Fruits and vegetables aren’t the only things being cultivated in backyards these days. Raising chickens has gone mainstream. Whether it’s done to skirt the rising cost of store-bought eggs or simply for the joy of backyard birding, the sale of chicks and chicken-rearing start-up equipment from online hatcheries and farming supply companies to at-home customers has steadily grown in the last five years.

One of the benefits the primary benefits of overseeing the care of one’s own chickens is the ability to influence the quality of eggs the chickens produce. To that end, St. Louis, MO-based Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC recently introduced a specialty chicken feed formulated to increase the amount of omega 3 in eggs produced by homegrown chickens. 

Formulated to produce “exceptionally nutritious eggs,” Purina Layena Plus Omega-3 features added flaxseed that the company says will effectively triple the Omega-3s in each egg and is the first known complete pelleted layer feed available nationwide that significantly enhances the omega 3 content of backyard eggs. “Both Omega-3s and Omega -6s are essential for proper heart and brain function, growth and development, but the body cannot manufacture them on its own for optimal health, so they must come from the diet,” the company said. “Not only can families provide fresh eggs with their backyard chickens, they can have even healthier eggs with this new formula.”
 
“It’s critical to maintain the appropriate balance of omega 3 to omega 6. Unfortunately, the typical American diet provides far more omega 6 than is necessary and this imbalance can prove detrimental over time,” said Dr. Mikelle Roeder, a nutritionist with Land O’ Lakes Purina Feed. “You can tilt the balance in your favor by looking for opportunities to add omega 3 to your family’s diet. Eating eggs produced through an exclusive diet of Purina Layena Plus Omega-3 are a wholesome and delicious way to add some of those much-sought-after omega 3 fatty acids.”
 
When fed a diet of Layena Plus Omega-3 exclusively for at least 3 weeks, the company maintains that hens will produce eggs containing more than 200 mg omega-3 per large egg (50g), though results may vary due to factors such as total diet and hen health. A typical egg contains 65 mg omega 3.
 
Purina Layena Plus Omega-3 is a natural vegetarian formula with added vitamins, minerals and trace nutrients and without added antibiotics or hormones. Like the company’s existing SunFresh Recipe Poultry Feeds, Layena Plus Omega-3 also contains marigold extract, which produces rich golden yellow colored yolks, key levels of calcium and manganese for strong shells with fewer cracks and an “optimized level of vitamin E to support a healthy immune system.”
 
Purina worked in tandem with noted home and garden expert P. Allen Smith to create the new feed. “My flock of heritage chickens deserves the same natural nutrition we provide for our families, and that’s why I feed them Layena® Plus Omega-3,” said Mr. Smith, who also provides lifestyle advice on NBC's Today Show and PBS. “But this feed doesn’t just help me raise healthy chickens, it also means wholesome eggs for myself.”
 
Purina poultry feeds are available through a network of select dealers. Purina Certified Expert Dealers, a segment of Purina’s authorized dealers, carry the full line of products and are specially trained to answer questions about care, feeding and management of these and other animals. To help introduce the new Layena Plus Omega-3 feed to consumers, Purina has invited customers to enter its Purina 60-Day Challenge to experience the feed’s results on chickens firsthand.