Purina layena or Harrell's feed 22 super lay

Went to the local feed store and they had purina layena for 15.25 and a feed called Tuckers milling 22% super lay for 11.95 has anyone have any info on the super lay. I bought it because of the bargain and it seems like a good food with the name super lay.

There are some really good quality small mills out there. I always try to stay away from the mega mills because I have a problem paying for all the slick ads and promotions. Post a picture of the feed tag and we can make a more educated evaluation of the feed. Their web site is rather lacking.

goodbyddy13 said:

Went to the local feed store and they had purina layena for 15.25 and a feed called Tuckers milling 22% super lay for 11.95 has anyone have any info on the super lay. I bought it because of the bargain and it seems like a good food with the name super lay.

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22% is very high protein, so it shouldn't be fed constantly all the time. I believe generally a hen should have about 16-18%. Marans and a few other birds I think do better with a tad higher protein than the norm. You can however, feed this high of protein during molt, health issues, etc. Or, you can mix this with your current mix to boost up your currently used feed protein a small amount.

goodbyddy13 said:

Went to the local feed store and they had purina layena for 15.25 and a feed called Tuckers milling 22% super lay for 11.95 has anyone have any info on the super lay. I bought it because of the bargain and it seems like a good food with the name super lay.Use

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I believe user speckledhen uses tuckers mill.She might be able to help you.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/u/348/speckledhen

. Sorry it took me forever to reply this is the nutrition facts on the tucker millin super lay 22

Just looking at the nutrient percentages, even at peak lay, you are a few percent over optimum in terms of protein for a typical corn/soy feed formulation--you really only need to be in the 18%-19% range max, dropping lower as the hen ages and exhibits a reduced rate of lay. Also, the P content is pretty high comparatively speaking--you really only need to be in the 0.4%-0.5% range, and drop back as the hen ages and exhibits a reduced rate of lay. Levels would come up post-molt as the hens come back into lay and go towards peak, then taper off again past peak lay.

Then again, I come at it from my experience on the commercial side of layer operations, so I'm used to phase feeding and "least cost" formulating to maintain nutritional sufficiency but not excess, as excess nutrients in the diet cost money.

Does it say what the calorie content is?

I've got all older birds reds and golden comets, except a few younger barred rocks. Would they be better off on like a 16% maybe

It depends... Just because the birds are older doesn't automatically mean they can be fed a reduced CP diet, you have to take into consideration their rate of lay. If they are well off their peak rate of lay then you can probably run a 16% CP/0.3% available P diet pretty easily. If the weather's getting cold, though, you should consider the caloric value of the feed, too. Ca should remain the same, about 3.6%-3.8% of the diet (as Ca) which translates out to around 9%-10% limestone or oyster shell (both are 38 wt% Ca).

I'd assume, given the photoperiod, that they are probably about shut down, so you should be fine with a reduced CP diet, as long as you don't get too low on the lysine/methionine/threonine levels. Lysine especially, it's the first limiting amino acid for chickens, and shouldn't fall below about 1% or so of the diet.

Older hens tend to throw larger eggs, and since a hen can normally only put on a fixed amount of shell, that means that the shells tend to get thinner with increased size. If you are seeing body checks or shell cracking, try dusting a little Clinoptilolite zeolite in with the feed (1%-2% tops). Clino tends to modify the uptake of Ca and P in the gut so that less is lost and you'll wind up with improved shell strength.

Hens are only about 50% digestively efficient. Especially for inorganic additives like Ca and P, particle size and molecular composition affect bioavailability and overall uptake rate, but that can be beneficially shifted to some extent by the Clino.

Oh, a couple more things--I'm extremely familiar with commercial breeds like the Hy-Line W36 and W37, Babcock B300, etc. They are pretty much laying machines, and don't carry the weight of traditional and "backyard/barnyard" breeds, so you may want to run a hair rich on the protein end of things compared to what I would just as added insurance.

I got to looking a bit closer at the P levels for the Super Lay, and I'm curious as to whether those are total P or just available P levels (there is a huge difference). Total P counts phytate P as well as non-phytate P, where phytate P is not bioavailable to monogastrics except through the action of phytase, which is the enzyme that breaks down the phytic acid molecule, releasing P for uptake. Phytase is not synthesized by monogastric animals, it has to be added to the diet. Anyway, that's just something to consider when evaluating feeds by looking at the label. I'd have a hard time figuring that whoever formulated the diet went shy on available P, but the figures on the label may be a bit misleading.