Anyone Want to Test my Suspected Bad Feed on Your Egg Laying Hens?

[Joel Just Joel]

My hens recently went from laying 7-10 eggs/day to laying 0-1 eggs/day with a surprise 4-egg day in the mix. I don't think it's weather-related and I suspect the feed is to blame since I'd just changed to a new batch of the same feed I'd been using for almost a year. I know there are many people out there who scoff at the idea of a conspiracy to intentionally contaminate chicken feed and attack our food source. This post is not aimed at you unless you are open to new ideas. Another BYC member is graciously having lab testing done on a sample of my feed, which I appreciate. I'd like to suggest another approach: Is anyone out there willing to test a sample of my feed on their best egg laying hen(s)? If the bad feed theory is all fake, then you have nothing to lose and in fact you will help expose the fallacy. I promise I have not done anything myself to taint the feed (wouldn't know how!) and I also promise that none of my birds have died. Contact me if you'd like a free meal or two for your hens and if you're willing to volunteer them as participants in this loosely controlled experiment.

 

[sourland]

Changing feed in and of itself can cause hens to take a break in their laying cycle. That's why feed changes should always be gradual rather than abrupt.

 

[Joel Just Joel]

Changing feed in and of itself can cause hens to take a break in their laying cycle. That's why feed changes should always be gradual rather than abrupt.

Okay, so I'll send you a larger sample and you can transition gradually

 

[saysfaa]

I would do it if we can work out the details. Patience would be needed for the results; I'll be out of state from next week until the second week of March. This isn't something to leave for my dh to do.

My hens will be 2 in May so age shouldn't be a big factor yet; especially further into the spring.

How soon after starting this bag did your hens start laying fewer eggs? I'm looking at how much shipping might be... I have four hens so together they eat about a pound per day.

 

[Brooks_]

My hens recently went from laying 7-10 eggs/day to laying 0-1 eggs/day with a surprise 4-egg day in the mix. I don't think it's weather-related and I suspect the feed is to blame since I'd just changed to a new batch of the same feed I'd been using for almost a year. I know there are many people out there who scoff at the idea of a conspiracy to intentionally contaminate chicken feed and attack our food source. This post is not aimed at you unless you are open to new ideas. Another BYC member is graciously having lab testing done on a sample of my feed, which I appreciate. I'd like to suggest another approach: Is anyone out there willing to test a sample of my feed on their best egg laying hen(s)? If the bad feed theory is all fake, then you have nothing to lose and in fact you will help expose the fallacy. I promise I have not done anything myself to taint the feed (wouldn't know how!) and I also promise that none of my birds have died. Contact me if you'd like a free meal or two for your hens and if you're willing to volunteer them as participants in this loosely controlled experiment.

Not a bad idea at face value. However, if it is a layer feed, I can't take the offer. But more importantly, it has probably been in proximity of you flock thereby posing a biosecurity risk to mine. So no.

 

[Joel Just Joel]

I would do it if we can work out the details. Patience would be needed for the results; I'll be out of state from next week until the second week of March. This isn't something to leave for my dh to do.

My hens will be 2 in May so age shouldn't be a big factor yet; especially further into the spring.

How soon after starting this bag did your hens start laying fewer eggs? I'm looking at how much shipping might be... I have four hens so together they eat about a pound per day.

Thank you most kindly for offering your service and your hens in the name of science. Please let me know if still interested by about the first week of March and if I still have some feed left after all aspiring poultry scientists have come forward, I'll be delighted to ship you about 6 lbs., which should be more than enough to do a 7-day transition. Some people say a proper chicken feed transition takes 30 days and some say 7 days. I have no idea who's right, but if you'd rather go longer than 7 days, I may be able to send you a larger feed sample. My calculations:

Oh, TAYQ, my hens' egg production dropped drastically after just one day on the new batch of feed.

 

[Joel Just Joel]

Not a bad idea at face value. However, if it is a layer feed, I can't take the offer. But more importantly, it has probably been in proximity of you flock thereby posing a biosecurity risk to mine. So no.

I don't blame you for being cautious since my hens kept pulling off their face masks and several were within 50 ft. of the feed bin when I had it open. It's so hard to enforce masking and social distancing with chickens!

 

[saysfaa]

I'm willing to risk the biosecurity issue; it is less important to me than it would be to many people - I don't depend on the eggs and so on. Maybe you can package it now, though, since there isn't a reason not to. If it ends up coming to me, 4 to 5 pounds should do it. I can message you an address once it is decided.

 

[DuckyDonna]

I have been using Purina duck pellets for years now. Last August I opened a new bag and immediately noticed a BIG difference in the color of the pellets.

The bucket on the right was what I was used to and then I got a new bag of the dark ones on the left. I called and emailed Purina asking about why they were different. I got a coupon for a free bag and was basically told not to worry about it. That was August 7, 2022.

Since then I have had very low egg production, zero all winter, a black "thing" on my favorite duck's foot, and a huge tumor on another duck's top bill. Nothing can be done about that so I'm letting her live out her life as well as she can. The avian vet told me there was really nothing they can do about the tumor. If they remove it there is nothing to sew to close up the wound. I also had another duck just up and die who was only 4 years old and I have no idea what the cause of that was. One minute she was fine then I noticed she wasn't feeling well so I brought her inside for a couple of weeks. I ended up tube-feeding her but she died in my arms.

I have had a lot of ducks since 2017 and only 2 had died until now. One from a snake and another from a falcon. I think something is going on with the feed. I thought I was doing such a good thing using the special "Purina duck pellets" but not so much anymore. I'm going to start making my own duck food using Azure.

 

[Painted Calls]

I feed Purina Duck pellets. They look the same as they always have, and I've had zero issues.