# Best feed?



## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

What is the best feed ? I'm feeding purina but want to switch


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

The best feed is the feed that is fresh and stored properly. Manufacturers will tell feed stores that feed will last up to six months after being bagged. The issue with that is that the vitamins begin losing efficacy as soon as its processed so by the time the feed hits six months the available vitamin content has dropped significantly.

I prefer an animal based protein feed. I started with what was available to me which was corn/soy based protein. After long conversations with long time breeders about the benefits of animal based protein feeds I started searching. I located a local mill that used pork as their main source of protein. Within weeks of using it the feather production and sheen in the birds' feathers was noticeable.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I really appreciate all your help. Im starting to research foods and am going to ask my local mom & pop place what they have and read the ingredients.. So far some of the foods are all non animal protein , and i read the ingredients in the kaytee and its all vegetarian


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Yep, I think all the big producers have gone to all vegetarian. I used Nutrena for years because of the animal protein, then they went vegetarian. Dumor was once animal protein based but now is all vegetarian. I never found a Purina feed that had animal protein in it. 

If you have a local co-op ask them if they carry anything from a local mill. The one I dealt with when I still lived in TN did. Its really hard to track down mills that are in operation and it can get frustrating trying to find them. Many supplement their feed with dry cat food. But if you read the bag there is chicken in the ingredients. I have an issue feeding chicken to chickens. I found one dog food that did not have it and was a tiny pellet but the birds didn't care for it.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I'll look around for a co op too thanks. My neighbor feeds purina to her chickens but i want something better . I'm going to look into organic and maybe Manna to see if they are better . I'll see if the farms up here who sell their birds for meat what they feed too and the local feed store too


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## nj2wv (Aug 27, 2013)

Just happened to be in tsc and checked some labels. Chick starter has animal protein. It is the dumor brand. Layer had vegetable. Maybe feed chick starter or chick grower and add some oyster shell. They had 50 lb bag for $9.


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## nj2wv (Aug 27, 2013)

Sorry forgot to add $9 is oyster shell and chick starter is $16.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I wonder if they went back to the animal protein in the chick starter, when I checked a couple of years ago it had gone to vegetarian. Now I'm going to have to check my local TSC.


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## nj2wv (Aug 27, 2013)

It was only in the chick feed , starter grower and the high protein feed. It's was the dumor brand. Layer didn't have it though. Chick feed is way cheaper than cat food. I am getting a delivery of chicks tomorrow so while I was there Buying chick feed I remembered this thread so I checked it out. It was on the white label that's on the bottom of the bag. It has animal and vegetable protein.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

You must live just North of where I lived down in Lewis County. The last time I checked Dumor it was at the TSC in Hohenwald and it did not have animal protein in it. I wonder if there was a bunch of complaints about it not being in there. 

I couldn't trust the guy selling the Nutrena because it was sitting for much too long so I didn't even think about it and went back to Dumor. The next time I went to buy feed at TSC I remembered to check. It wasn't in there. That's when I found the local mill that had what I wanted, then I found out the co-op in Lawrenceburg sold his feed.

And to toss this out there, it depends on who is selling what and what they call it. 20% at other places is also considered grower/flight conditioner.


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## nj2wv (Aug 27, 2013)

I get this at the clarksburg wv tsc. Maybe people did complain. Or maybe it is regional. The feed is dated 1/16/15 so it is not old. 24% is their game bird starter feed. Maybe call the home office and see if they sell it in your area.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Yep we were at tsc tonight and the chick starter brands all had animal and plant proteins listed. The Manna Pro supplement feed has animal protein too.. But all the adult chicken feed had no animal protein..


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I have a separate feeder with oyster shells in it in their pen area where their food is. 

I dont know if its good to feed starter to laying hens as i dont know if they will eat the oyster shells. ,as the feeder i have up looks barely touched


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Your birds will instinctively partake of the oyster shell. That's where they are much better than us humans, they know they need it so they eat it.

It is possible they don't like it. Mine will do that if I have to get something different.

Chick starter is nothing more than a higher protein food. Dumor is not medicated so its perfectly safe to use with your adults. I wouldn't have nine year old chickens if it wasn't since mine were on it for years. I only switched when I got aggravated with the poor quality control in the Brentwood facility. Way too many fines in the bag and it happened often.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

nj2wv said:


> I get this at the clarksburg wv tsc. Maybe people did complain. Or maybe it is regional. The feed is dated 1/16/15 so it is not old. 24% is their game bird starter feed. Maybe call the home office and see if they sell it in your area.


