clover in flats this weekend and add mealworms. from a batch I started last month

 

[aoxa]

Don't mix 50/50, you are not providing to their full nutritional needs at that mixture.

Scratch should consist of no more than 20% of their daily diet, and that's on a high protein feed. Layer is usually around 15-16% protein. You are probably cutting it down to around 12-13%, which is not enough at all.

I feed a local starter that is 18%. I ferment or soak it with whole grains (oats, barley, wheat and BOSS), but the grains are only 1/4 of the amount of starter. My whole grains are also higher in protein than scratch combinations.

Whole oats are 14% protein
Wheat is 12.5%
Barley is 12.3%
BOSS is 17%
Corn is 9%

I'd say my total protein content is around 16-17%. The soaking process enables more of that protein to become available during digestion.

 

[aoxa]

when you soak or ferment feed how long do you ferment it?

at least 24 hours. 48-72 hours is better.

Ohhh fermenting, (missed that part, sorry) where you are allowing ambient organisms to grow on the medium of the food stuffs by providing water.

I was thinking just soaking ,which can increase that availability of nutrients by starting the germination process of whole grains.

Oh nope, well soaking does allow the villi in the intestines to increase the nutrient absorption.

What are the effects of wet feed?
Increased nutritional uptake and feed conversion
Interestingly, there are fantastic benefits to just feeding a wet mash, even unfermented. One of these is greater nutritional uptake, and therefore better feed conversion. The villi in the intestines1 grow longer and have more surface area which enables them to take up more nutrients. Because fermented feed is wet, it also increases villi length. A number of studies have found that wetting the mash increases food uptake, food utilization, weight gain, and egg production.1

 

[aoxa]

Got a link to the studies? Would love to read them!

http://scratchcradle.wordpress.com/2012/09/22/science-of-fermented-feed/
this article above is really helpful

1) Engberg, R., Hammershoj, M., Johansen, N., Abousekken, M., Steenfeldt, S., & Jensen, B. (2009). Fermented feed for laying hens: Effects on egg production, egg quality, plumage condition and composition and activity of the intestinal microflora. British Poultry Science. doi: 10.1080/00071660902736722

2) Heres, L., Engel, B., Van Knapen, F., Wagenaar, J., & Urlings, B. (2002). Effect of fermented feed on the susceptibility for Campylobacter jejuni colonisation in broiler chickens with and without concurrent inoculation of Salmonella enteritidis. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 87, 75-86.
3) Heres, L., Wagenaar, J. A., Van Knapen, F., & Urlings, B. (2003). Passage of Salmonella through the crop and gizzard of broiler chickens fed with fermented liquid feed. Avian Pathology, 32, 173-181.
4) Niba, A., Beal, J., Kudi, A., & Brooks, P. (2009). Bacterial fermentation in the gastrointestinal tract of non-ruminants: Influence of fermented feeds and fermentable carbohydrates. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 1393-1407. doi: 10.1007/s11250-009-9327-6
5) Yu, Z., Dong, B., & Lu, W. (2009). Dynamics of bacterial community in solid-state fermented feed revealed by 16S rRNA. The Society for Applied Microbiology: Letters in Applied Microbiology, 49, 166-172.
Other articles:
Chen, K., Kho, W., You, S., Yeh, R., Tang, S., & Hsieh, C. (2009). Effects of Bacillus subtilis var. natto andSaccharomyces cerevisiae mixed fermented feed on the enhanced growth performance of broilers. Poultry Science, 88, 309-315. http://ps.fass.org/content/88/2/309.full.pdf+html
Heres, L., Engle, B., Urlings, H., Wagenaar, J., & Van Knapen, F. (2004). Effect of acidified feed on the susceptibility of broiler chickens to intestinal infection by Campylobacter and Salmonella. Veterinary Medicine, 99, 259-267.
Heres, L., Urlings, H., Wagenaar, J., & de Jong, M. (2003). Transmission of Salmonella between broiler chickens fed with fermented liquid feed. Epidemiology and Infection, 132, 107-116. doi: 10.1017/S0950268803001213

 

[Shalom Farm]

I prefer DuMor, since its cheap and the analysis meets what I like in most of the nutritional needs. Oyster shell, free range pasture, and some corn ration during cold snaps.

Now, if I could, I would love to afford some of the more expensive organic layer rations. They just aren't available locally and ordering them is just far out of my budget.

 

[ChickenLegs13]

I use DoMor from TSC, I call it DustMore. Not that I prefer it, it's just better than the moldy, buggy, overpriced no-name brand crap that my local indy feed store sells.
I agree with the others that your protein is a bit low. It would probably be ok if your birds free ranged all day, every day. 1.5 lbs of feed for 15 chickens sounds a bit skimpy, 15 chickens should eat about 3.5 lbs per day.
I've got quail, young growing chickens, & old mature chickens, so to not have to fool with 3 different bags of feed everybody eats starter. I do mix the starter with cracked corn for the mature chickens & death row roosters because they obviously don't need 20% protein.
I'm not saying my birds have the best or perfect balanced diet, that's just the way I feed them.
When the roosters and quail have all been butchered and the young pullets start laying I'll go back to DoMor layer.

 

[kglazier]

I mix it 33/33/33. I'll calculate the protein and up the amount. thanks for the advice...

 

[aoxa]

1.5 lbs of feed for 15 chickens sounds a bit skimpy, 15 chickens should eat about 3.5 lbs per day.

I go through 2.5 lbs of feed a day for 15 chickens.

I go through 200 lbs a week and have 170 birds. I calculated it out. I go through less when I soak, but weather sucks, and I haven't been able to.

 

[aart]

Don't mix 50/50, you are not providing to their full nutritional needs at that mixture.

Scratch should consist of no more than 20% of their daily diet, and that's on a high protein feed. Layer is usually around 15-16% protein. You are probably cutting it down to around 12-13%, which is not enough at all.

I feed a local starter that is 18%. I ferment or soak it with whole grains (oats, barley, wheat and BOSS), but the grains are only 1/4 of the amount of starter. My whole grains are also higher in protein than scratch combinations.

Whole oats are 14% protein
Wheat is 12.5%
Barley is 12.3%
BOSS is 17%
Corn is 9%

I'd say my total protein content is around 16-17%. The soaking process enables more of that protein to become available during digestion.

Is your 'local starter' a pellet or crumble? Does soaking that increase nutrition availability?
I know it does for whole grains, but I didn't think it applied to cracked grains or crumble/pellets.

 

[aoxa]

Is your 'local starter' a pellet or crumble? Does soaking that increase nutrition availability?
I know it does for whole grains, but I didn't think it applied to cracked grains or crumble/pellets.

Yes it does Fermenting makes a difference for any type of feed.

I use a starter crumble along with whole grains.