Just feeding chickens scratch feed & cracked corn.

[ChickenCanoe]

Fred's Hens :

Quote:
Brenda, this is dependent on other factors, such breed type, lighting conditions, etc. Not just feed.

However, do this test. Put them a really good laying pellet or crumble alone for 2 weeks. No corn, no junk foods, nothing but the crumbles or pellets. (additional shells and or grit does not harm this test)

If you laying begins to increase, to say 16-24 eggs per day, then you'll have your answer. Your present feed is high in carbs, and bit low in protein.

A test is a great idea and all good advice as well.
I'm a believer in quality layer feed and extra light this time of year. I have B Rocks, B Orps and Jersey Giants so not at the apex of great layers but I have been getting 8.5 eggs per day average from 10 birds from the time they started. 10 eggs on 5 ddifferent days - 4 on 2 occasions but normally 8 or 9.
They get 12 hours of light. Daylight plus 2 hours artificial.
They're fed a balanced 16% layer plus BOSS and millet as my scratch feed. In summer they free range but most people including myself don't have anything growing this time of year so I add all the greens I can get them this time of year like lettuce, cabbage, onions etc.. A couple times a week I throw them a handful of meal worms or any fish trimmings I can find. They have oyster shell free choice and most afternoons I give them 20% grower mixed with water to send them to bed warm and well hydrated.
I do make it more complex than it needs to be but they are busy so they don't harrass each other or eat eggs. Every day they wake up as laying machines again. The proof is in the pudding.
Corn hasn't nearly enough protein in itself to get good results and if it's cracked it starts to break down nutritionally pretty fast.
As for egg eating, sometimes they can never be broken of the habit and end up as broilers. I never feed layers anything that looks like any part of an egg. Rarely some left over scrambled.​

 

[willzpapa]

I've been on both sides of chicken feed I've hauled to commercial farms where they use high speed chicken feed from egg to harvesting 8lb birds in 70 or so days. And it is nasty but, now that I have my own birds that i raise for eggs and meat when they lay out, or I have too many boosters. I look at it like this the better food i give them the better I eat. That's just my personal opinion.

 

[MeepBeep]

I've been on both sides of chicken feed I've hauled to commercial farms where they use high speed chicken feed from egg to harvesting 8lb birds in 70 or so days.

That rapid growth seen in meat birds is a result of the hybrid breed of chicken raised for meat not any 'high speed feed' given...

And it is nasty but, now that I have my own birds that i raise for eggs and meat when they lay out, or I have too many boosters. I look at it like this the better food i give them the better I eat. That's just my personal opinion.

Egg layers need better feed as laying the eggs takes a lot out of the bird, both in energy and nutrients...

As said years ago in this thread, birds will 'survive' on garbage food, but if you want them to thrive and produce optimally you will only get that with a better feed...

Commercial feeds are tailored to hit this sweet spot for optimal production vs cost...

 

[willzpapa]

Yes I agree they do use optimum breeds for meat ,however the use of steroids and growth hormones were widely used across the board in food production animals.

 

[phryan]

Agricultural Science has come a long way in the past 50 years. The rise of the industrial farm has had at least 1 positive side effect and that is millions spent in research into how to optimally feed livestock. Saving a penny per egg in feed could be millions of dollars to a company. Many schools run agricultural research programs that look into what an animal is fed, how it is digested, and how much is absorbed. In many instances this involves retrieving samples during and after digestion.

A balanced feed for layers that meets the guidance will tend to result in a healthier and more productive flock.

That said the nutritional needs for a flock are fixed, for a contained flock that should be entirely met by the feed. However for a free range flock there supplemental feed requirements may differ depending on what they are able to source from the land. For example if there were plenty of bugs to eat they may get all the protein from foraging and could get by on a lower protein bagged feed. What they forage will vary significantly based on geography and time of year, something well beyond my knowledge.

Check around for a local feed store/mill sometimes they will be less than retail. Some have a bigger range of options including ingredients and nutritional balance.

I could survive eating from my garden and McDonalds, but I'd be better off going to the grocery store for the fresh produce and meat above what my garden can supply.

