How important IS layer mash for egg production?

[huntsman]

If it's so important. why not just supply layer mash instead of the normal feed AND the mash??

 

[Uzuri]

Who supplies both? The only time I've ever had multiple types of feed hanging around is when I'm raising peeps, since they can't handle the extra calcium. Once everybody grows up, they get layer crumble (same as mash, only not so dusty) plus some oyster shell. No regular feed at all.

 

[HEChicken]

Perhaps in South Africa you have different products available than we do here in the US? Generally speaking here we have Chick Starter (up to 8 weeks), Grower (can be fed either from day old or starting at 8 weeks, through to laying age). Once they are laying, we switch to layer formula and just feed that. Scratch is sometimes thrown out as a treat. As the previous poster said, the only time we feed multiple types of food is if we have flocks of multiple ages. Even then, when I add my Spring chicks each year, I switch the whole flock to grower and supplement with shell for the layers and that seems to work. Once the new chicks are laying, we go back to layer feed.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
You've lost me. Mash is cracked grains as they come from the mill, as opposed to being extruded into pellets or crumbles.

In my vocabulary, mash is normal feed.

 

[SilkieTime]

Now I'm lost, I do like HEchicken does more or less and mash is a hot food made up of a warm liquid chicken feed and what ever else you want to add to it, like mash for horses? This is for very cold weather.
Scratch is corn and seed grain.

 

[Chris09]

Mash (here in the U.S.) is basically the same as a crumble of pelleted type feed nutritionally but only finer.
You can get all 3 stages of feed (starter, grower and layer) in a mash and most mashes are made at the feed mill you buy it from.

Here is a picture I found on the web that show the difference between Mash, Crumble and Pellet.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...uDaDQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=32&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0

Chris

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
I guess the word mash does bring to mind some sort of wet porridge, but more generally it is just a poultry ration that has been milled, but not made into pellets, or further processed into crumbles. We feed mash here. Our layer ration is an organic corn, wheat, peas, and soybean mix plus a vitamin & mineral premix. The individual grains are milled and mixed together with premix and used as is. That is mash.

 

[DPC poultry]

because they need the protien

 

[HeritageHens]

Quote:
Thank you! I always wondered about the difference between crumble and mash because I had assumed that mash was a oatmeal like soup.

 

[huntsman]

Thank you!

Only one respondent believes that I need to feed both whereas the rest of the replies are in favour of supplying a single food type unless circumstances demand an additive...

Make my life much easier!