loading
reading
writing
saving
searching
Premium Organic CHICKEN FEEDS - NO Corn or Soy, Low PUFA! (from seed oils) (Bulverde/Spring Branch)
QR Code Link to This Post
Poultry feeds have changed dramatically for the worse in the last couple of years, but then so has the entire food industry! Farmers all across America are reporting reduced egg productivity, hen health, vitality, and chick grow-out; and it's mostly because all commercial poultry feeds available are toxic, in that they contain a variety of harmful ingredients that they didn't have just a few years ago. Tractor Supply was in the news a lot concerning feeds leading to reduced egg production. Purina was blamed by some. I'm saying it's all bad.
Yes, I have finally come up with a solution! Yes, I wrote this entire article by hand, myself, not AI, not cut/paste. It took me a couple of years of trial and error, chasing so called "experts," relentlessly asking tough trade-secret questions of mill owners, and not giving up. So now a better feed is available locally, and I'm the only one in the USA (that I know of) that is making a clean, non-toxic organic complete feed ration that is days fresh, not months old, and contributes to vibrant hen health. I share it with my neighbors as an act of service, and I sell it wholesale in bulk. I'm not trying to sell you, I'm trying to educate you, because this is a break-even ministry for me, not a profit center. And our feed price is lower than the best store-bought or online "organic" products on the market, a few of which may actually be good feed but still contain seed oil which is high in toxic Linoleic Acid.
THE CHICKEN COACH
I've become The Chicken Coach, helping families start or improve their own backyard flocks for the sake of family nutrition and avoidance of toxins in our foods that are making Americans sick, fat, and lazy. My own experience with Hypothyroidism, Hashimoto's, Low T, and depressed energy started me on a journey to find better foods, especially eggs and meat. The egg is nature's superfood, and adults can eat six or more per day to provide complete nutrition, according to mercola.com. I learned that eggs and meat directly from the Farm or Farmer's Market are not much better than grocery store eggs and meat because the feeds commercially available are all the same junk that contain seed oils, preservatives, fillers, binders, low priced synthetic VTM (vitamin/mineral) premixes from China, farmed fish with viral load, GMO grains, etc. Even high-priced excellent feeds have seed oils (safflower, sunflower, flax) at the very least.
If we are what we eat, then we are what our food eats!
Any "study" that says chicken feed ingredients do not transfer to meat and eggs is a complete lie. Many mill owners are hanging on to this convenient lie, but they are NOT the experts on nutrition and are still wrong according to some very censored expert doctors that dare to challenge the narrative, like Dr. Mercola. Mercola has been a thorn in the side of leading experts and exposes the lies of nearly every single mainstream website that promotes Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFA), aka Linoleic Acid, aka Omega 6 as "heart healthy."
Nowadays it is more about what is NOT in food that is important, and sourcing protein and nutrients from truly healthy ingredients instead of commercially viable or government subsidized agricultural ingredients. Organic grain ingredients are expensive to get in Texas because they all come from the Midwest or The Valley, a full semi-truck load at a time. So you will see very few local mills using it. Any organic feed found in retail stores has to be made shelf stable through processing because it may be months from mill, to trucks, to warehouses, then distribution centers, then to store backstock, then on a store shelf, before it ever gets to your farm, and maybe weeks or months before you use it. This feed is made fresh in one ton batches right here in Texas and is taken home the same day straight to my barn, and is consumed by my 300+ chickens and shared with you. It doesn’t have a chance to get old.
EGGS $15/dz?
A recent series of articles by Dr. Mercola (www.mercola.com) and interviews with Ashley Armstrong of Angel Acres talks about just how bad are PUFA’s in chicken feeds ( https://angel-acresfarm.com/ ). Ashley quickly sells out of her Low PUFA eggs each week, which sell for $60/4dz plus shipping. This whole Low PUFA thing is new to many people. As the masses wake up to just how toxic our food supply is, the demand for genuinely healthy foods increases. Why? Because people are tired of being lied to, and tired of being sick, fat, and feeling poisoned and not having energy or a clear brain. As the masses awaken, many find that they can take back control of their health. Eggs are nature’s perfect complete superfood. So, if you can produce eggs daily, and even meat for your family that you can trust not to contain common toxins, that’s a big win. Your neighbors and friends will want your eggs. If you choose to share them, do not sell them cheap. Know what you have and what they’re worth. Some who cannot even eat eggs because of allergies are now eating these eggs! And it’s all thanks to the wisdom of proper chicken feeds… hallelujah!
