Is all flock feed of for laying bends?

[CalliBee]

No problem! Thanks for your help as well.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

No problem! Thanks for your help as well.

If I didn't say so before, and I probably didn't - social niceties are largely lost on me - welcome to BYC! At our best, we are a helpful, supportive community. At our worst - until the Mods get a chance to clean things up (and they are very good about it!) - we can look like the great unwashed masses of humanity. In the interest of full disclosure, I will offer that the Mods have cleaned up after me once or thrice.

Like the curmudgeony old grandpa figure, I'm often useful, sometimes entertaining, but mostly best in small quantities!

 

[Salixx]

When I got my ducklings last year I asked about the Nutrena All Flock because a young woman that worked at TSC recommended it as it had 125ppm of niacin (min is 60ppm for healthy ducklings I believe).

At that time, another member emailed them and got the same information. Here’s a link to that post.

I have been raising a KC duckling that is the baby of two of the ducks I got last year on the All Flock with no nutritional yeast supplementation and he/she has been doing well on it with no signs of niacin deficiency (it’s just shy of 4 weeks old now). I have also continued to feed mostly Nutrena All Flock to their parents without issue. I happened on some Swedish blue ducklings at TSC last weekend and got 4 to keep my lonely duckling company. Since they are a larger breed I guess we’ll see how they do by comparison!

Another note is that I can only get the pellet version in my area so I also have to add water to the ducklings feed when they are younger. It’s more work than gravity feeders and could lead to more food waste if you don’t have other birds to eat it as you have to dump left overs every day. I empty whatever food is left at the end of the day into the chicken run so it isn’t wasted.

With that said, nutritional yeast isn’t terribly expensive and my first ducks enjoyed it so it certainly wouldn’t hurt to add it to their feed.

 

[Nyhillbillies]

Good advice above. All Flock for all your birds, all thier lives, without regard to age gender, start of lay, condition of molt. Free choice grit, oyster shell, good clean water on the side.
Sadly, USDA does not require niacin levels to be printed on guaranteed nutritional labels.

While a BYC poster contacted Purina and Nutrena years ago, to verify that the niacin levels met the needs of ADULT ducks, we don't know if that info remains accurate, and don't know the actual levels so we can check if they meet the needs of hatchling ducks (which are higher). Adding a niacin suppliment - either yeast or a B-complex - is common "insurance" against deficiencies, and won't hurt your chicks.

That said, if you feed medicated, be aware that B-complex, and plenty of fortified yeast products, are also quite high in vitamin B1 - Thiamine, which will render the amprolium in your medicated feed either less effective or completely ineffective.

What about this feed for a mixed flock of chickens? Too much calcium for a rooster?

 

[Brooks_]

Yes.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Nope.
Just provide calcium for the active layers.
I've fed nothing but ll flock for 9 years, Oyster Shells in a separate container.

What brand feed do you use aaart?