All Flock feed issue.

[ariri30]

After many recommendations from the very knowledgeable people of BYC I had stopped feeding layer feed and switched over to an All Flock product. Nutrena All Flock to be exact. I also have a feeder that has Purina Flock Raiser in it. I do have oyster shell on the side. I switched several months ago.
I have noticed the shell quality diminishing since the switch and I am not happy with it. I use to be able to toss an egg across the yard and not have the shell brake. Now just handling them the wrong way they would crack. Not all but some.
I have made the decision now to do a 50/50 mix to bring the shell quality back up. 50% All Flock mixed with 50% Poulin Grain Layer pellet. Since doing so about a week now I have noticed an improvement.
This should be a happy and healthy mix of food to keep everyone at peak performance with minimal long term impact if any.
Has anyone else experienced the same issue?

I’m dealing with the same thing. And I did the same thing you are doing. I mixed 50/50 layer and flocks raiser and see the improvement. I lost a chicken that was egg bound with a miss shaped egg because they were not eating the oyster shells. After mixing the 50/50 I see the difference

 

[rachelsflock]

I used layer pellets when I free ranged. The roosters hunt and forage to dilute calcium. Otherwise we had thin shelled eggs and I lost hens to laying issues. I also had to have oyster shell on the side with my production birds. They needed a lot of calcium to avoid issues. Currently my birds are getting both feeds in two feeders because of chicks (they prefer pellets probably because they are bigger).

BUT I like nutrena chick feed and allflock better.

For flocks that are lighter layers that take breaks, I think allflock works better. But not the production breeds in my experience. I tried, it failed, I adjusted. Good luck finding what works for you.

 

[RoosterML]

I’m dealing with the same thing. And I did the same thing you are doing. I mixed 50/50 layer and flocks raiser and see the improvement. I lost a chicken that was egg bound with a miss shaped egg because they were not eating the oyster shells. After mixing the 50/50 I see the difference

Good to know. What breed are your hens?

 

[wildcat hunter]

I put calcium gluconate ( sp) in my pigeon water. I have had some hens go down when feeding young birds and after a couple days of this they are back on their feet. Maybe you could make sure they are getting calcium by doing this.

 

[RoosterML]

I used layer pellets when I free ranged. The roosters hunt and forage to dilute calcium. Otherwise we had thin shelled eggs and I lost hens to laying issues. I also had to have oyster shell on the side with my production birds. They needed a lot of calcium to avoid issues. Currently my birds are getting both feeds in two feeders because of chicks (they prefer pellets probably because they are bigger).

BUT I like nutrena chick feed and allflock better.

For flocks that are lighter layers that take breaks, I think allflock works better. But not the production breeds in my experience. I tried, it failed, I adjusted. Good luck finding what works for you.

I agree I think production red hens (which I have 5 of) really do need high levels of calcium. The good thing is that I don’t think I’ll be getting more of them. Not very friendly towards other chickens compared to the other breeds I have.

 

[RoosterML]

I put calcium gluconate ( sp) in my pigeon water. I have had some hens go down when feeding young birds and after a couple days of this they are back on their feet. Maybe you could make sure they are getting calcium by doing this.

I’m going to have to find out what that is. I have no clue.

 

[KIMEng]

I find this thread fascinating, just on feed. I'm relatively a new member and have learn so much from these forums...little did I know their is an art and science to chickens. My girls (RSL, BR, SLW) started laying at 16 wks to the day, the shells were surprisingly hard considering they were only getting a transition feed. Once I got the first egg from my Red Sex link I immediately started them on the laying feed and the BR and SLW fell into sync-I was getting really hard shells, especially the RSLs. Since I was going to be adding another flock to the 3 laying pullets, I read a few threads on feeds too in BYC and I switched to the All flock about a month ago (these are all "Organic feeds") and did notice a drop in the density of the shell, in fact one of my BR eggs broke in my pocket. I do like the idea of the 50% All Flock mixed with 50% layer pellet from MLrooster-thinking about giving that try.. My girls free range a bit and also get raw veggies about every other day and some dried grub and cricket treats occasionally. The oyster shell I add a handful or so to their feed everyday-seems to work, but I do not have a means this way to monitor their consumption. My new flock is a Lavender Orpington (my Avatar), Buff Laced Polish , Blk Jersey Giant and a BR, wish me luck in integrating them in to my first flock. Oh first flock had my dear Leghorn in it but she got taken by a raccoon )

 

[Folly's place]

Oyster shell needs to be fed in a separate container, not added to their feed. Try scattering some on the floor leading to that feeder at first. The OS in my coop is in a regular feeder, so it's obvious to the birds.
When you have birds of different ages and also roosters, feeding layer isn't so good. Also my birds do better on the 20% protein diet, that 16% layer is skimpy for free ranging birds.
And I dislike the unpleasant flock behaviors of most of the production reds I've had, so no longer have any of them. Right now I have a brown Leghorn pullet who seems a lot nicer.
Mary

 

[RoosterML]

@KIMEng when my Flock was only getting layer feed the shells were also very hard. I could throw an egg across the yard and nothing would happen. All Flock and side of Oyster shell alone just doesn’t cut it for me. I think 50/50 will work nicely. I have noticed a difference already.

 

[Sea Wolf]

If your focus is laying birds, feed layer feed. That is what it is formulated for. I put OS in a separate container and they won't touch it. They will not know they need calcium in their diet and go and eat some. Possibly they may pick at it looking for grit/stones but it hasn't been refilled in a year with 20 birds and it holds 4 cups of OS. I do take wet feed once a week and mix in some OS and also a couple of tablespoons of cayenne pepper. they usually clean the plate and eat everything this way. I do have a bird that lays weak shelled eggs but I suspect it is one of the older ones I have.