FEED VARIETIES FOR CHICKS and LAYING HENS: (assuming they begin laying at 24wks)
STARTER 23% Protein, (ages 1-8 weeks)
GROWER 20% Protein, (ages 9-16 weeks)
DEVELOPER 18% Protein, (ages 16-24weeks or until they start laying)
LAYER 19% Protein, PUFA (Pullets that have laid their first egg)
*Broilers use the same feeds but for shorter times before processing date
If you are raising chicks, it’s far better to feed these four feeds, instead of just Starter and Layer. Yes, I know all the online advice says to use Starter to 18wks, then switch to Layer. That advice is tailored to the current state of feed availability to be useful to a broad spectrum of users around the country, because the only feeds available to backyard chicken keepers is Starter and Layer. The problem is traditional store-bought Starter has not enough protein for the first growth stage, and too much for the last stage. Protein should be ramped down, as calcium is ramped up to prepare for egg laying. You tell me the number of chicks you’re feeding, and their age, and I will sell you just enough feed to complete that growth stage, and feed for the next stage.
WHAT’s IN THE FEEDS?
This is not a throw together homemade feed. My feed formulations are custom created by industry-leader Fertrell to meet my goals, and milled by a certified organic mill that participates in the Non-GMO Project. When there’s a problem with birds, the first question is- is the feed adequate? Our feeds eliminate that question. For example, the very popular feed known as “Texas Naturals” recently changed their vitamin/mineral pack to a China brand and chicks are not developing normally, and hens are reducing production! They were one of the better feeds, but now they are terrible, with farms across the country reporting problems. You can be sure I will never cut costs that degrade quality to improve profits. My motivation as a small farmer is to protect my family from the toxic food supply, and to help you do the same. A written guaranteed analysis of our ingredients that will stand up to third-party analysis, is available upon request.
SO WHAT’s IN THE FEEDS?
Layer feed has Peas 42%, Wheat 29%, Sunflower Meal (not oil) 10%, and Fertrell Fishmeal (wild-caught) 5%, as the sources of protein to replace soy and corn. Soy is actually difficult to replace because it’s so high in protein. Better ingredients are far more expensive to use than dirt cheap corn and soy. Vitamins and Minerals are provided by Fertrell Poultry Nutri-Balancer, not vitamin packs from China! Digestive Enzymes (Fertrell Nutri-Zyme) are added to help with digestion of small grains, in this case wheat. I've eliminated the Sunflower Oil completely from the formulation so instead of Low PUFA, I can now say it is almost NO PUFA. The overall amino acid profile in this feed is ideal for poultry health, growth, and production using expensive, quality ingredients otherwise not found in feeds.
WHAT’s NOT IN THE FEEDS?
High PUFA Vegetable Oil/Seed Oils, Milo, Soy, Corn, Peanuts, Medicines, Vaccines, Synthetic Vitamins/Minerals, Preservatives, Caking Agents, Fillers, Antibiotics, GMO’s, Desiccants, Radiation, Pesticides, Herbicides, Hormones, Nitrates, Nitrites, Bio Sludge, Wood Pulp, Plastics, anything from China.
WHY SHOULD I BE CONCERNED ABOUT PUFA?
Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFA), aka Linoleic Acid, aka Omega 6 comes primarily from seed oils. The top worst offenders are Soybean, Cottonseed, Grapeseed (Canola), Sesame, Safflower, Corn, and even Sunflower oils. Conventional and organic feeds on the market all have shockingly high PUFA from seed oils. These seed oils are endocrine disruptors that Dr Mercola claims are the main source of obesity and chronic illness in Americans, and they’re in EVERYTHING! Seed oils are in breakfast cereals, protein bars, fresh baked deli bread, chips, tortillas, fresh deli and bakery goods, and every food item that was processed. I was shocked at my recent blood test for linoleic acid and my Omega 6/3 ratio. This ratio is supposed to be 2:1, but for most Americans it's 20:1, or worse. Here’s the hardest news- if one stops consuming PUFA/Linoleic Acid completely, which is impossible, it stays in the body for seven, yes 7 years, not a typo. I encourage you to go to Mercola.com and search “PUFA,” “Seed Oil,” “Ashley Armstrong,” “Linoleic Acid.”
