Tag: poultry nutrition

Posted on

What’s Inside Counts: More Than Protein for Happy, Healthy Chicks

By Jennifer Murtoff, Home to Roost LLC

Healthy Happy Strong Chicks
These happy, healthy chicks are off to a great start in life!

Walk down the aisle at your local feed store or browse online, and you’ll notice a number of different chick starter/grower feeds at different price points. Many chicken keepers consider only the protein content of feeds and choose the lowest-priced feed with the acceptable amount of protein. But why is there a difference in cost? And is protein the most important ingredient in a chick feed?

Correct levels of protein are an important part of your chick feed, but they are only one element of a good nutritional foundation. A feed with advanced nutrition combines high-quality ingredients and additives in the precise blend to support vitality, health, and growth for a superior start. It will also provide appropriate levels of amino acids, which are critical for protein formation, enabling your birds to live their best lives from the very beginning.

Reviews from the Field

We asked our customers to review our NatureWise® Chick Starter Grower with FlockShield™, and it earned rave reviews from across the United States.

    • I’ve been raising chicks for years on a different feed and decided to check out NatureWise® this season on my first group of chicks. My goodness, the difference is huge! These little chicks sprouted feathers faster than my chicks last season, are super hardy, run around like crazy rockets, and look amazing. They always feel plump and thus far have been a blast. The crumble is a nice size, is not full of powder (like other brands), and is easily accessible at my store. I will keep using it this season.
      –Tucson, AZ

       

    • Two weeks ago I started my new chicks on this feed and have noticed how happy, healthy, and perky they are. No instances of sick chicks or poopy butts. So thankful!
      –Madison, WI

       

    • I started feeding Nutrena NatureWise® Chick Starter Grower three weeks ago. My baby chicks have grown tremendously beautiful and healthy. I recommend this product to anyone starting a new chicken family.
      –Havana, FL

       

    • My chicks have loved Nutrena NatureWise® chick starter. I am happy to say that I haven’t lost a single chick started on it. I’ve also noticed a big difference in a sickly chick I purchased a few days ago since getting her home and on Nutrena feed. She’s perked up and made a complete turnaround. I love that Nutrena uses nature to add a little extra boost to the feed.
      –Birmingham, AL

       

    • I’ve been raising chicks for many years and recently purchased NatureWise® Chick Starter Grower medicated feed for my new babies. I am aware that chicks grow quickly, but I cannot believe how quickly the girls are growing—especially their wings. Much faster than previous years using a different feed. The girls are healthy, active, and vibrant. I believe it’s all about the feed! I’m impressed!
      –McDonough, GA

 See more customer reviews here.

What’s in a Chick Feed?

But what makes the difference? It all comes down to Nutrena’s motto: What’s inside counts. The quantity, quality, and kind of ingredients all make a difference. Chick feeds typically have several main components.

    • Proteins and amino acids help build body tissues. They also assist with metabolic function, conduct specific biological reactions, build hormones, and coordinate functions of different cells within the body.

    • Carbohydrates power cellular activity. They are the body’s preferred source of energy. They make up the largest percentage of a chicken’s diet and come mostly from grains.

    • Vitamins and minerals perform many functions in the body: they encourage healthy growth, create strong bones, and form blood cells. They also support energy use and muscle function.

Two chicks eating feed

The quantity of the ingredients affects the health and growth of your chicks. For example, too much calcium can damage your chicks’ kidneys, and too little protein can cause them to process feed inefficiently.

Feed quality is also important: the quality of the ingredients—the vitamins, minerals, proteins, and carbohydrates—matters. NatureWise®’s high-quality ingredients make a difference!

Finally, the kind of ingredients is key. Some premium feeds contain extra ingredients that provide supportive nutrition for your birds, such as pre- and probiotics, yeast culture, and essential oils. These extra ingredients boost the immune system, support healthy growth, promote optimal digestion, and cut down on odor in droppings. Our NatureWise® products contain a proprietary blend of these additional ingredients called FlockShield™.

But how do we know that these ingredients are useful? In addition to the reviews from satisfied customers, our scientific trials provide the proof.

Scientific Evidence

In July 2021, we set up a research trial to test the quality of our NatureWise® Chick Starter Grower feed at our Cargill Innovation Campus in Elk River, Minnesota. We selected 510 speckled Sussex chicks and divided them into six groups of 85 chicks each. Each group was fed one of six different feeds manufactured by national brands, including Nutrena’s NatureWise® Chick Starter Grower and other brands of chick starter. The birds were housed under the same conditions, with the only difference being the brand of feed, and we observed them over 18 weeks.

