All Flock feed issue.

[RoosterML]

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

Ain’t that the truth. I do have to admit that they are very very reliable egg laying machines. 6eggs in 7 days. So I guess they do meet a purpose but like me with this all being a hobby I like a diverse mix of birds. My production reds have gotten much better with all the new bird additions over the past year. I think now they just threw their hands in the air and gave up realizing birds just keep coming and going. I’ll be adding some Royal palm turkeys to the mix pretty soon also,(currently in separate pen until they no longer need 28% protein feed) that should really tick them off. Lol

 

[KIMEng]

@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.

Ha yes, shells hard as a rock with just laying feed!! I have a bag of laying feed right now as I had stopped using it and just held on to it; back to it now!

 

[Ms Biddy]

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 )

Initially, pullets have enough stored calcium to lay nice hard eggs. Typically pullet eggs are smaller too, which allows for thicker shells. As calcium reserves go down and eggs get bigger, they have nothing extra to draw on and it needs to be continually replenished. In the the wild, egg laying birds lay seasonally not continuously otherwise they would need a source of extra calcium too.

 

[KIMEng]

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.

Cayenne pepper, really, I'm going to try that

 

[KIMEng]

Initially, pullets have enough stored calcium to lay nice hard eggs. Typically pullet eggs are smaller too, which allows for thicker shells. As calcium reserves go down and eggs get bigger, they have nothing extra to draw on and it needs to be continually replenished. In the the wild, egg laying birds lay seasonally not continuously otherwise they would need a source of extra calcium too.

Make sense, as young as the girls started laying the eggs were small, they are progressively getting bigger. The Red Sex links egg shell remains hard the BR shell drooped off its density-going back to the laying feed. Interestingly enough my RSL usually lays her eggs early around 6:30 am, yesterday she laid her egg in the late afternoon, and I did not think we would get an egg this morning but low and behold she laid one, is that too close together?

 

[Judy Todd]

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?

Yes, I switched to Flock Raiser at the advise of local farm store, because I now have ducks. And they both can eat this. I am experiencing the same thing, not all my hens, but at least 3 out of 15, shells so thin that they break if I look at them wrongly. Not happy.

 

[RoosterML]

Yes, I switched to Flock Raiser at the advise of local farm store, because I now have ducks. And they both can eat this. I am experiencing the same thing, not all my hens, but at least 3 out of 15, shells so thin that they break if I look at them wrongly. Not happy.

You could always try the 50/50. I will have turkeys soon and I will hang there feeder higher to try to separate but they may still eat the chicken feed

 

[angela0408]

Unfortunately here in Canada we don’t have the all flock choice. At least not in my neck of the woods. Because I have roosters and adolescents mixed in on a regular basis, I use 16% grower finisher and then chick start until 6 weeks. I have free choice Os which they definitely eat because I fill up the dish every 4 days or so. I get soft shells but it’s from older birds heading into their 3rd winter which I will cull. I actually switched back to a layer pellet recently as they were out of stock, and they hated it. First time I ever had chickens refuse food!

 

[KIMEng]

Unfortunately here in Canada we don’t have the all flock choice. At least not in my neck of the woods. Because I have roosters and adolescents mixed in on a regular basis, I use 16% grower finisher and then chick start until 6 weeks. I have free choice Os which they definitely eat because I fill up the dish every 4 days or so. I get soft shells but it’s from older birds heading into their 3rd winter which I will cull. I actually switched back to a layer pellet recently as they were out of stock, and they hated it. First time I ever had chickens refuse food!

That's interesting, as I don't think my girls are all together thrilled with the All flock feed either It seems I have more left over at the end of the day than I ever did with the layer feed.

 

[vnploveschickens]

I have always feed my chickens Purina Flock Raiser. I keep a separate dish of oyster shell next to the feeder. Its worked for the hens, roosters, toddler chicks. I only had one hen that had thin shells, she didn't lay many eggs either. I believe that is just her genetics.