What's your favorite chicken feed?

Asimov I said:
I'm a big fan of this stuff but I'm sure there's better and worse brands too. What's your preferred layer feed?
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I used to feed what the Americans call All Flock. Basically it's a 18% protein, 1% Calcium and I made a mash with it by adding about 50% water. If you have juveniles who aren't laying yet then the usual 4% plus calcium is far too much for females who are not laying yet. 4% plus calcium is also far too much for cockerels (under a year old) and roosters (over a year old) and the senior hens at the end of their laying life.
I make my own feed these days, grains and seeds basically and boost the protein by giving small amounts of fish and meat as treats a few times a week.
When considering feeds, it pays to start with the birds, then the environment and finally the feed. If for example one has high production Red Sex Links who are likely to lay 300 eggs a year for two or three years then they'll need more feed than say a British Light Sussex who may only lay half the eggs yearly compared to the Red Sex Links.
If one ranges ones birds on reasonably fertile ground with diverse vegitation then all attempts to manage their diet are pretty much wasted; they know what they need to eat and usaully, what will make them sick.
Fully confined birds in a coop and run really need the best quality feed one can find preferably with a higher protein content than 16%. The important amino acids in the feeds are Methionine and lysine. Look for the feeds that have the highest content of these two amino acids. It should all be written on a tag on each bag.
 
JoshB said:
We use this stuff:
modestomilling.com

Layer Crumbles

Organic Layer Crumbles, 17% protein. A complete feed for laying chickens.
modestomilling.com modestomilling.com
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That looks to be a decent feed. I don't know why it should be so, but the feed I've found so far in the UK has been rather poor quality compared to the feed I used to get in Catalonia. It's the main reason I started making my own.
 
Maybe it's a regional thing? @Shadrach like are there no other mills nearby?

has anyone used PURINA chicken foods? 👀
 
I feed my laying (& ex-laying) pullets & hens "Smallholder Layers' Pellets". They're hard IP GM free with no soya, so I can be sure that my hens have a GM free diet. It contains the essential added vitamins & minerals that they need, and comes in slightly smaller Pellets than most feeds, so it's suitable for bantams too.

In the UK it's illegal to feed meat or fish to hens.
 
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