I'm surprised they're shipping TN feed to WV. I thought there was another Purina mill in VA or MD. Maybe its just the Dumor brand.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

So i can mix chick starter with layer feed then?


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## nj2wv (Aug 27, 2013)

I always do. Chicks take forever to finish a bag so I mix it and feed it to the grown birds before it goes bad.


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## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

If it takes too long to finish a bag, it just means you don't have enough chicks!


I feed starter for the first 6-8 weeks, then all my birds get Grower till the end of their lives. I don't bother with the layer at all.


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## nj2wv (Aug 27, 2013)

Fiere said:


> If it takes too long to finish a bag, it just means you don't have enough chicks!
> 
> I feed starter for the first 6-8 weeks, then all my birds get Grower till the end of their lives. I don't bother with the layer at all.


Yes lol. Not enough chicks.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Lol i need a second coop


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## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

I need a fourth lol. 

Truthfully I need a bigger property with a full sized barn, and then a large coop besides.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Found a local farm who makes their own feed , going there tomorrow to check it out. They also sell beef,pork etc to the public and have all sorts of supplies.
Www.brodheckerfarms.com

Their feed is the same cost as commercial feed without the nasty side ingredients..

Maryellen
Rufus CGC ATTS Therapy Dog
Sadie ATTS


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

For laying hens which protein % is better- 20% or 16%?
The mash i bought for layers is 20%. Most of the tsc feeds are 16% protein as well. Only one food i found thereis 20%.
The farm i got the fresh feed from is telling me that i shouldn't feed 20% to my laying hens as its too much protein...,
Now is i go back to tsc and buy the purina flock raiser crumble no one there will tell me its not good for my hens..
Opinions please....


Maryellen
Rufus CGC ATTS Therapy Dog
Sadie ATTS


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

While my birds are not specifically laying hens, they did lay eggs. Mine have always been on 20% and as you know my birds are all over six years old. Not laying any more. No wait that's wrong, one of my really old Hamburgs seems to still be laying. 

I think one of the issues when we talk about protein is the type of protein. Its beginning to surface more and more that soy protein is not the be all to end all that they once thought. That the protein is not complete and that whatever/whoever ingests it is not getting the full percentage of protein. That might explain why my birds have done just fine on 20% for so many years even though they've pretty much been on an animal/soy protein diet.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Mine are on 16% and seem like they are always hungry and food is out 24/7 i have two feeders out one with the new mash (the super fine crumble). And one with 16% nutrena crumble. 
The feed store has 20% mash too. Tsc has purina flock raiser that is20% protein. The feed store guy is telling me i cant give 20% protein to my hens as they are not growing.. So if that's true why would flock raiser be 20% protein? All i want to do is give them the right food for their health and well being
The guy also tried to convince me to put a light in the coop to increase eggs- i told him i wasn't doing that as the molting and winter is hard enough on them in not having them pump out eggs in this weather. He said by letting them use natural light from the sun isnt good enough. I said thank you politely and hung up the phone.... I am just a hobby person with pet chickens i dont care if they lay a lot or not.


Maryellen
Rufus CGC ATTS Therapy Dog
Sadie ATTS


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

So do i use layer or flock raiser ? I'm so confused i only had my hens since April and the newer ones since sept and the newer ones are a bit older then my original ones who wil be a year old in April 


Maryellen
Rufus CGC ATTS Therapy Dog
Sadie ATTS


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Use what works for you. The wall we all run up against are those that have raised chickens for years and never look at them as anything other than a chicken. Name them? Maybe but most likely not. The way they raise their birds is the way its always been done. And they pretty much think we're nuts.

Since I almost always had roosters with my girls I used a non layer 20% and offered calcium on the side. Something worked about my choice of feeding since I've got so many birds that are ancient. 

If you treat your birds they will always act hungry. Hungry for those treats you hand out. Everyone of mine are around my feet in the morning, really the only time I've given them treats. The rest of the day they ignore me unless I call them.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Mine get treats occasionally- oatmeal veggies . 
Since my original 6 were chicks they always followed me around and the new ones are now too. When i had my rooster the girls started to run from me , my rooster started attacking me at 6 months old. Since my rooster is gone the girls went back to being very social with me again.


