Backyard Poultry Forum

Hello All,
well it has been a very long time since I have posted, although I do jump on here and have a good read from time to time because poultry is our business.

Most of you will not remember but I am the General Manager of Country Heritage Feeds and we manufacture certified organic layer and grower feeds for all forms of poultry.

At the risk of being moderated, I am not here to promote our business, but rather I feel this is a great way for me to communicate with the people/owners that we make feed for - and that is the "backyarders."

Every day I get many emails from people asking questions about our products and a common statement I hear is that they have searched the Poultry Forum looking for answers.

So I guess if its ok with the moderators - I'm happy to answer questions here?

It is a double edged sword putting this sort of thread up because you'll come under some pretty intense scrutiny and others have succumbed under that pressure.

Where do you get your protein meal from?

I love the idea of feeding organic, but I find it impractical for young chicks because it's not medicated.

A bit of a catch-22, but that's just my feedback.

Thanks for providing great feed though!

Oh if you need organic coccidiosis control, there is a product made from oregano called oregostim that seems to have some science behind its efficacy claims.

Hi Arquella,
yes that is the catch with being certified organic. No medications.

Thanks andrewschooks!

I think I'll just feed the medicated crumble until they're old enough then switch back to the organic.

I'd definitely be feeding them the Country Heritage Layer Pellets when they're old enough. The feeds look lovely.

I have not been able to find a distributor in south west Victoria. Do you have one here?

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Erika

Hi Andrew -
yes it is a risk however we are open about what we do. We source our protein meals from all over Australia - being certified organic means we don't have the great access to meals that other manufacturers do, this includes cheap imported meals that are often GM.

As for the coccidiosis - we do have a number of different products that derive from oregano which we do use in our rations. We have seen great success with these.

Have you checked out our website for our store locator?

If so and there isn't one close by, let me know where you are and we'll work on getting some into your local supplier.

PETstock have access to our feeds if there is one nearby

You suggest on your site to use your chick starter for backyard turkeys from start to finish, its only 18% protein when a typical turkey starter is about 26-28% protein and a grower usually 20-24%. I would think a turkey, particularly a commercial variety, would be stunted and might have bone development issues with such a low protein feed. Has the use of the starter on turkeys been tested to make sure it doesn't have any adverse effects on the health of the birds?

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-Tony
Oriental Gamefowl, Turkeys and Ducks

Check the PRICES people, some of the specialty pet retailers are VERY expensive ~ up to double the price of a regular stock feed store for the same product. So I shudder to think what the organic pricing might be.

Yes getting decent protein in organic feeds is a perennial problem.

The Country Heritage is pretty reasonable down where I get it at Petstock, about $10 more than Barastock for the same weight.

If you had a very large scale establishment I can see that this would add up very quickly, but if you want your chickens to be largely organic then it's great.

Depends what you're looking for.

Hi tg451

Thanks for your question. Raising turkeys in a backyard environment is quite different to a commercial setting as there are a lot less "stressors" involved. Our turkey rations are generally suited for commercial operations and so therefore those rations do contain much higher protein levels. (starter 28% - Grower 22% - Finisher 18%)

The one thing about commercial production is that there is greater competition for feed, and this places greater importance on having a higher specified ration in that environment

Our recommendation is purely for those with one or two turkeys in a backyard environment who want an organic option.

A lower spec feed, such as our chick starter grower will mean that the turkeys will consume more feed per head per day to try and meet their daily nutritional requirement. Its also important to note that a high protein diet is useless if it is not balanced correctly - and will simply end up passing through the bird. in other words, protein is only a small part of the story.

We have been conducting an extensive trial on turkeys and broiler birds adopting an "out of the box" approach to formulating diets. This has seen us develop lower protein diets that are in some cases out performing some of our standard rations. This trial has been on going for over 2 years and to date we have not had any issues with bone formation. This approach does have a longer growth cycle by a few weeks, but i am told the meat quality is much better.

I hope this helps

Interestingly, with quail & chooks, when using the Chick Starter Grower Mash I've had far healthier birds that are far less affected by coccidiosis than I ever did when using medicated chick starter. I expect that's down to several things...

1. I am far more fastidious with the initial cleanliness of brooder & chick pens since using the Country Heritage (a bonus in any husbandry), although I'm still pretty slack compared to many !

2. The chicks have a far more robust appetite on the Country Heritage as they prefer it over other chick starters I've tried. That, in turn, means that they're eating more often & more volume each time. That, in turn, has them drinking more water & remaining well-hydrated.

3. Their activity level is noticeably improved on the Country Heritage... more accurately, I found that chicks raised on other chick starters were sluggish & inactive in comparison.

I particularly like that, when I have hens raising chicks, I'm not having to be ultra vigilant of who has access to which feed... with the chick starter not having a coccidiostat in it I can still eat the eggs of any hens that happen to get a mouthful of the chick starter.

Bear in mind that the number of hatches, and total number of chicks (both chook & Japanese quail), are very low in my situation... but I couldn't be happier with Country Heritage feeds... our adult hens also much prefer their adult rations to be Country Heritage whenever we can afford it.