What's the best chick feed?

[g67fam]

Hello BYC community!

I need some help...

I'll be getting my chicks today, but I'm not sure what kind of feed to get.

My family and I want free-range organic eggs, and therefore want to raise the chickens with the least amount of chemicals as possible, so I won't consider medicated feed.

I'm considering DuMor, but only because it's non-medicated and the least expensive.

I would love to know what you experienced chicken-farmers use for your chicks and why. Thanks in advance!

 

[chickencrazy9]

I decided against medicated feed as well and I thought the person at the feed store was going to kill me! I used Nutrena chick starter non-medicated. They seemed to like it pretty well and it had the highest amount of protein out of the feeds at my local feed store.

Don't let them bully you into medicated feed. My 10 chicks are doing really well without having medicated feed. I think cleanliness plays a big factor in illness, I cleaned my brooder every other day.

Good luck!

 

[GreenMountainEric]

G67fam- You stated that you wanted organic eggs, but none of your choices are organic. Maybe not looking for "Organic", but more of a natural feed?


Would you be getting the DuMor feed at TSC? I would avoid most feeds that are produced for TSC, and other "big box" stores. They are not necessarily bad feeds, but they are produced as cheaply as possible. They don't usually provide optimum levels of energy, and they also don't usually contain much for probiotics. (Which is more important with a non-med feed)

Like I said, though- I wouldn't say DuMor is bad in any way. However, it sounds like you are looking for a better feed than they provide.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Most of those feeds in your list are not organic.

You may be limited to the organic feed your local sells.

 

[wholehearted]

Are there any feed mills or local producers that you could check with? Sometimes you can find a better quality and/or more natural feed through local places than you can at TSC or other big farm stores. I prefer to use non-medicated feed as well...all of our chicks have been happy and healthy! Good luck with your chicks!

 

[realsis]

I use a absolutely wonderful feed I order online, they have it for all ages too.its a all USDA certified organic non soy non GMO feed.its extremely fresh because they only Mill small amounts at a time and they ship to your door. The layer feed has wonderful ingredients like all organic field peas, wheat, oats, barely, fish meal, rice bran, alfalfa, flaxseed, sea kelp, and more.its full of probotics and has lots of vitamins like A, D3, E, B12, folic acid, iron, thiamine, zinc, copper, biotin and more! You should take a look at www.countrysideorganics.com. They ate located in VA.i live in CA and it only takes about four days to get here. It's delivered right to my front door. I think if you compare protien and ingredients you will really like this feed. The difference is unbelievable. You can just see and smell how fresh it is! Their prices are very reasonable too. I've compared a lot of ingredients from other organics and this seems to be the best. Go to their Web site and look then compare the ingredients to other feeds. I hope this helps. If your looking for a good wholesome organic feed, this food is the way to go! Best of luck.

 

[g67fam]

G67fam- You stated that you wanted organic eggs, but none of your choices are organic. Maybe not looking for "Organic", but more of a natural feed?


Would you be getting the DuMor feed at TSC? I would avoid most feeds that are produced for TSC, and other "big box" stores. They are not necessarily bad feeds, but they are produced as cheaply as possible. They don't usually provide optimum levels of energy, and they also don't usually contain much for probiotics. (Which is more important with a non-med feed)

Like I said, though- I wouldn't say DuMor is bad in any way. However, it sounds like you are looking for a better feed than they provide.

Thank you! Yes< I meant more natural overall. I figured that organic feeds would be expensive and a bit harder to find...oh well!

I got the babies today and started them on DuMor un-medicated chick crumbles - I'm going to see how it goes.

 

[g67fam]

. They ate located in VA.i live in CA and it only takes about four days to get here. It's delivered right to my front door. I think if you compare protien and ingredients you will really like this feed. The difference is unbelievable. You can just see and smell how fresh it is! Their prices are very reasonable too. I've compared a lot of ingredients from other organics and this seems to be the best. Go to their Web site and look then compare the ingredients to other feeds. I hope this helps. If your looking for a good wholesome organic feed, this food is the way to go! Best of luck.

THANK YOU! What great info! That's just what I was looking for - I'll be checking it out

 

[pdirt]

I see you're in Kentucky. You might also look into azurestandard.com . They do have a route out to Kentucky and offer a few options for organic and natural chicken feeds, though I don't recall off the top of my head if they carry chick starter or not. If they deliver in your area and you join a "drop point" and order at least $50, then shipping is free. Delivery is once a month to most areas.

 

[g67fam]

I see you're in Kentucky. You might also look into azurestandard.com . They do have a route out to Kentucky and offer a few options for organic and natural chicken feeds, though I don't recall off the top of my head if they carry chick starter or not. If they deliver in your area and you join a "drop point" and order at least $50, then shipping is free. Delivery is once a month to most areas.

Thank you! My family has worked with Azure products before, so that would be great.