Maryellen
Rufus CGC ATTS Therapy Dog
Sadie ATTS


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Well I've been feeding the new mash and the hens love it! Its made locally by a farm which is inspected . We go there to get it 50lbs is $14.95 same as tsc if i fed purina. Dumor i know is cheaper . I am very happy so far and so are the hens.




Maryellen
Rufus CGC ATTS Therapy Dog
Sadie ATTS


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

That's great to read. 

They might tell you one day they are not all the interested. I've come to the conclusion they can get tired of the same old thing just like we do over time. I'll buy a bag of another manufacturer's feed, use it, then switch back to the original. That seems to make them happy for a while any way.

And something I noticed, they didn't care for the last bag of feed much. I bought a new one, same stuff, and I'm refilling feeders every day. So, something is different from the last one and this one.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I have the mash up and the crumble as a few of the hens i got in sept are not into any type of new feed . I wont make them starve to eat the new mash so i have two feeders going to keep everyone happy( well two out of 13 lol) 

If the rest dont want the mash I'll go back to crumble or whatever works lol


Maryellen
Rufus CGC ATTS Therapy Dog
Sadie ATTS


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I never used any kind of mash. Don't ask me why, it just bugged me that it was so fine.

Years after I had been raising chickens a discussion got going about using mash. Some of those that had been raising them longer than me said they didn't care for it either. They had concerns about it getting wadded up in their mouths and causing issues with they're beaks. Anything to it? I really don't know. I usually experimented when a topic came up that others wondered about, that was one I wasn't willing to experiment with.


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## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

I feed mash/crumbles, never had an issue. If the ferment is too thick that is when they really jam their beaks up, it's like a wad of peanut butter up there lol. It's gone first time they take a drink, though.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I should clarify- i dont add water i feed it dry. The guy said i could feed it either way but he suggested dry instead. I heard some people add water to it . Mine do good on it. Its super fine but doesnt clog up their beaks since its Dry.. I should call it fine crumble i guess right since i dont add water?


Maryellen
Rufus CGC ATTS Therapy Dog
Sadie ATTS


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## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

Fed dry or not it's still mash. 

I meant that the only time I have problem with feeding the mash is if I make the ferment too thick. Fed dry it doesn't clog their beaks. Makes them sneeze though lol.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Ah ok i wasn't sure it would be the same name fed dry..


Maryellen
Rufus CGC ATTS Therapy Dog
Sadie ATTS


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Fiere is one of those people you can trust to know what she's talking about. Of course she's another addict and some of what she gets herself in to can be hilarious from this side of the monitor.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Sweet!! I love learning , the more i learn the better i feel 


Maryellen
Rufus CGC ATTS Therapy Dog
Sadie ATTS


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## WhitecatFarm (Oct 10, 2014)

I use crumble for everyone except the wee littles. The big ones seem to waste too much mash, and the pellets seem too large for the young birds and some of the bantams. I have used Blue Seal and Dumor and have had good results with both. I usually buy which ever is cheaper. I also feed some scratch or cracked corn in the AM when I let them out. They get layer crumbles at night at lock up. They free range most days ( not so much this winter LOL as the snow is too deep)


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

I fermented a bit of the mash and they loved it.


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## myhppyndng5221 (Apr 4, 2015)

Tractor supply's brand- Dumor is made by purina in the north and Nutrina in the south. This is the difference between the two labels.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

myhppyndng5221 said:


> Tractor supply's brand- Dumor is made by purina in the north and Nutrina in the south. This is the difference between the two labels.


Unless they've changed something in the past few months, Nutrena does not make Dumor. It is strictly milled by Purina for TSC. I know this from having dealt with the Purina mill in Nashville over their QC issues when I once again got bad bag of Dumor that was more fines than crumbles.


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## myhppyndng5221 (Apr 4, 2015)

I work for TSC and this is the case. Up north we are trying to have Nutrina make out Dumor brand because of the problems we have had with purina. They make it for us in the south but do not have the resources here to do it as well. This is how it has been for years.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

In other words, Nutrena is not making Dumor as yet.


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## myhppyndng5221 (Apr 4, 2015)

They do in the south. We are trying to have them do it in the north as well, as I have previously stated.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

When did they start making it in the South. The last time I checked it was Purina, not Nutrena. Might be time for me to check on it again. Because I will switch to it since I preferred Nutrena over Purina by a country mile.