WHAT’s UP WITH MEDICATED FEED?
Medicated feed is for chicks only. It has a very low dose of Amprolium (generic) added to build immunity to Coccidiosis in chicks. You can accomplish the same result better by simply using our superior feeds and adding Amprolium (on Amazon) in low dose to their water. Coccidiosis is a terrible intestinal parasite caused by microscopic protozoa that can live in the soil, water sources, and deep in the cracks of your coop. Giving medicated feed to birds in a clean brooder does no good because the birds need exposure to Coccidiosis in order to build immunity. Once sick, the only treatment is Amprolium (aka Corid) in drinking water at the higher dose, and that clears it up pretty quick. It works by blocking Thiamine uptake in your birds, thus disrupting the reproductive cycle of the parasite. Hence the need to supplement drinking water after treatment with something like Flock Leader Recover 911 (Amazon).
CHRIS, WHY DO YOU MAKE YOUR OWN FEEDS? For a while I had access to some Amish feed and our customers really liked it. That source dried up because making high quality feed is not profitable and they quit. Fortunately, this forced me to go back to researching another alternative. I reached out to Dr. Mercola and Ashley with no replies. In frustration, and after having tried all available organic no corn/soy feeds, I’ve researched and researched for over a year and finally stumbled upon a certified organic mill that will make whatever custom organic formulas I want. But you can’t just toss whatever ingredients you want into a mill grinder. And the mill owners are no help at determining a formula because their recommendations are based on the easiest/cheapest ingredients they have access to, and they have no training (and no genuine interest) in non-mainstream livestock nutrition. A professional third-party poultry nutritionist is super important to make the recipes so that the feed has a guaranteed amount of protein, amino acids, calcium, vitamins, minerals, probiotics, enzymes, and carbs for the specific age of the chicken. Exact consistent percentages are crucial for healthy muscle/fat growth, bone structure, and disease avoidance. In fact, the first five weeks of a chicken’s life are the most crucial growing period that determine its health for life.
So, I went to a rather well-known poultry nutritionist known internationally as the expert, and I told him I was looking for the usual organic, no corn/soy, non-GMO heritage feed but also with Low PUFA ingredients. He said that is very difficult to achieve, and nobody is doing it. On a side note, only a commercial mill can afford to buy, ship, and store semi-truck loads of organic ingredients because it requires a big financial investment, and a $5,000,000 mill operation with huge storage silos to store it, measure and dispense the ingredients, grind it, and warehouse it, and then it requires enough paying customers to sell it before it spoils. For a minute I considered building my own mill when I got offers from investors, but that’s not my calling in life and it would be a full-time gig with at least a $5m investment. No thanks (at least not at the moment). I’ve already invested 32yrs in another business that pays very well. So, coming back from my side note, yes, I hired a famous nutritionist, and he made these custom formulas just for me. And I got super lucky to find a certified organic mill willing and able to make it for me. It all fell together like it was meant to happen after so many other dead ends. During our initial startup and growth stage, my wife and I are extremely blessed to get to know so many local chicken keepers; they’re a remarkable bunch of quality people, many of which have become personal friends. People now travel from out of state to buy 6-12 months’ supply of our feeds. And so, my reasons for making this feed keep multiplying, and I’m thankful, as the blessings also keep multiplying.
PRICING:
STARTER: 90¢/lb
GROWER: 85¢/lb
DEVELOPER: 80¢/lb
LAYER: 80¢/lb
Discounts: 1000+lbs 3¢/lb off 2000+lbs 5¢/lb off
Feeds are sold in bulk. Bring your own buckets or barrels or buy ours. Bring a ratchet strap or two to secure barrels in your truck.
Payment Types: Cash, Venmo, Zelle, CashApp, or CC (with 3.5% fee)
CONTACT:
512.518.040eight (Google Voice #)
Open every day at your convenience at our ranch home, by appointment. Early morning or late evening pickups by appointment are also okay.
