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depends on your margins. That's another 5 dozen eggs a month to break even for me. Its an economically depressed area in which we live. With my older birds starting to molt (early) and my younger hatchlings mostly not yet laying (I'd anticipated having two more months...) my flock of near 50...

You just throw it in a heavy bottomed bucket with some holes in the bottom so it can drain if it gets wet. The chickens willl eat it when they need it, ignore it when they don't. Periodically, you pour more in. The heavy bottom is so they don't tip it over. I used to have mine nailed up, but...

I understand. My oyster shell in a 50# bag cost me about $10 and lasts a year. All Flock/Flock raiser fron Nutrena Purina etc runs about $1.50 per 50# bag more than their equivalent Layer. For a "typical" backyard owner with 6-10 birds and feed consumption of 1.5 - 2.5# daily, it equals an...

If it says "layer", that's too much calcium for the long term health of your roosters. 3.8% on average, in the case of the Nutrena Layer. No guarantees, of course - its like smoking. No can can stare at a cigarette, and say "that's the one that will give you cancer". But we can say that the...

This is true. Chickens explore the world with their beaks. When you first put it out, its new, they may try some to see what the deal is. They will not try so much, or so often, that its dangerous to their health. Pretty soon, they will ignore it. Then, like that bag of brussels sprouts in...

OK, here goes. "All Flock" and "Flock Raiser" are just labels. Meaningless. But they are the labels we in the community associate with high protein, "normal" (as opposed to "layer") Calcium level feeds ostensibly with mineral levels adjusted slightly for ducks and geese too (but that's not...

^^^ Agree.

and solely for completeness, I will acknowledge that our friends across the pond, in the EU, routinely make use of lower protein feeds for their livestock than we in the US do. 14%, 15% seems pretty typical. There are some newer studies suggesting that 14% protein is adequate **IF** certain...

Only when you buy pellet and pour powder out of the bag. :lau Comes of "aggressive" handling while stocking, usually. Or age. i HATE that.

To clarify, I am offering an opinion. Its an opinion based on my experience (you can see my flock in my signature below - I've only been doing this 14 months) and my readings (which are varied and extensive, but i don't have a degree in this stuff, I'm learning more daily and have huge...

Yup - they are counting on people not reading the label, just the meaningless term. But their Starter/Grower is 20% and compares favorably in nutrition labelling to the Nutrena, Purina, etc.

They are the same feed. Pellet is usually a little more expensive, because it requires an additional machining operation to press the powder into pellets. The advantage of pellets is in waste management. I'm sure you've noticed that chickens are nOT dainty eaters, food tends to get flung...

and if you have a local TSC, their "Dumor" brand now has a 20% protein as well, I believe. Its a little cheaper, like buying "store brand" at the grocery, but the comments here on BYC about it have not generally been positive. Lots of complaints aoubt it being powdery. Of course, if you serve...

Of course you can. Plenty of us raise birds on 20% all their lives, free choice oyster shell on the side for supplimental calcium. Its usually sold under an "All Flock" or "Flock Raiser" label. Nutrina and Purina are both readily available and generally inexpensive. as you go thru the niche...