experimental food downgrade

mendozer

Songster
10 Years
Feb 27, 2011
366
28
169
seattle
I've been feeding my girls Scratch and Peck Naturally Free ever since they were born. It's organic, non-gmo, and corn/soy free (which is the main thing for me since I'm extremely anti corn and soy).

However, money is tight now and since I give them fruits and vegetables practically daily I think they'll still get "way above average" care in terms of feeding. Since the protein, calcium, etc is all the same, will it really matter to downgrade to "regular" feed?

I bought a bag of Elenbaas today as an experiment. It comes in pellets, which is nice since another concern I have is wasted food. The scratch and peck consists of beans, peas, whole wheat, alfafa, etc. Since it's whole grains, they pick through to what they want and spill the rest. It's the priciest feed out there so I don't want wasted food. I figured plain looking pellets will reduce waste since they only have one thing to pick at.

The ingredients are as follows on Elenbaas' feed: processed grain by-products, grain products, forage products, plant protein products, and then vitamins. "grain" could be wheat, barley, corn, rye, spelt, etc. "plant protein" could be peas, alfalfa, soy, wheat, barley, etc. I don't like not knowing what's in it, but it is formulated well. It just bothers me that it's listed so vaguely.

I emailed the company to see what specifically it contains. Good luck with that!

Any thoughts?
 

mendozer

Songster
10 Years
Feb 27, 2011
366
28
169
seattle
i dont want to consume corn and soy for my dietary concerns as well as the chickens. Both brands are Washington-made so that's not an issue. I was just wondering if anyone has ever compared the two types of feed in terms of egg flavor, chicken longevity, etc.
 

EricaD

Songster
7 Years
Mar 28, 2012
120
107
131
The scratch and peck feed isn't "scratch" - it's layer feed that's corn and soy free. I'm switching our flock over to it also (they currently eat Organic Pride). Like the OP, I'm no fan of corn and soy, I try to avoid these foods directly, and prefer to avoid them indirectly via our chickens also (I developed an allergy to corn about 2 years ago, out of the blue, so my body is telling me NO CORN!)

For me, the whole point of having my own chickens is so that I can control not only the quality of their lives, but also what I put into their bodies before consuming their eggs or meat. So, though they range, they do eat a fair amount of their feed and I'd err on the side of caution and make sure I knew exactly what was in their feed if it's not clear from the ingredients list.

Mendozer, have you read the fermented feed thread? I wonder if fermenting the scratch and peck will help you cut down on consumption, allowing you to continue using the high quality food you and your chickens love?
 

mendozer

Songster
10 Years
Feb 27, 2011
366
28
169
seattle
well i'm experimenting with a small load of S&P in the garage fermenting.

meanwhile, I finally got a hold of Elenbaas feed (also known as eplfeedco)

They decoded the formula for me which on the label was "processed grain byproducts, grain products, forage products, plant protein products, and the minerals, along with kelp meal"

89% of the feed includes these: corn distillers, barley (off hulls), wheat (mill run), alfalfa meal (which is why it's green and smells grassy compared to the tan chunky Purina), and the "plant protein" is canola. I specifically asked if there was soy and she said no. It is a set formula of these ingredients.
12% contains the vitamins and minerals


I'm relieved there is no soy. While there is corn, it's less of a concern to me because I occasionally give them scratch which was cracked corn. I'm glad they include alfala and canola since they tore up their grass run to dirt. I think i will continue to use this while experimenting with fermenting the S&P to reduce waste (mainly because I have 50 lbs of it now!). I would rank it right under S&P simply because it has corn. But it's definitely above Nutrena, Purina, Albers, etc that get all their ingredients from corn and soy, mainly soy.

Here's a pic if anyone's interested:

 

Fred's Hens

Crowing
Premium Feather Member
9 Years
well i'm experimenting with a small load of S&P in the garage fermenting.

meanwhile, I finally got a hold of Elenbaas feed (also known as eplfeedco)

They decoded the formula for me which on the label was "processed grain byproducts, grain products, forage products, plant protein products, and the minerals, along with kelp meal"

89% of the feed includes these: corn distillers, barley (off hulls), wheat (mill run), alfalfa meal (which is why it's green and smells grassy compared to the tan chunky Purina), and the "plant protein" is canola. I specifically asked if there was soy and she said no. It is a set formula of these ingredients.
12% contains the vitamins and minerals


I'm relieved there is no soy. While there is corn, it's less of a concern to me because I occasionally give them scratch which was cracked corn. I'm glad they include alfala and canola since they tore up their grass run to dirt. I think i will continue to use this while experimenting with fermenting the S&P to reduce waste (mainly because I have 50 lbs of it now!). I would rank it right under S&P simply because it has corn. But it's definitely above Nutrena, Purina, Albers, etc that get all their ingredients from corn and soy, mainly soy.

Here's a pic if anyone's interested:


Without contacting the feed company, I'd not assume anything. When these companies simply list ingredients as "grain products and grain by-products", what grain? Could be corn or soy. When they say plant protein, what plant protein? I'd chat up the company and see if this is what you want.

Sorry to say some company reps do not know the answers off the top of their head. I asked a feed rep, who returned my phone call yesterday, the source of the protein, who made it, was it 100% USA protein product and I got a courteous, "I'll get back to you on that".
 
Last edited:

mendozer

Songster
10 Years
Feb 27, 2011
366
28
169
seattle
Without contacting the feed company, I'd not assume anything. When these companies simply list ingredients as "grain products and grain by-products", what grain? Could be corn or soy. When they say plant protein, what plant protein? I'd chat up the company and see if this is what you want.

Sorry to say some company reps do not know the answers off the top of their head. I asked a feed rep, who returned my phone call yesterday, the source of the protein, who made it, was it 100% USA protein product and I got a courteous, "I'll get back to you on that".
I did contact them. that's what my last post was all about.
"by products" was corn distillers (corn product) and barley off hull (whatever that means)
"grain products" was wheat mill run (again, industry term for wheat?)
"forage products" was alfalfa meal
"plant protein" was canola

she emphasized no soy as I asked especially for that.
 

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