 

[MeepBeep]

Yes I agree they do use optimum breeds for meat ,however the use of steroids and growth hormones were widely used across the board in food production animals.

Growth hormones and steroids have not been legally used in the US poultry industry since the 1950s, they are no the reason for increased poultry growth in the US...

The reason today's meat birds are bigger is entirely from selective breeding, better nutrition and an environment tailored towards growth...

 

[CrazyDoubleBs]

to be hones this type of diet will lead to deficiencies and more issues. scratch is supposed to be a treat, consider it like junk food for children. And too much corn will just add fat to them which will cause them to become lazy, which again leads to more issues.

a bag of scratch here is 18 dollars for 50lbs and a bag of layer is 15 dollars for 50lbs. I buy scratch but they are limited to how much they get scratch, I also feed them BOSS for added protein.

today like I do once a week I cooked up 3 dozen eggs and added 2 cups of alfalfa pellets (turned to mush by adding hot water) and 2 TBSP of cayenne pepper to the whole thing, served it on a big platter, I then stuck the shells in the oven for a few minutes to quickly dry them up and crushed them up real well for extra calcium.

A good egg comes form a good balanced diet, but that is my opinion.

I too am new at having chickens, we currently have 5. I have been feeding them crumbles and some chicken scratch, along with treats like tomatoes and cucumbers, etc. Are you saying that you cook up the 3 dozen eggs for your chickens to eat??? As I hadn't thought of that before. Thank you for the information.

 

[rjohnson77777]

I know alot of old timers in our area who never feed their chickens anything except scratch and corn, so they will live on it. However, they will not thrive, grow correctly or lay the amount of eggs that they will on regular chicken feed. As someone else posted... it's not any more expensive to give them laying pellets (Or starter / grower if chicks).
You can do a search on BYC and find lots of threads about mixing your own feeds, but for my money, I'll just stick to bag feed.
We do give our chickens a handful of scratch every morning and evening as a treat. More in the winter, less in the summer.

to be hones this type of diet will lead to deficiencies and more issues. scratch is supposed to be a treat, consider it like junk food for children. And too much corn will just add fat to them which will cause them to become lazy, which again leads to more issues.

a bag of scratch here is 18 dollars for 50lbs and a bag of layer is 15 dollars for 50lbs. I buy scratch but they are limited to how much they get scratch, I also feed them BOSS for added protein.

today like I do once a week I cooked up 3 dozen eggs and added 2 cups of alfalfa pellets (turned to mush by adding hot water) and 2 TBSP of cayenne pepper to the whole thing, served it on a big platter, I then stuck the shells in the oven for a few minutes to quickly dry them up and crushed them up real well for extra calcium.

A good egg comes form a good balanced diet, but that is my opinion.

Better re-think feeding processed pellets/crumbs from big manufacturers such as Purina, etc. They use soy as a filler. Soy is high in phytic acid. Phytic acid blocks uptake of vitamins and minerals, especially in monogastric animals like chickens and pigs.
IMO, organic feed like Scratch and Peck is by far the best option.

 

[saysfaa]

Better re-think feeding processed pellets/crumbs from big manufacturers such as Purina, etc. They use soy as a filler. Soy is high in phytic acid. Phytic acid blocks uptake of vitamins and minerals, especially in monogastric animals like chickens and pigs.
IMO, organic feed like Scratch and Peck is by far the best option.

Heating the soy reduces the phytic acid. The soy meal added to feeds is heat treated enough that it is not a factor anymore.

Soy is added because it has methionine - the amino acid that is the first limiting factor in proteins. It is one of the only plant sources of that - or practical sources, anyway. The next best options either have more/worse antinutrients or are much, much more expensive. Usually both, I think.

 

[nuthatched]

Better re-think feeding processed pellets/crumbs from big manufacturers such as Purina, etc. They use soy as a filler. Soy is high in phytic acid. Phytic acid blocks uptake of vitamins and minerals, especially in monogastric animals like chickens and pigs.
IMO, organic feed like Scratch and Peck is by far the best option.

This thread is from 2011, you're not likely to receive a response.