Feeds and Feeding - Raising Poultry - page 84

idea to support a local feed mill and keep the money circulating in the local economy
rather than saving a few cents by buying from a commercial farm store.
Area feed mills also grind grains you've grown or purchased from local farms, but
they may not be able to create pellets or crumbles. Ground feed is usually cheaper, but
there's a great deal of waste with most fines , the fine flourlike material created in the
grinding process. Guineas are particularly guilty of seeking out the pieces of brightly
colored corn and wheat bits and scratching the rest into the ground, but all species do
this. As with crumbles, nutritional supplements are included in ground feed but may not
be utilized by the birds because of the considerable waste.
Pellets
We primarily use pellets for our operation when feeding adults. I prefer using pellets
over other varieties because less food is wasted and the birds more easily consume the
nutrients. When eating pellets, poultry have no choice but to get all of the vitamins and
minerals in the feed, as they are contained in one unit: the pellet. In a mix of ground
feed, heavy materials can settle out and fine material can fall into the litter.
FEED LABELS
Organic feed has been grown on certified organic ground, using no artificial chemic-
als or genetically modified organism (GMO) seeds. This feed is more expensive but
provides you with a guarantee that the material you are using has no altered genetics
and that no harmful pesticides were used in the growing of the grains. Organic feed
does not mean that it is more nutritious; it just assures you of the contents and the
lack of pesticide residues.
Feeds not labeled organic can contain GMO grains and may also contain grains
that were subject to pesticide and herbicide use during production.
We use a breeder-ration pellet during the breeding season and a maintenance pellet
during the off-season. I start all my birds on the breeding pellet on the first of January
or thereabouts, three weeks before I first start saving eggs to hatch. I switch to the main-
tenance pellet at the end of September.
A breeder pellet contains higher percentages of protein (16 percent) and trace amino
acids as well as higher levels of calcium for stronger eggshells.
A maintenance pellet is lower in protein (usually around 13 percent) and calcium.
These lower levels help to decrease egg production and provide the hens with a chance
to rest. Trace amounts of amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and other important nutrition-