Flock raiser ok?

[Danyander]

I have a broody on some eggs. She has about 10 days left. I am going to keep her in the coop and run with my other chickens. Is flock raiser the best food for all of them since I have them all in the same place?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I have a broody on some eggs. She has about 10 days left. I am going to keep her in the coop and run with my other chickens. Is flock raiser the best food for all of them since I have them all in the same place?

Yes - any grower ration (including flock raiser) would be the most appropriate feed to use for your flock.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Be sure to provide oyster shell or another appropriate calcium source for any hens in the flock who are actively laying eggs as the grower ration will not have sufficient calcium content to support them in that.

 

[Danyander]

Ok! Will do. The lady at wilco told me not to get starter because then we can't eat the eggs. So I am glad to have a something for all the ladies and not have a buy a bunch of different stuff.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Ok! Will do. The lady at wilco told me not to get starter because then we can't eat the eggs. So I am glad to have a something for all the ladies and not have a buy a bunch of different stuff.

You shop at Wilco!!!! (worked for them for a few years and visiting the local store was the highlight of my trip back to Oregon this spring - sad but true, lol)
Some will advise against using medicated starter for laying birds - but you can safely feed unmedicated starter or grower and, honestly, the medication in medicated feed is unlikely to cause any issue for egg safety. The ingredient in medicated starter is a coccidiostat - it is a thiamine blocker and the amount that would pass into any eggs is going to be at a level that would pose little to no danger whatsoever to a healthy human -- the advice against consumption of eggs from birds on this feed is more with regards to a lack of extensive testing to determine safety as the studies have little value to the commercial industry.

 

[Danyander]

Ha! Yes! I love Wilco. They have baby chicks right now and it was so hard not to get more. We already have 5 hens. And it looks like the broody is only sitting on 1 good egg. I just wanted to make sure. I give my extra eggs to neighbors and didn't want to have to throw away our eggs. that would just be silly.

 

[Folly's place]

I feed Flock Raiser to my broodies, chicks, and the entire flock at least until all the pullets are laying eggs, with oyster shell on the side. If you have a problem with coccidia (I haven't yet), then you will be better off feeding a medicated chick starter, maybe with a layer feed for the hens that's unavailable to the chicks. Mary

 

[Ridgerunner]

You’ve been getting some good advice here. That’s good people you are chatting with.

Purina is on record as saying their medicated feed medicated with Amprolium can be fed to hens that are laying. Check the label to make sure it is Amprolium and only Amprolium. Practically all the over-the-counter medicated feeds sold for chickens that will be laying flocks do contain only Amprolium but there are some, usually intended for broilers, that contain other things. Not all Starter is medicated either.

A very standard method of feeding a mixed age flock or one that contains chicken not laying is to feed them a ration anywhere from 16% Grower to 20% Flock Raiser that has a calcium content somewhere around 1% instead of the 4% or so Calcium found in Layer. If my baby chicks are with the flock with a broody they are going to eat what the hens are eating. Either the broody picks food out for them or they just fly up to the feeder and feed themselves as young as two weeks.

The amount of Amprolium in Medicated Starter is a preventative. It will not treat an active case of Coccidiosis and the chicken can still get sick, but the dosage in medicated feed helps slow down the bug that caused coccidiosis from multiplying so much the numbers get out of hand. Many of us do not use medicated feed and do fine, though if you have a history of coccidiosis it is a good idea.

Something really important to keeping them healthy is fresh water. If your waterer is one of those that the water can get dirty you need to totally dump it every couple of days before the bugs get far enough along in their life cycle to cause a problem. That also keeps mosquitoes form breeding in the water if adult mosquitoes can get to it and lay eggs.