We examined the birds for several different variables, including body weight and breast muscle, death rate, feed conversion ratio, as well as feed consumption and instances of illness. Our NatureWise® Chick Starter Grower yielded superior results in all categories.

    • No chick deaths: We compared the 85 chicks fed NatureWise® to 85 chicks that ate a premium diet of a national competitor. Based on the study results, 3 of the chicks fed the competitor’s brand died (3.5%), which is in line with industry averages. However, none of the chicks fed NatureWise® were lost.

Chart showing 0 chick loss on NatureWise Feed and 3.55 chick loss on the leading premium brand

    • Better use of feed: The chicks in the two groups ate roughly the same amount, but the NatureWise® chicks had higher weight gain, which means their bodies used the feed better, gaining 3.7% more weight per day than the birds fed the competitor’s feed. The NatureWise® chicks also ate 2% less feed; thus the NatureWise® birds converted feed to weight more efficiently, showing a 5.9% improvement in use of feed. For owners, this means less money spent on feed.

The results of this study show that Nutrena’s blend of quality protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, as well as its FlockShield™ proprietary blend of additives, led to faster-growing, more feed-efficient, and healthier birds across all categories that we examined.

So the science proves that what’s inside counts: Nutrena NatureWise® provides superior nutrition, setting the stage for your chicks to live their best lives as healthy, happy chickens.

, ,
Posted on

Coop Odors: The Stinky Truth and How Nutrition can Help

By Jennifer Murtoff, Home to Roost LLC

Sometimes your coop can get a little smelly, which can be a little embarrassing. What’s the scoop on coop odors, and how can you help your hens live their best lives by reducing odors in their home?

Causes of Coop Odors

Although chicken poop can be stinky, the most likely culprit for coop odors is the colorless gas ammonia. A combination of hydrogen and nitrogen, ammonia has a sharp, pungent smell, similar to vinegar.

Chickens that are exposed to this gas can develop permanent damage to lungs and eyes and will avoid the coop if levels are too high. Ammonia can cause damage at very low concentrations, which are below the level that the human nose can detect. So, if your coop smells like ammonia, clean it immediately!

Fixing a Stinky Coop

While cleaning is a quick solution, there are several longer-lasting measures you can take to eliminate odors and make your coop a more pleasant place for you and your birds.

Eliminate Moisture

A dry coop will lead to happy, healthy hens. Moisture in the coop not only can contribute to ammonia odors, but also lead to conditions that favor parasites and bacteria. To keep moisture low, use the following tips: 

Hens on a Henhouse Ladder

  • Every few days check for and replace damp bedding. 
  • If you use the deep litter method, clean out the upper layers several times a year, keeping the lower layer, which contains helpful microbes that break down bedding and waste.
  • Repair any leaks in the roof of your coop immediately.
  • Turn the litter if your chickens don’t do so on their own.
  • Add high-carbon materials that don’t pack easily (e.g., kiln-dried wood shavings), ground dolomitic limestone, or products containing zeolite.
  • Provide good ventilation. An air-tight coop might sound like a good idea, but air circulation will help dry out litter and prevent odors. 

Choose Feed Wisely

Your choice of feed can also reduce coop odors. Odor can be caused by waste protein from undigested feed. You can combat these smells by choosing feeds with the following plant extracts and essential oils:

  • Saponins: Additives called saponins, which include yucca, reduce ammonia production in a chicken’s body. As a result, they can increase the bird’s nutrient absorption and reduce the amount of proteins your chickens excrete.
  • Phytogens: Yucca is also a phytogen, one of a number of plant-based compounds that are increasingly being used in animal feeds. Other phytogens include essential oils, herbs, and spices. These compounds work with yucca to reduce waste protein by increasing digestibility, balancing gut microflora, and reducing gut inflammation, again contributing to better use of feed.
  • Proteins: You can also choose feeds that are more easily digestible, such as processed feeds available in pellets or crumbles, rather than whole grains blends. Feeds that are lower in crude protein can also help reduce odors; however, remember that your laying hens need 16% crude protein to stay healthy.

Choose NatureWise to Help Combat Coop Odors!

Nutrena NatureWise feeds can be part of your efforts to combat coop odors. NatureWise uses all-natural ingredients: essential oils, spices, bitter substances, and saponins that

  • support healthy enzyme production,
  • promote crude protein and nutrient absorption, and 
  • aid in the control of ammonia odor.

Remember that if you make a change to a new feed, switch slowly from your current feed to ease the transition, and help your birds feel more comfortable with the change.

