Switching adult chickens feed

[RCraft]

It depends on what you have. I like country companion hi pro layer, or nutrena feeds. I don't care for dumor or producers pride, it doesn't smell good and my hens don't like it either.

I have been looking into the Nutrena and Purina brand to switch think that might be the type of crumble I switch too what is the highest protein I should feed to layers

 

[NatJ]

what is the highest protein I should feed to layers

Realistically, no feed you can buy is going to have enough protein to cause problems for your laying hens.

20% protein is safe, and is the highest you are likely to find. There is a slim chance that you will find protein up to about 22%, which is also safe.

Going over 30% protein is when you might start to get problems-- and maybe not even then. You are just not going to find that unless you are getting a turkey starter or a gamebird starter or some kind of supplement (not a regular feed.) If you are ever stuck with a very high protein feed as the only option, there are things you can do (mostly feeding it along with something lower in protein), but most people will never be in a spot where that is the only option.

 

[RCraft]

Realistically, no feed you can buy is going to have enough protein to cause problems for your laying hens.

20% protein is safe, and is the highest you are likely to find. There is a slim chance that you will find protein up to about 22%, which is also safe.

Going over 30% protein is when you might start to get problems-- and maybe not even then. You are just not going to find that unless you are getting a turkey starter or a gamebird starter or some kind of supplement (not a regular feed.) If you are ever stuck with a very high protein feed as the only option, there are things you can do (mostly feeding it along with something lower in protein), but most people will never be in a spot where that is the only option.

Thank everyone for this information I’m going to buy a bag of producers pride crumble and then also pick what I want to switch to and buy a bag of it and gradually switch over

 

[Ridgerunner]

what I’m feeding now is a crumble? And just looks so ground down I just want to do right by the chickens make them healthy and keep them alive as long as possible

The way the major producers make chicken feed is to gather all the ingredients together and grind them. That's called mash. The way they make pellets is to wet the mash and extrude it through dyes then flash dry it. They break those off into short pieces. That is called pellets. The way they make crumbles it to partially mash the pellets. The form has nothing to do with nutrition, that comes from the ingredients they grind together.

Often mash is served damp. The different ingredients can separate out due to different specific gravities but if they are mixed and dampened they stay mixed. The crumbles and pellets dry mixed so they stay balanced.

Since crumbles and pellets were initially ground fine they do not need to be ground up in the gizzard. The moisture in the crop and the grinding action of the gizzard break them up. If they eat something more substantial, like grass or grains, they need grit in the gizzard to grind them up. But they do not need grit to eat pellets or crumble.

 

[my spoiled chickens]

We use "homestead"(thats the brand name) chicken feed