[CHICKENS-101] silkie and serama chick feed (also fed to layers)

 

I finally have a 20.5% protein, non gmo, feed ration thanks to Alice of Union Point feeds. After I lost valuable chicks and irreplaceable/left holes in my breeding programs silkies and seramas from chick starter feed that Country Feed Store along with a Hubbard rep made up with too much selenium and minerals and zero vitamins, I turned to Alice, desperate for help. I am so relieved to finally have a ration special for my poultry that they like and are doing well on.  (She did several analyses and tweaking of ration recipes for me, plus sharing her knowledge.)

Three new hatched seramas are thriving on it, no weakness or deaths that usually occur in the first week or two. I stopped hatching because of losing so many new hatched chicks; a serama hen had other plans.
But, I have fed commercial rations, and commercial organic when I can get my hands on it.  If I cannot get up north MI to get feed made, I have had to buy commercially made feed when the organic (which is ridiculously over priced) is out of stock. 

For awhile Armada chick starter was pretty good, then Armada started filling it with dyed corn. (Armada has a dyed corn pet bird business.)  The dyed corn made my fragile serama chicks and new born silkie chicks go down, adults didn't eat well; it killed chicks and damaged/lamed old adults.  I tasted the larger dyed pieces when I finally figured out what was going on; the feed pieces had an acrid, bitter taste. The fact that Aramada can put dyed corn in their feed, that the dyed corn is ok with the Michigan USDA, and not include it on the label irks me.  I do not want to feed my chickens food dye. I noticed Aramada does not put it in the turkey feed and my chickens loved the 22% pellets mixed with commercially available organic feed (which is often all soy based too).
Hubbard, and Putrina (Purina owned/part of Land O Lakes-parent company and other brands which have wiped out breeders for many years and killed untold thousands and thousands of live stock, pets, and poultry) brag that their feed contains zero animal proteins- chickens are omnivores/insectivores, not vegetarians. Kent chick feed has mineral oil in it, an ingredient known to cause vitamin deficiencies in humans when taken as a constipation remedy. Finding freshly dated feed is another SERIOUS problem, feed that comes in on the trucks made by Kent/Blue Seal and other brands is often months and months old. Nutrients break down rather quickly in feed.
  Seems on groups the biggest problem is nutritional related problems; when you look up the bird's symptoms and vitamin deficiency symptoms.  I cannot thank Alice enough for all of her help and guidance and wish she had a feed elevator here in Michigan so she would be my feed supplier.
How are you navigating the nightmare of the freshly made, wholesome, nutritious, feed world and all of the problems with it? 

 

Cathryn  rainbowsilkiesTM  in  Michigan

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