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## myhppyndng5221 (Apr 4, 2015)

I personally buy my flock Nutrina feed, and am very excited for our Tsc to get the feather fixer 40lb bags and the last time our Nutrina rep was in she told me that they are trying to get Tsc to have them make it up here as well but they have for a long time in the south. Not sure what states, however the quality of the Nutrina nature wise feed is still better then it would be in the Dumor, just with it being a cheaper feed. I get $2 off and $10 off coupons a bag of Nutrina feed from their website constantly which makes it the same price, if not cheaper then the Dumor.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

The TSC's down here sell Nutrena horse feed, I have yet to see them sell Nutrena's poultry feed. They've had the horse feed for several years.


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## myhppyndng5221 (Apr 4, 2015)

They should carry the nature wise by Nutrina in pellets and crumbles. If they don't have any that you see they can definitely order it in for you.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Interesting. Although, isn't Naturewise an all vegetable based protein? I know they had one that was pork or fish based but it has gone to all vegetable too.


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## myhppyndng5221 (Apr 4, 2015)

I'm not sure. My chickens are fed it with sweet feed as well and I have amazing results. Always big eggs and rich yokes and healthy chickens. Much better since I switched from purina feed. The added supliments are great for the chickens and those eating the eggs as well!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I'm not a novice when it comes to chickens. I got out of raising show chickens a few years ago. I sold out but kept my old, non producing birds. My oldest is going to be ten, two others are nine and the rest are six years or older. 

What I have mine on is a local mill's animal based protein feed, 20%.


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## Maryellen (Jan 21, 2015)

Nutrena is all vegetarian. I buy the crumbles because a few of the hens wont eat the dry mash lol.. So i have two feeders hanging. One with nutrena crumble and one with the local farm mash. I get the nutrena at my local tsc. They have a lot of chicken feed there


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I always liked Nutrena's quality control. I never had to take any of their products back due to an abundance of fines. I quite Dumor/Purina after the second time of returning a couple of hundred pounds of feed for excess fines.


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## myhppyndng5221 (Apr 4, 2015)

Nutrina now sells feather fixer in at 40lb bag, arriving at my Tsc in May, we only carry a small bag now, it is pellets, but is 18% protein as opposed to the other layer feed which is 16% protein. It is to help them get through molting, however you can feed it all year round. You should give that a try!


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## Nm156 (May 16, 2015)

I personally like Nutrena the best.


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## Nm156 (May 16, 2015)

The 10 lb bags of DuMor are made by Manna Pro.


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## Nm156 (May 16, 2015)

robin416 said:


> In other words, Nutrena is not making Dumor as yet.


They did at one point,I'm not sure if they still do.

http://www.cargill.com/feed/recall/...-dumor-producers-pride-product-list/index.jsp


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## myhppyndng5221 (Apr 4, 2015)

It depends on where you are located for who makes Dumor. Some places it's Nutrina other places it is purina


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## Highm8ntce (Jul 23, 2015)

Has anyone used Coyote Creek Farm feed before?http://coyotecreekfarm.org/mill/feed-products/
They have a pullet starter that's 16% protein and layer feed that's 18%. It's all certified organic and I believe that Whole Foods feeds their girls this brand for all their eggs they sale. My feed store (Hollywood Feed) sells it. This is what I use.

I do have 2 questions though.
1 . When I got my last 2 chicks from a lady that has a hatchery I told her my pullets and layers are in 1 coop so even though I put both feed out the pullets eat the layer feed. She said to STOP because it would/could cause them to have liver (or maybe kidney ) failure. Maybe due to the calcium or extra protein. I forgot exactly why. Does anyone know if this is correct and is there a good solution to feeding them separately when they're in 1 coop?

2. What is fermented feed? I've just been giving them the dry feed. Is the fermented better and how to you ferment it? Thanks for any advice


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## Nm156 (May 16, 2015)

Too much calcium in non laying birds will cause kidney damage.You can feed an all flock type feed and supplement oyster shells on the side.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I've been raising chickens for a while now, I keep looking at that 16% and thinking it's a typo. I've never heard of 16% protein for a growing bird. Because that's what a pullet is. Normally growing birds are on at least 20%. Then step down to 18% or a bit lower. Your pullets could very well not be getting enough protein and that's why they're going after the layer.

I kept my flock on a 20% feed almost constantly their entire lives. My oldest is going to be ten my youngest is around six. 

BTW, how old are the pullets?


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