Can I offer a starter feed + side of oyster shell to a mixed flock with roosters?

[U_Stormcrow]

Generally speaking, an 18-20% protein feed (I prefer 20% for the typically higher Met and Lys levels) plus free choice oyster shell and fresh clean water at all times is a superior feed regimen for mixed age/mixed gender flocks. Regardless of whether its called flock raiser, all flock, starter, grower, whatever. Just watch the calcium content - you are looking for 1% +/-, not the Nutrena "Feather Fixer" which is 18% Protein but also 4% calcium - that calcium content is hard on developing chicks, and its hard on roos. It CAN be hard on layers too, particularly if your layer is a breed that infrequently lays small eggs. Layer was designed as a minimally nutritious inexpensive feed for prime production layers, not your heritage Apenzell, Cubalaya, Hamburgh or your aging Cochin .

If you are having waste problems, I recommend serving it as an oatmeal like consitency wet mash. You can ferment if you want, but its not necessarily a benefit. It depends on a host of factors.

and a bird won't voluntarily starve itself when good feed is available - though they don't like change and can be slow to adopt to a new feed.

 

[Sally PB]

If you are having waste problems, I recommend serving it as an oatmeal like consitency wet mash.

This is the usual "snack" I give my 6 hens and 1 rooster in the afternoon. Plain, or dressed up with greens or whatever kitchen scraps that is appropriate.

I have found that putting the feed bowl in a Rubbermaid type container helps contain any spilled feed. I put a brick under/next to the bowl to help keep them from dumping the whole thing over.

The food that ends up in the container is usually kind of icky; dirt, bedding, feathers end up in there too. I dump it in the run at morning open up, and they can scratch for it during the day.

The finer bits end up in the bottom of the bowl. I save those in a separate tin to use for making mash. I bet I don't lose/waste more than a couple of cups out of a 50 pound bag of feed, which lasts me a month.

 

[3KillerBs]

The food that ends up in the container is usually kind of icky; dirt, bedding, feathers end up in there too. I dump it in the run at morning open up, and they can scratch for it during the day.

If I find that my birds are spilling too much into the bedding I don't refill my feeder for a day or two until they've cleaned everything up.

The usual reason for this to happen is that the plastic feeder on the threaded rod tends to unscrew itself over time and I may or may not notice how far out of adjustment it is.

 

[BirdLvr56]

The starter is fine. So is the grower. I suggest fermenting for Scratch & Peck. Less waste and better for nutrition.

I've been wondering about the scratch food. Also, just read an article here about fermenting. Nice hearing from you AA and everyone.

 

[BirdLvr56]

I never tolerated picky children and I won't tolerate picky chickens.

Put whatever good-quality feed you choose to provide into the feeder and walk away. When they're hungry they will eat it.

Some forms of feed are easier or harder to waste.

Some feeders handle one form of feed better than others.

Some feeders enable waste and others deter it.

*Personally* I see the least waste from using pellets in a traditional metal hanging feeder with a deep pan that has an inward-rolled lip.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/in-praise-of-the-traditional-hanging-feeder.1452899/

I have also noticed increased feed consumption when I've had to buy an occasional emergency bag of cheap layer feed (16%). I suspect that they increase their consumption to compensate for the reduced protein and the fact that the calcium incorporated into that feed is non-nutritive.

Thus I would not be at all surprised to see reduced consumption in the transition from layer to all-flock.

It does work to just let it stay low for an afternoon and they clean up what they spilled.

 

[SourRoses]

Starter / Grower is the same thing as "All Flock", it's just a name.

All of ours are on Dumor Grower Crumble, as we've found ours just eat crumble better. Ours tend to come up when they're hungry, scoff some crumble, and go back out to scratch for bugs again. When we tried pellets, they tended to move them around and go back to scratching, that resulted in lost condition on some, especially roosters that defer to the girls.
Currently, my best young roo is so busy feeding his hens during the day that he is starving by the time they go to bed. As soon as the last hen goes in, he comes back out and scoffs from the feeder until it's dark. I'm hoping it's just a phase and he will learn to keep himself fed better throughout the day. Anyway, I'm just saying that wouldn't be possible with pellets, he would go hungry. But confined birds with little else to do or ferociously efficient eaters are fine on pellets.

 

[SourRoses]

My ladies have the bad habit of turning the feeders over. So I am not too keen on getting larger ones than the quart size (although they would probably not turn the larger ones over that easily)

Don't worry, they shouldn't tip a larger one, it's from the feeder being too small. I use tips as an indication to size up for growing birds and the problem is solved.

 

[Mr Spot]

When I got my chickens back in may they were still on starter and they would rake it out on the ground and waste a lot of it, the rooster I had jumped on my grandson a couple of times so I got rid of him. When they started laying I started them on layena pellets with no problems. Then I got a bantam rooster and changed to flock raiser pellets and they seem to eat it better than the starter or layena. I now use a hanging feeder with the little sections all the way around, so the waste is zero. Anyone with a waste problem from a hanging feeder should try one with the sections all the way around.

 

[3KillerBs]

they would rake it out on the ground and waste a lot of it,

It does work to just let it stay low for an afternoon and they clean up what they spilled.

I've gone as long as 3-4 days of not feeding them when they've wasted an inordinate amount into the bedding -- especially in my open air coop where it's perfectly dry.

Don't worry, they shouldn't tip a larger one, it's from the feeder being too small. I use tips as an indication to size up for growing birds and the problem is solved.

Yes, this.

And it's another good reason to hang the feeder instead of just sitting it on blocks.