No emails please
Text is best. I get a lot of spam calls and don't always answer the phone, but I do get texts.
LOCATION:
Bulverde / Spring Branch (Hwy281 @ FM311) (see map in ad)
DELIVERY:
2000+ lbs gets FREE delivery within 40 miles of Spring Branch, TX.
1000+ lbs gets FREE delivery within 20 miles of Spring Branch, TX.
Delivery anywhere in any quantity is available for a fee, call for quote.
QUANTITY TO BUY:
I recommend you buy a 6-12 month supply. And restock while you still have at least a 30-day supply. Feed of this quality can be hard to get, and often sells out between millings, so give yourself time to restock. I expect supply chain issues to arise sharply in the coming months.
This is how you calculate the amount of feed needed:
# of chickens x .25 ration = daily feed per bird
Example: 20 chickens x .25 = 5lbs daily x 30 = 150lb/mo x 6 = 900lbs every six months.
SHELF LIFE:
If stored properly, you’ll have no problem keeping large quantities of feed stored for months. For storage more than a month, I recommend our food-grade barrels with rubber seal lid.
CONSISTENCY:
This feed is a mash product, not a pellet or crumble. It is easier to digest than pellets and crumbles. All feed is first ground into a mash. To make pellets or crumble it is then highly processed by compression with caking agents (like wood pulp) and preservatives, and this is bad. Do not use pellets or crumbles. Your girls will take to the consistency of mash with no problem. However, it is more powdery and therefore the correct feeder becomes very important to prevent the feed from being wasted by chickens scratching it out of the feeder onto the ground.
FEEDER ADVICE:
On FB chicken groups I see a lot of people all around the country complaining about wasted feed. I strongly recommend not to broadcast it by hand, nor to pour it on the ground, and not to put in an open container like a bowl. Traditional feeders are also a problem because they allow chickens to either put their feet into the feeder to scratch, or to shovel the feed onto the ground with their beaks. Chickens do this to look for nuggets they prefer. They will eventually eat all of it. Feed is better served in a long narrow round trough (pipe) that will disallow chickens access with their feet to spread it around and waste it. Gravity feeders will not work because the mash will clog up. I strongly recommend my feeders (see pictures), or you can make your own like it if you have a table saw to cut the PVC. I sell mine as a convenience to my feed buyers, to set you up for success with this feed. The cost of materials is stupid high, for example 4”x10’ PVC is $48 at Hm Depot. See photos for feeders. I also now have 5”x10’ feeders, not pictured.
FEEDERS FOR SALE: (See pictures)
2" x 2.5' $35
(ages 0-3wks) 2" x 5' $45
3" x 2.5' $45
(ages 3-16 wks) 3" x 5' $55
4" x 5' long $60
(adult) 4" x 10' long $75
5" x 5' long $65
5" x 10' long $85
EMPTY BARRELS FOR SALE with wide-mouth lid (Food Grade): (See pictures)
20 Gal Barrel, holds 130lbs $40
60 Gal Barrel, holds 380lbs $65
OTHER FEEDS AVAILABLE:
Turkey / Gamebird Starter
Goat / Sheep
Dairy
LAYING HENS AVAILABLE:
We now have Started Pullets that are 8-24+ weeks old. A Started Pullet is a young hen that has just started or is about to start laying, so you get ALL of her productivity during her life cycle. This saves you 24 weeks of raising birds before laying, during which time they consume about 39lbs of feed each. Our hens and roos have been hand raised from heritage flocks obtained from Hatcheries with decades-old proven blood lines. They have been strictly fed our feeds, so they are exceptionally healthy, and their eggs/meat are ready to consume. If you buy pullets elsewhere, it takes 6-8 weeks after changing to this feed before the eggs are okay to consume, if you’re trying to eat best eggs.
ARE CHICKENS PETS?
