Layer feed is about 4% calcium. All other feeds(starter, grower, finisher, etc.) are about 1% calcium. If you think about it, a single mineral making up 4% of the diet is a huge amount. A bird that isn't building an eggshell every day that is 3 grams of calcium doesn't need it. Excess calcium must be processed and eliminated by the kidneys. Too much will overwhelm and be deposited in other organs and soft tissue, cause kidney stones, gout and eventually, death.
A Canadian study showed that broiler breeder males died at 4 times the rate of females. Necropsies showed they died from kidney disease.
Poultry feeds have been developed based on research and commercial production. Egg farms flocks are all the same age and use a lighting program that isn't practical on a small scale. The growing pullets are kept on 8 hours of light and lighting increase is timed so that all the birds commence laying shortly after the switch to layer feed.
http://www.agbiosecurity.ca/healthy...m and Vitamin D3 problems in laying birds.pdf
http://www.poultryshowcentral.com/chicken_gout.html
People will tell you otherwise. I know lots of people that feed layer to their whole flock whether they're laying or not. And it is true that some breeds/strains are more tolerant. But when chickens die, they won't get a necropsy and never suspect nutrition was the cause.
I've quit feeding layer and won't again unless I'm sure the whole flock is laying and there isn't a rooster with them.
It is however to make sure oyster shell or other large particle calcium source is available all the time. Since I quit using layer feed I added an additional container of oyster shell right next to the nests as well as the one I always kept in the run.
The scratch grains shouldn't be mixed with the feed. That's why they're called scratch, the chickens like to scratch for them so they get scattered on the ground. They can be put in a container but the chickens will eat all of it before they eat their feed. Scratch and other treats shouldn't make up more than 5-10% of the diet. Most grains are about 10% protein, corn is a little less, wheat and oats are a little more. If your feed is a 16% protein and half of the chickens' intake is scratch, they're only getting 13% protein and that's not enough. Most feeds will have a statement on the label to the effect "Feed as the sole ration, no other supplements are needed"
As for the rooster eating layer feed.
http://www.reproduction-online.org/content/early/2011/06/13/REP-11-0131.full.pdf
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