Have I finally found good feed??

[Sic]

Presumably, ag feeds must follow the same rules as human food and list ingredients by weight, highest to lowest.

Peas and other legumes are the plant-based proteins in chicken feed. So if peas are listed before the BSFL, presumably they are the greater source of protein. (And grains supply protein as well.)

It's good to see insect protein listed that high up, though!

I have to say, maybe leave this one element out of your search for the Holy Grail of chicken feed. It's so easy to buy a can of sardines or some marked-down ground beef and supplement commercial feed that has everything else.

The drive for perfection is the enemy of acquiring the sufficiently good; something like that.

If I offered you a Styrofoam cracker and a multivitamin would you say it's nutritious and sufficiently good? Without added synthetic enzymes, aminos, vitamins, minerals and trace minerals a commercial feed is not nutritious, complete, or balanced. Striving for better bioavailable ingredients isn't the same as seeking perfection. Change is driven by consumers. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

 

[ChaosMom]

If I offered you a Styrofoam cracker and a multivitamin would you say it's nutritious and sufficiently good? Without added synthetic enzymes, aminos, vitamins, minerals and trace minerals a commercial feed is not nutritious, complete, or balanced. Striving for better bioavailable ingredients isn't the same as seeking perfection. Change is driven by consumers. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

True, but we need to feed chickens while we squeak.

If I can offer my flock a (mostly) whole grain feed, no corn, no soy, but whose protein isn't driven by animal sources, and offer supplements of meat or fish, I count that as a win for now, while nagging manufacturers to take this step. Kalmbach Organic Henhouse Reserve

Also, animal protein in feeds tends to be in the form of "meal" - fish meal for example. As I understand this, fish meal is highly variable in terms of nutrition. Who knows what's in there? And insects tend to be high fat.

 

[Sic]

True, but we need to feed chickens while we squeak.

If I can offer my flock a (mostly) whole grain feed, no corn, no soy, but whose protein isn't driven by animal sources, and offer supplements of meat or fish, I count that as a win for now, while nagging manufacturers to take this step. Kalmbach Organic Henhouse Reserve

Also, animal protein in feeds tends to be in the form of "meal" - fish meal for example. As I understand this, fish meal is highly variable in terms of nutrition. Who knows what's in there? And insects tend to be high fat.

I don't have a horse in this race. My poultry free range so I only provide feed in the winter. I make my own whole food poultry feed that is almost 100% local wild harvested. I've never had an ill chicken(knock on wood) and have some 8year old hens still laying daily. I'm happy with my choice.

 

[ChaosMom]

I don't have a horse in this race. My poultry free range so I only provide feed in the winter. I make my own whole food poultry feed that is almost 100% local wild harvested. I've never had an ill chicken(knock on wood) and have some 8year old hens still laying daily. I'm happy with my choice.

It sounds wonderful.

 

[Vulpes vulpes]

I don't have a horse in this race. My poultry free range so I only provide feed in the winter. I make my own whole food poultry feed that is almost 100% local wild harvested. I've never had an ill chicken(knock on wood) and have some 8year old hens still laying daily. I'm happy with my choice.

Looks beautiful! What's in that batch?

 

[Sic]

Looks beautiful! What's in that batch?

Thank you, it's a labor of love!
Ingredients not in any particular order
Herring, herring eggs, amphipods, shrimp, crab, black cod liver, venison liver, duck weed, sea lettuce, seaweed (combo of red, green and brown), sea asparagus, sea plantain(leaves, seeds), plantain(leaves, seeds), blueberries and leaves, huckleberries, salmonberries, raspberries, highbush cranberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, sedge (leaves, seeds and tubers), rosehips, fireweed(leaves, shoots, flowers), red clover flowers, daisy, dandelion, dock leaves and sprouted dock seeds, sprouted buckwheat seeds, squash(seeds, flesh, rind), sweet potato, miners lettuce, kale, bell peppers and seeds, bears head fungi, chanterelles and cremini, and there's probably some I may have forgotten as I'm not at my shop.

 

[Vulpes vulpes]

Thank you, it's a labor of love!
Ingredients not in any particular order
Herring, herring eggs, amphipods, shrimp, crab, black cod liver, venison liver, duck weed, sea lettuce, seaweed (combo of red, green and brown), sea asparagus, sea plantain(leaves, seeds), plantain(leaves, seeds), blueberries and leaves, huckleberries, salmonberries, raspberries, highbush cranberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, sedge (leaves, seeds and tubers), rosehips, fireweed(leaves, shoots, flowers), red clover flowers, daisy, dandelion, dock leaves and sprouted dock seeds, sprouted buckwheat seeds, squash(seeds, flesh, rind), sweet potato, miners lettuce, kale, bell peppers and seeds, bears head fungi, chanterelles and cremini, and there's probably some I may have forgotten as I'm not at my shop.

Wow, it's so cool that you not only live in such a rich and diverse environment but also have the dedication and knowledge to make it all come together like that! I'm so envious, maybe I'll have to move to Alaska someday and live out my beach chicken dreams

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

Thank you, it's a labor of love!
Ingredients not in any particular order
Herring, herring eggs, amphipods, shrimp, crab, black cod liver, venison liver, duck weed, sea lettuce, seaweed (combo of red, green and brown), sea asparagus, sea plantain(leaves, seeds), plantain(leaves, seeds), blueberries and leaves, huckleberries, salmonberries, raspberries, highbush cranberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, sedge (leaves, seeds and tubers), rosehips, fireweed(leaves, shoots, flowers), red clover flowers, daisy, dandelion, dock leaves and sprouted dock seeds, sprouted buckwheat seeds, squash(seeds, flesh, rind), sweet potato, miners lettuce, kale, bell peppers and seeds, bears head fungi, chanterelles and cremini, and there's probably some I may have forgotten as I'm not at my shop.

wow, they eat well!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

wow, they eat well!

Better than I do, most days. Often, I'm too tired/lazy to put in the work.

 

[Sic]

wow, they eat well!

Heh, yes they do. My dogs live like kings too, I no longer make special food for them, they just eat what we eat. Bountiful harvest. Here's their typical breakfast - Halibut sauteed in ghee, scrambled eggs with sea lettuce and fresh oregano, potatoes with fresh parsley, wild berry kefir yogurt, topped with dried kefir cheese. The only thing purchased is the milk to feed my kefir grains. Life is good.