Is KALMBACH Henhouse Reserve good feed for laying hens?

[alinas2010]

I was looking to set up an auto ship order on chicken feed from Chewy, but they have so many options. One im considering is this:

It says it’s a layer feed, but I’m confused, why does it look like a scratch? Is that okay or am I being fooled? I see decent feedback on it, but will it work for laying hens?

 

[FrostRanger]

It's a mash, the only thing about that type of feed is you MUST either serve it as a wet mash or fermented else the birds can pick and choose what grain they want and get vitamin deficiencies. Not to mention they won't get the vitamin powder that's mixed in. It's not a bad feed, but a better option IMO is kalmbach's flock maker pellets. It has more protein and is suitable for birds of all ages (ik on the bag it says it's for birds under 16 weeks or so, but there is absolutely no reason older birds can't eat it too, laying hens just need to have oyster shell available on the side for calcium) and it has more protein than layer feed normally does which is better for the birds. I've been feeding my flock it since they were 3 1/2 weeks old and they've been doing great on it

 

[alinas2010]

It's a mash, the only thing about that type of feed is you MUST either serve it as a wet mash or fermented else the birds can pick and choose what grain they want and get vitamin deficiencies. Not to mention they won't get the vitamin powder that's mixed in. It's not a bad feed, but a better option IMO is kalmbach's flock maker pellets. It has more protein and is suitable for birds of all ages (ik on the bag it says it's for birds under 16 weeks or so, but there is absolutely no reason older birds can't eat it too, laying hens just need to have oyster shell available on the side for calcium) and it has more protein than layer feed normally does which is better for the birds. I've been feeding my flock it since they were 3 1/2 weeks old and they've been doing great on it

That’s super helpful, thank you! I’ll go look at the flock maker, I saw someone else suggest that one on this site, too.

 

[FrostRanger]

That’s super helpful, thank you! I’ll go look at the flock maker, I saw someone else suggest that one on this site, too.

Lots of people here really like the feed as it's a good quality and not too expensive

 

[tlcmurphy]

I agree with @FrostRanger, I’ve been feeding Kalmbach Flock Maker crumbles for about 2 years now (my knuckle heads won’t eat pellets).

 

[alinas2010]

Lots of people here really like the feed as it's a good quality and not too expensive

Yes I was impressed by the price. Good to know.

I agree with @FrostRanger, I’ve been feeding Kalmbach Flock Maker crumbles for about 2 years now (my knuckle heads won’t eat pellets).

Thank you! Aahaha mine are spoiled, too, they deserve it tho

 

[tlcmurphy]

Yes I was impressed by the price. Good to know.

Thank you! Aahaha mine are spoiled, too, they deserve it tho

I wish they’d eat the pellets, but they enjoy flinging the crumble everywhere WAY too much

 

[FrostRanger]

I wish they’d eat the pellets, but they enjoy flinging the crumble everywhere WAY too much

That's why I made sure my girls knew as young as possible that they will be eating pellets. My first batch of chicks wasted piles and piles of crumbles. When I got chicks the next year I knew I wasn't going through that again (or at least not for as long as I did before lol).

What worked for me was I mixed in a few pellets with their crumbles, at first they're going to eat around the pellets but eventually someone is going to get curious, try one and realize it's food. After that everyone else will catch on

 

[alinas2010]

I wish they’d eat the pellets, but they enjoy flinging the crumble everywhere WAY too much

I do prefer pellets for mine, too. They end up crushing the crumble up into powder and not touching it then!

That's why I made sure my girls knew as young as possible that they will be eating pellets. My first batch of chicks wasted piles and piles of crumbles. When I got chicks the next year I knew I wasn't going through that again (or at least not for as long as I did before lol).

What worked for me was I mixed in a few pellets with their crumbles, at first they're going to eat around the pellets but eventually someone is going to get curious, try one and realize it's food. After that everyone else will catch on

Yes, exactly!