[cammi]

My girls have Garvo layer pellets in their run and Garvo layer mash out in the garden just for a bit of variety.  Was running out of mash and couldn't be bothered to go all the way to Boston to my nearest supplier (normally i pick them up if im in the area) so went to a local feed store and got something else.  Looks ok even has peas in it, but just wondered what you seasoned chicken people thought of it.

this is Garvo:

Composition:
maize, wheat, maize gluten feed, soya dehulled extracted toasted*, lime stones, rape seed extracted, soja oil*, dehydrated alfalfa meal, shell grit   

*)from genetic modificated soybeans

analytical constituents
crude protein 15,0 %, crude fat 4,4 %, crude fiber 4,0 %, crude ash 11,7 %, calcium 30,0 g, phosphorus 6,0 g, sodium 1,6 g, 7,0 g, 3,3 g

Addition/kg (Vitamins)
E672 Vitamin(e) A 10000 IE, E671 Vitamin(e) D3 2000 IE, Vitamin(e) E 50 mg

Addition/kg (Traces)
E4 cupper (cupperchelate from amino acids, hydrate) 5 mg, E4 copper (copper(ll) sulfate pentahydrate) 4 mg, E5 manganese (manganese chelate of amino acids hydrate) 32 mg, E5 manganese (manganous oxide) 31 mg, E6 zinc (zinc chelate of amino acids hydrate) 16 mg, E6 zinc (zinc oxide) 16 mg, E1 iron (Ferrous sulphate, monohydrate) 45 mg, Selenium (organic form CNCM 1-3060) 0.1 mg, E2 iodine (Potassium iodide) 1 mg

Addition/kg (pigments)
E161g Canthaxanthin(e) 3.5 mg, E161b/h lutein(e)/zeaxanthin(e) 2.7 mg

Seems to have alot of additional traces.

This is the food i picked up yesterday:

What do yo think?

[arugula]

It had a UFAS certificate so it should be fine. Granted the Garvo's label seems very detailed and technical in comparison, but don't worry about that. You are likely to be paying a premium for Garvo's so its good that some more work has gone into telling you what's in it.

[Beakybird]

Just as a matter of interest, this is on Wiki:

'In the United Kingdom, canthaxanthin is allowed by law to be added to sausages (mainly to those exported to France), as well as trout feed, salmon feed and poultry feed, but is not permitted by the UK egg industry's Lion Code of Practice under which 85% of British eggs are produced.[3] The European Union limit is 80 mg/kg of foodstuffing.[2], 8 mg/kg in feed for egg laying hens and 25 mg/kg in feed for broilers or salmon.

Where the addition of an artificial substance is not desired or permitted, naturally occurring citranaxanthin is often used instead.'

As my girls are only fed on organic feed, the pigment looks a bit iffy and the genetically modified bit in Garvo's would be a big no-no here! However, as with most things, it's horses for courses (or pellets for poultry)

[cammi]

It had a UFAS certificate so it should be fine. Granted the Garvo's label seems very detailed and technical in comparison, but don't worry about that. You are likely to be paying a premium for Garvo's so its good that some more work has gone into telling you what's in it.

What does the UFAS cert mean? (this is all new to me)

[cammi]

Just as a matter of interest, this is on Wiki:

'In the United Kingdom, canthaxanthin is allowed by law to be added to sausages (mainly to those exported to France), as well as trout feed, salmon feed and poultry feed, but is not permitted by the UK egg industry's Lion Code of Practice under which 85% of British eggs are produced.[3] The European Union limit is 80 mg/kg of foodstuffing.[2], 8 mg/kg in feed for egg laying hens and 25 mg/kg in feed for broilers or salmon.

Where the addition of an artificial substance is not desired or permitted, naturally occurring citranaxanthin is often used instead

Im learning today!  Its interesting about the canthaxanthin, that its not allowed in Lion eggs but used in what is deemed one of the premium feeds!  And how blind am i i hadn't noticed the GM soya beans!

Be interesting to see if we notice any colour difference.



What do you all think about the differences in protein, fat, fiber, etc i dont know what the balance should be



As my girls are only fed on organic feed, the pigment looks a bit iffy and the genetically modified bit in Garvo's would be a big no-no here! However, as with most things, it's horses for courses (or pellets for poultry)

[Alastair-I]

It had a UFAS certificate so it should be fine. Granted the Garvo's label seems very detailed and technical in comparison, but don't worry about that. You are likely to be paying a premium for Garvo's so its good that some more work has gone into telling you what's in it.

What does the UFAS cert mean? (this is all new to me)

UKASTA Feed Assurance Scheme, it's the trade body standard for the manufacture of animal feedingstuffs.  Since the scheme first started UKASTA has renamed itself AIC, but the scheme remains the same.

"Vitamins and minerals" will cover a lot of the trace elements that you see seperately listed with the other feed.  Below certain thresholds the vit's and min's can be lumped under a generic term.  I used to have to juggle the text behind the labels, and using the generic was usually the only wany to get it onto the label.

It's essentially a quality standard.  There is (or was, been a while since I dealt with UFAS) a seperate Non-GM extension to the core standard for feedmills producing non-GM feeds.

When it comes to pigments.. you ain't seen nothing until you've seen the Roche colour fan, what colour would you like your yolk?   Not all the pigments are artificial, we used one that was an extract of marigolds.

[Beakybird]

'What do you all think about the differences in protein, fat, fiber, etc i dont know what the balance should be'


Unless someone is a nutritionist, I'd imagine that would be extremely difficult to answer. I presume we generally put our faith in animal feed suppliers and trust they know their stuff, but to be honest I'm not too convinced. In the case of dog food manufacturing, I have read enough to convince me not to use typical commercial brands, so I'm always rather cynical.

I use pellets made by The Organic Feed Company, then add Nutrobal and Avipro along with some quality 'treats' (organic oats, sunflower seeds, sultanas, sesame seeds, fresh fruit and veg, plus a little organic mixed corn).

As always, this is just my unprofessional opinion and I'm sure there are many different view points on this subject.

[Alastair-I]

If it's sold as a "complete feedingstuff" then the diet should be formulated to provide everything the bird needs for the stage of life it's formulated for.  With a 100% vegetarian ingredient list this means that various vit's and min-s have to be added to make up for the natural non-vegetarian diet (worms, bugs, etc).

Commercial layers diets are traditionally not particularly nutritient dense, they're formulated to encourage egg production rather than putting on muscle, and the longer a chicken has to spend eating the less time it has to engage in destructive behaviours (this is from a commercial egg production point of view).  Are you buying a diet forumulated for extensive free range or a more intensive system of rearing?

On the GM issue, if it doesn't specifically say "non-GM" or "free from GM" and it isn't to a recognised non-GM standard (e.g. UFAS non-GM).. then it may contains GM ingredients (soya or maize derived ingredients).

[arugula]

What does the UFAS cert mean? (this is all new to me)

Sorry came back a bit late, but Alastair-I seems to have explained it all clearly.