Learn more about NatureWise Feeds

Posted on

Free Range Poultry, the Inside Scoop

Free Range PoultryA hen lounges in the grass soaking in the sun, on her side with her wing partially open.

The rooster pecks, watches, pecks, watches, then circles the flock, always on alert.

A pullet scoots through a cluster of hens after a grasshopper, scolded by one of the older ones.

Just a snapshot of the flock dynamics from a few minutes watching chickens in a large run or while free ranging.

If you enjoy this view like I do, free ranging or pasturing chickens is a pleasant way to raise your flock. The added food the hens or broilers pick up while foraging can help save on your overall costs, once fencing and predator prevention has been paid for.

When considering nutrition for free range or any poultry, first consider your overall goals.

  • Are you raising for meat or eggs?
  • Are you working to maximize egg production, size and eggshell quality?
  • Do you have a flock for eggs and perhaps meat for your family and enjoy watching the flock more than you care about the number of eggs you collect?
  • Are you rotating your flock maximize the nutrition from the pasture?
  • What are your winters like and do you expect egg production in the cold seasons?

Your answers determine your nutrition program for your flock.

Pastured or free range chickens pick up as much nutrition as the pasture has to offer, until they are full that day.

If you have ever built a new run, delighted at the lush green grass and plants as you let your chickens out the first few days, only to be horrified at the decimation they caused in a short time, you understand how completely chickens will take advantage of the food sources in an area.

Here’s where the old adage, you are what you eat, comes in. Chickens will get the nutritional value of what they are foraging on.

So, if they are free ranging on a fairly well-manicured lawn, the variety of species of plants and insects is quite limited. If they are being rotated weekly within an electric netting fence in a large field that’s mowed twice per year, housed out of a chicken tractor or hoop house, the variety will be much wider.

charlie barred rockNo matter where you raise your poultry, their nutritional needs are pretty much the same.

They’re all individuals, just like us, so one hen may need more calcium, for example, than another to keep the same eggshell quality as another hen

Whenever we take away feeding consistency, we change what we know the poultry are receiving as far as nutrition.

So, you can change how much nutrition they are getting, but their needs are the same. Whenever these needs for calories, vitamins, minerals and amino acids are not met, a bird will have a deficiency which can cause health issues.

These health issues can range from minor to severe; from dull colored feathers and poor feather regrowth after molt or hen pecking, to decreased immune system that leads to susceptibility to respiratory infections.

So, does this mean you cannot raise your poultry out in nature with a varied diet? Absolutely not!

Just keep in mind that the commercial feed and supplements that you’re feeding are that much more important because your birds are consuming a much smaller amount of them. F

or example, a chicken’s diet in a coop and small run is 90% layer feed, like Nutrena® NatureWise® Layer Pellets, and 10% a combination of scratch, calcium chips, unlucky insects that wander in and vegetable scraps.

Since 90% of the hen’s diet is balanced for egg production, feather quality and overall health, the hen is healthy and produces large, thick-shelled eggs.

If we take the same hen, open the coop door and let her free range from 7am-7pm, the percentage of the layer feed she eats will dramatically decrease.

Let’s say now 80% of her diet is free ranging, and 20% is layer pellets. Now, keep in mind, depending on where the flock is going, she can eat some yummy and nutritious things like insects, worms, frogs, all sorts of plants, flowers, vegetables, even mice.

None of this is bad for her, chickens are omnivores and meant to eat all these things. The result we may see is that since the hen is not eating very much layer pellet, she may be deficient in vitamins, minerals or amino acids if she is not getting those from her environment.

Think about it like your diet. If you are eating three balanced meals a day, you’re most likely getting everything your body needs. If you are on the run and your meals are unbalanced and inconsistent, you may need to add a multivitamin, protein shake, meal bar or other supplement to prevent a deficiency.

So, give your free range hens a concentrated diet in addition to their free ranging and you will ensure that they get everything that they need in the smaller amount of feed they eat.

For example, Nutrena® Country Feeds® Egg Producer is a concentrated formula that is high in energy, amino acids, vitamins and minerals that hens need to stay healthy and lay beautiful eggs for your family or customers.

This type of feed is also helpful if you’re mixing in whole grains, fermented feed, compost or large amounts of vegetable scraps from your kitchen. It’s like giving hens all the amino acids, vitamins and minerals they need in a small amount like a meal/energy bar that we humans would eat.

Use nutrition as preventative medicine to keep your hens healthy and laying. And keep enjoying the sight of your flock and their antics outside!

Privacy Policy | Terms