New to chickens - feed question

[cdahl383]

Hi, my wife and I just recently picked up some chickens from a friend of mine and are learning as we go (6 hens and 1 rooster).

One of my questions is what are some of the better feeds out there for laying hens? I picked up a big bag of Kalmbach Henhouse Reserve from the store near us and they seem to like it. It has real looking pieces of food in there, not just pellets, etc. Looked like one of the better choices when I was there at the store.

Just curious what others have used and what you all felt was the best or at least one of the better options out there. Thank you!

 

[chickenlittle21]

Purina layers feed

 

[Painted Calls]

Since you have a rooster, I would go with Purina Flock Raiser. Set out a separate dish of crushed oyster shell for calcium.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I feed an all flock. I wish it was easy to find in pellets.

I have many older birds that don't lay much or at all so do not need the added calcium. I keep oyster shell available so any needing it can pick and choose.

I found long ago that the fancy feeds with real seeds visible made for picky birds that were eating the yummy bits but not getting the nutrition they needed.
Like a kid with lucky charms they ate the marshmallows and left the more nutritious parts.

 

[igorsMistress]

I feed an All Flock. Chicks and roosters don't need added calcium so I offer oyster shell.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

It has real looking pieces of food in there, not just pellets, etc. Looked like one of the better choices when I was there at the store.

Just curious what others have used and what you all felt was the best or at least one of the better options out there. Thank yo

Hi there, hope you are enjoying BYC!

Some birds will pick out the pretty pieces and end up with nutrient deficit or sometimes even fatty liver syndrome. For that reason alone, I prefer pelleted or crumble feed. I use Purina Flock Raiser, as it's available with a fresh mill date and high enough turn over to stay that way.. at MY location.

As mentioned by another poster.. layer feed is NOT appropriate for roosters. If you plan to do any hatching.. I to prefer the Purina Flock Raiser... However, I have used Kalmbach brand crumble one time before and it smelled good, birds liked it.. no issues. It's a regional feed that is not available to me all the time in MY location.

Most "layer" feed has the MINIMUM amount of protein and amino acids, to keep a light bodied bird like Leghorn in laying condition. I never aim for minimum... Dual purpose birds will do best with not less than 18% protein, while 22% was shown to give the highest hatch rates.. which to me says more nutrients in the eggs my family is consuming. Since learning the difference and making the change.. my older birds now have softer molts returning to lay more quickly AND not losing their personality and becoming severely withdrawn as I had seen in the past. Plus it works great for broody hens, chicks, juveniles, meat grow outs, AND layers.. as long as a calcium source is avaliable on the side free choice. Non laying birds may sample but not OD since they won't be consuming the oyster shell in every bite of feed... which could cause gout and kidney issues including failure and even sudden death in non-laying birds fed calcium in amounts exceeding 3% LONG term... most likely in those genetically predisposed somehow.

I personally do not like feeds made by manna pro, though I do like SOME of their supplements.

I see you have a clearly resounding answer being repeated..

Please note that while feeding layer isn't right for ME.. I have seen folks feed only layer and still have roosters living past 8 years old. In NO way am I saying do it my way or else your roo will die. We all have to make choices.. and do our individual best with the knowledge we have at the time AND our resources.

Hope this helps some, and congrats on your new flock and learning adventure!

 

[cdahl383]

Wow, there is a lot to all this! I'm used to just picking up a bag of Iams for the cats and Iams for the dog haha!

So it sounds like I need to get an all flock feed or at least mix in some all flock feed into my current mix for the rooster.

Can you mix all the feeds together? Say the laying mix, all flock mix, some pellets, etc? Or do they just end up picking out what they like and leave the rest?

I also noticed that they don't eat much out of the hanging feeder I have in the coop, but they love to eat the food off the ground that I throw around when I go out there. It's the same stuff, guess they just view the coop as somewhere to sleep and lay eggs and not necessarily eat.

We go out there now and then and feed them some sliced up green seedless grapes. They love those! They all come running. I didn't see anything online saying those are bad for them, so hopefully that's not a bad idea.

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Hi, my wife and I just recently picked up some chickens from a friend of mine and are learning as we go (6 hens and 1 rooster).

One of my questions is what are some of the better feeds out there for laying hens? I picked up a big bag of Kalmbach Henhouse Reserve from the store near us and they seem to like it. It has real looking pieces of food in there, not just pellets, etc. Looked like one of the better choices when I was there at the store.

Just curious what others have used and what you all felt was the best or at least one of the better options out there. Thank you!

Hope you enjoy BYC

Hope you enjoy BYC. It is lots of fun. They are very helpful when you have problems.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Can you mix all the feeds together? Say the laying mix, all flock mix, some pellets, etc? Or do they just end up picking out what they like and leave the rest?

That'll likely result in just a big mess, as the chickens will pick out what they want and just throw out whatever they don't want.

I actually do offer 2 different feeds but they're in separate containers, so the chickens have no need to toss side food to try and get to what they want.

 

[50-45-1]

Dont forget to offer grit.
Chickens dont have teeth and need grit to grind foods down so nutrients can be absorbed.
I offer it at all times, free choice year around. Right next to that feeder is oyster shell. One bag of each of these things last my couple dozen chickens a couple years.