Chickens get more from their diet than just calories. Poultry feed can affect a bird’s health, size and even the nutrition of their meat. If your chickens are layers, nutrition can impact the eggs, too. To choose the right feed, it helps to know the ingredients used.

What Are the Main Ingredients in Chicken Feed?

Feed producers take many factors into consideration when deciding what to put in their formulas. They may consider the availability and price of ingredients, the nutritional needs of poultry and their brand. Chicken feed also has different ingredients depending on whether it’s aimed at layers, chicks or chickens.

When you look at the ingredients list of many types of chicken feed, you may find:

• Cereals and cereal byproducts: Cereals in feed may include wheat, corn, sorghum, barley or rye. Byproducts are produced during the milling or brewing of some of these cereal grains.
• Protein: Chickens readily eat insects because they are omnivores and need protein for nutrition. In feed, most protein comes from soybean, canola or sunflower meal, a byproduct made when these plants are processed for oil. Protein in chicken feed can also come from lupins or peas or even from animal byproducts such as bone, feather and fish meal. In some cases, even poultry meat and feather by-meal are used in chicken feed.
• Fat: In chicken feed, fats or oils are added. Common sources are rendered pig or beef fat or ​linseed, soy, sunflower or palm oil. Fats and oils are important because they help chickens absorb some vitamins and offer energy. They’re also a source of essential fatty acids, which are needed for overall health.
• Vitamins and minerals: Amino acids, minerals and vitamins, including sodium, calcium, phosphorus, Lysine and methionine, are commonly added to feed. Sometimes, vitamin D3, niacin, vitamin B12, vitamin, vitamin A and Riboflavin may be added.

Some brands of feed may contain additional items.

What Ingredients Are in Chicken Pellets?

Pellets are made with protein, supplements and crushed grain. These ingredients are mixed, heated up and pressed into pellets. Pellets are intended to meet all the nutritional needs of chickens, making them a complete food.

What Is in Chicken Feed From Nature’s Best Organic Feeds?

Nature’s Best Organic Feeds takes the guesswork out of what’s in your chicken feed. Our feed is non-medicated, organic and Non-GMO Project-Verified. The grain used in our chicken feed is regularly tested to ensure USDA Organic requirements are not just met but exceeded. Nutritional experts devise the formulas of Nature’s Best Organic Feeds, so your chickens get high-quality and nutritionally balanced feed.

Our website always lists our chicken feed ingredients so you know exactly what you’re feeding your chickens. We also offer less of the ingredients you don’t want. Nature’s Best Organic Feeds Soy-Free Egg Layer Pellets and Soy-Free Broiler Grower Pellets don’t contain any soy, which may reduce hormones and allergens in your chickens’ eggs and meat.

Take a look at the ingredients in Nature’s Best Organic Feeds chicken feed and pick up some feed for your chickens today.