All Flock feed issue.

[Folly's place]

Chickens hate change! Any food changes go best by mixing the old with the new, and gradually doing the change-over.
Mary

 

[angela0408]

Yes, it does seem like some are just prone to thin shells.

 

[starri33]

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'd switched to a "all flock" same one you are using because of feather loss, the higher protein helped with the feathers, but I think it was responsible for the decrease in egg production, our heat here has been miserable, so that could have some effect, like you I've gone to a 50/50, I have OS on free choice, their choice seems to be kick over the bowl and not eat any..lol. One of the ladies suggested adding to their scratch, that is what I'll be doing, at least with the morning treats. See if that helps as far as shell strength. I end up with broken eggs in the nest box, feel the shell to help me determine if it's a egg eater or bad shell, they are generally paper thin.

 

[angela0408]

Oh, those eggs eaters are the worst! I try to keep up with the egg pick ups but life isn’t always perfect. Wish I could figure out who’s eating and who’s laying squishy eggs. That and some are just sitting on their perch and an egg falls out. Heads up!

 

[RoosterML]

The eggs that were broken were thin shells. Egg eaters would not have not left that much evidence behind. I am liking the 50/50 mix so far.

 

[finnleywren]

You need to apply a bit of common sense to feeding a flock.
If you keep high production hens 250 to 350 eggs a year at peak laying age then high calcium feeds become important. Hens that only lay 100 eggs a year at peak laying age require considerably less calcium.
The same applies to protein content.
High callcium feeds are not suitable for pullets who don't lay or roosters because they can't process that higher level of calcium.
Some people have good results with feeds of 1% calcium by leaving calcium carbonate as free choice. Others find their hens don't eat enough of the free choice calcium and have shell quality problems.
Unfortunately there is a tendency for some to think that they can feed all their flock with a single feed no matter age and sex. It's more complicated than this.

Shadrach, what would you suggest for a small flock with 3 older hens laying, roughly, 3 x week, 3 five month old pullets not yet laying and one 5 month old Cockerel? I am using Flock Raiser with a side of oyster shell and so far so good. Would you suggest adding another feed?

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I feed flock raiser with separate oyster shells. I've dropped eggs several times and they don't break. I have a friend that feeds layer and their hens lay thin-shelled eggs. They've also had a lot more issues like prolapse and egg-bound hens.