Many back yard chicken keepers name their birds and spend time enjoying the psychological health benefits of watching and interacting with their chickens. There’s nothing wrong with that. I do recommend another approach and that is to think about your chickens the way a farmer does. The farmer’s goal is to feed his/her family and share the rest with others so he can continue being a farmer. The farmer sees livestock as an investment in a future meal or sale. He may name his cow, but he knows that cow will someday stop producing milk and become just another mouth to feed. He has no illusions of happy cows that give no milk living to ripe old ages frolicking in his developed pastures that cost him a half million dollars to maintain each year. Once the milk dries up, Bessy becomes Porterhouse steak, hamburger, and dog food. Likewise, once the egg production drops off, Blondie becomes chicken dinner. The healthiest chickens of fine heritage produce eggs for about two years and then production drops off by about 10% each year. Farmers do a lot of math to make sure they don’t go bankrupt feeding animals. Chicken feed accounts for 80% of the cost of poultry production. One of those calculations farmers do is called Feed Conversion Ratio. After 2-3 years it makes less sense to keep feeding Blondie and more sense to replace her with another Started Pullet, converting her purpose to meat for your family.
HISTORY
Nationwide we are seeing egg production plummet due to the poor quality of feeds found in feed stores. A government ban on keeping chickens and growing food is under discussion. If they fail at that they’re also attacking egg production through feed ingredients. Monsanto and the Big Food complex seeks to control all food production and hence the populations of every nation. The world of food has evolved into a weapon to use against we-the-people. We’ve been lied to that Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFA) are good for us, but according to the censored research of Dr. Mercola, PUFA is now the leading cause of obesity and chronic illness today. Shocker- eggs and meats are very high in PUFA due entirely to feed content. The egg (the whole egg) is nature’s most nutritious, most complete food, but it has been made toxic by chicken feeds containing soy and high PUFA, et al. The vast majority of online info about PUFA from the major health organizations just straight-up lie about PUFA saying it is good for us and to avoid saturated fats like found in whole grass-fed dairy products; it’s an evil lie designed to make you sick. The exact opposite of what they say about PUFA’s is true.
People with allergies to eggs can eat the eggs from chickens fed our feeds. But this is impossible with traditional feeds. As a side note, all dairy, butter, and ghee is now much higher in PUFA, especially now that chemists have created “Rumen Protective Fats” for the feed industry which prevents ruminant animals (cows) from converting PUFA to healthy saturated fats in their stomachs. Words like Natural, Organic, Not Caged, Free Range, no longer mean what they used to as the CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) industry has manipulated corrupt FDA and Politicians to allow them maximum profits at the expense of the American health. Big Food and Big Pharma control the politicians and the agenda is to maximize profits even knowing it will make you sick. They are achieving their goals in many ways including filling our foods with inexpensive high-PUFA and other toxic ingredients and lying to us about food health; starting with the infamous “Food Pyramid” taught to school children starting in Sweden in the 1970’s and adopted by the US Dept of Agriculture. But the Pyramid was intended to be used during wartime food rationing, not for optimal health in times of plenty, and certainly not for peak performance. Why was I taught the food triangle and given a false sense of healthy eating as a child? The RDA (aka RDI or Daily Value) is also used falsely to recommend nutrient intake, but it is based on barely keeping a person alive, not optimal vibrant health. Even the “normal range” reported in lab blood tests are based on mere survival of ill persons and not on optimal health. Our cherished organic foods may actually be very high in PUFA which has a seven-year lifespan in the body and is killing us slowly. There is so much to be said about this subject and my rant is hardly exhaustive of the subject. So back to the feed subject- Feeding our animals right is one very big step in the right direction. But there is practically no information online to teach us, only lies and misinformation. That’s why we need Dr. Mercola and others that risk their lives and livelihoods to advocate the truth. And I’m doing my part.
My wife and I are small-time newbie homesteaders navigating our way through this corrupt food environment. Although we enjoy it now, we didn’t desire to grow our own food or be farmers or chicken people. We’d rather travel the world and run our businesses and enjoy life. I’m semi-retired and prefer to disappear offroad on my KTM 890 ADV Touring bike for months in the woods around the planet. But we feel those days may be gone and we must learn how to return to the ways of living simple, like it was done before the industrial revolution; and I want to teach others to keep small flocks to feed their family. Prepare now while resources are still available, said Joseph wisely to Pharaoh, and saved a few nations of families from famine.
