Bantam specific feed advice - 10wks old

[Pyewacket69]

Hello all,

I've tried to google but only found full-size chicken specific advice so hope you can help.

Two lovely Pekin Bantam cockerels have come to live with my three ex-batt rescue girls. The cockerels are 10wks old and therefore about fully grown as far as these birds go. The advice for standard chickens is for them to have growers feed to 18wks, but as these guys are about full size already is this necessary?

The girls are on a quality layers pellet and still lay regularly. I was hoping the boys would be fine eating this, but obviously don't want to risk their health. On the other hand want to avoid the complications of trying to feed them seperate feeds.

Hope someone can help,

With thanks

 

[NatJ]

I've tried to google but only found full-size chicken specific advice so hope you can help.

Two lovely Pekin Bantam cockerels have come to live with my three ex-batt rescue girls. The cockerels are 10wks old and therefore about fully grown as far as these birds go. The advice for standard chickens is for them to have growers feed to 18wks, but as these guys are about full size already is this necessary?

Bantams do not need a separate guideline. Yes, they mature quickly, but not any faster than something like a standard-sized Leghorn, so the usual guidelines are just fine for them.

For females, the guideline should really be "until they start to lay" or "until just before you expect them to start laying." That can be anywhere from 18 weeks to more than double that age, depending on the breed and the season.

For males, they never lay eggs, so they never need layer feed. There is no need to switch them to anything else.

The girls are on a quality layers pellet and still lay regularly. I was hoping the boys would be fine eating this, but obviously don't want to risk their health. On the other hand want to avoid the complications of trying to feed them seperate feeds.

Short, easy answer: put out a dish of oyster shell (calcium source), and feed them all grower feed for the rest of their lives. Or chick starter, or flock raiser, or any other food with a similar amount of protein and calcium (read the labels.)

More explanation:

Layer feed has large amounts of calcium. That is good for hens who are laying eggs, but not good for chickens that are not laying eggs. Layer feed has about THREE TIMES as much calcium as feeds meant for other chickens.

For males, it is considered best if the males never eat layer feed, at any age. The excess calcium can cause kidney damage.

Laying hens do not really need layer feed. What they do need is enough calcium, and the right amount of other nutrients. You can provide the calcium by giving a separate dish of oyster shell, and most hens will eat the right amount while most males will ignore it. If they have a separate source of calcium, the laying hens can get all their other nutrients from grower feed.

As your hens get older, at some point they will not lay as many eggs either. If their main feed is low in calcium, but they have a separate dish of oyster shell, they can adjust their own calcium intake as the rate of lay changes.

Having said all that, I will also point out that many people feed layer feed to roosters and to hens that are not laying as much, and many of those birds live long enough and stay healthy enough that it does not seem to be a big deal. Some individual chickens are more susceptible than others, and the damage happens gradually in any case. Depending on how gradual the damage is, the chicken might die of other causes before the calcium buildup becomes an actual problem.

Personally, I would provide oyster shell now, keep feeding the layer feed to the hens until the bag runs out, and after that use the grower or a similar feed like chick starter, flock raiser, all flock. If a specific hen starts laying softshell eggs you will know she is not eating enough of the oyster shell, and needs some special management (there are ways to help, but no point in worrying about that unless it actually happens.)

 

[Pyewacket69]

Thank you so much for the detailed answer, that all makes perfect sense - not only helpful for the new boys in town, but for my lovely pet girls who will probably start laying less before long due to their breed / history.

Most grateful, best wishes.

 

[NatJ]

Thank you so much for the detailed answer, that all makes perfect sense - not only helpful for the new boys in town, but for my lovely pet girls who will probably start laying less before long due to their breed / history.

Most grateful, best wishes.

Glad I could help

 

[Sequoia Raven Bird Farms]

Hi! So since I was unsure but knew where to look I googled "Gail Demerow" and this popped up "you can plan on one bantam chicken eating about one pound of feed per month on a similar diet as standard size chickens."
Hope that helps!!!

 

[Brooks_]

one bantam chicken eating about one pound of feed per month

Is this a mistype? I can't see this as accurate since a standard bird eats a quarter pound (more or less) per day.