My wife is a 30year veteran Pediatric Trauma RN with a personal interest in functional wellness; I’m a former Austin Firefighter/EMT, multiple business owner, former triathlete, with an interest in athletic peak performance. Together we’ve committed our lives to true health and wellness, not the illusion of health perpetrated by the “health” industry and restaurants with trendy “healthy” offerings that are anything but. We’ve strongly advocated for viral treatment protocols that work and have saved a few friends from certain death at the hands of hospital protocols during the scamdemic. Now in middle age, we deal with our own hypothyroidism and endocrine disruption due to food’s diminishing quality and toxicity. So we’re working to find or grow better foods for us and our grandchildren. Our animal feeds keep getting better as we research and experiment. By the way, do not feed your chickens dehydrated bugs (meal worms, crickets) because those are farmed in greenhouses with toxic corn and soy sludge and are very high in PUFA. Chicken Scratch is another bad food, basically junk food for chickens that makes them dislike healthy foods.
MY CHICKENS DON’T LIKE IT:
If you provide unlimited feed, chickens get full and then begin to pick out the pieces they prefer, scratching and spreading it on the ground, wasting feed. They get full and when you observe them getting picky, it may appear they don’t like the feed. But they are not hungry when they're doing this, they're just picking at it from boredom. When hungry, chickens will attack this food and eat it all, like any food. It's better to let the food run completely out between refills.
TIPS ON WATER PROVIDED TO CHICKENS:
Chickens consume 3x more water than feed. The source of water is super important. Well water is best because it contains trace minerals and lacks chlorine, fluoride, heavy metals, prescription drugs, contraceptives, and all the trash found in municipal water supplies. The next best water source is rainwater. Mike Adams (The Health Ranger) interviewed the owner of www.Safrax.com about the use of Chlorine Dioxide in drinking water. I put it in all the animals’ drinking water containers. It stops algae, bacteria, viruses, biofilm, mold, and odors, and is good for the animals. Animals will drink more water if it has no odor, which promotes health and proper weight gain. Inadequate water intake will substantially reduce egg production.
WHY Non-SOY?
Soy is high in phytic acid. Monogastric animals like chickens, pigs, horses, and humans don’t produce the enzyme “phytase.” Without phytase, phytic acid can block the uptake of vitamins and minerals in the gastrointestinal tract. Most Americans are sickly deficient in Vitamin D (and others) and don’t need any further blockages to absorption.
Soy is a “trypsin” inhibitor. Trypsin is an enzyme that helps break down many different proteins. Inhibition of trypsin contributes to allergies. The sharp increase in children’s allergies over the last three decades is likely caused by this since soy has been put in all foods.
Soy is high in “phytoestrogens”. This can have a multitude of health implications for all animals and humans.
Feeding soy to chickens means you consume soy in the eggs. A well-known local Feed Mill owner argued with me that that is not true and defended his use of soy in his low-quality organic feeds. His position is sadly confirmed by nearly every “scientific study” in the mainstream fake news, but it is wrong. You must really really want to learn the truth even if you don’t like it in order to actually find the truth about foods. Anything less is cognitive dissonance. I’m ever so grateful for Dr. Mercola and others that have boldly led the way. The greedy, corrupt soy lobby has paid off doctors to write all kinds of flawed “scientific” studies saying phytoestrogens in soy are not so bad and thus “debunking myths” about soy. That’s a deep dark rabbit hole. I personally was an avid health-food consumer, an active triathlete that believed in soy before I learned better. Now, as a result of soy consumption I live with chronic hypothyroidism, depressed T, and estrogen-induced manboobs. I was a Fireman, a triathlete, a manly man. Now in my late 50’s I am only still strong because of ranch work, and I supplement my diet, and have gotten full blood test workups 2x annually for the last eleven years, and see an anti-aging specialist MD, inject testosterone, supplement my thyroid, and maintain a strict diet. I wouldn’t have to do all that if not for the damage caused by soy, PUFA, and perhaps other food toxins. I did everything right consuming whole foods as a lifestyle and still lost my health because of lies about food. All the destructive results of soy and PUFA consumption were avoidable, but I just didn’t know, and now I want to tell everyone. Yes, soy and PUFA are deadly bad, and they’re in nearly all processed foods and especially animal foods. But not this animal food!
If you’ve read this far, congratulations, we’re probably going to be friends.
Call soon, we do run out on occasion.
Version 2024.11.01