Can I switch from Layer feed to Flock Raiser Feed?

[RoosterML]

I guess all my chickens and geese will die .
I mix about a 60% layer and 40% meatbird for my entire flock. From day old chicks to mature birds and now geese. You don’t need to stop feeding layer. Also some of your laying hens may suffer thin shells if you feed just all flock.

 

[Brooks_]

I think yesterday I was on the verge of a heat stroke.

Saltines and water can go a long way.

 

[Brooks_]

I guess all my chickens and geese will die .
I mix about a 60% layer and 40% meatbird for my entire flock. From day old chicks to mature birds and now geese. You don’t need to stop feeding layer. Also some of your laying hens may suffer thin shells if you feed just all flock.

What part of oyster shell did you miss?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I'm taking quite a few breaks today. I just checked the temperature out and it's 95. It feels hot and I'm working out in the sun. I'll load up the birds later. I get them in their coops and then just scoop them off of their roosts. It's too hot to chase them to catch them and I'm an old lady. I wish I could do things like I could when I was younger. Lots of breaks today. I think yesterday I was on the verge of a heat stroke. I got very light headed and felt like I was about to pass out. Not a good feeling. I only passed out once in my life and that was when I was in the army standing in formation. I felt it come on and the next thing I knew I was on the ground. A eerie feeling.

...outdoor shower. We only hit 89. In the rain. I've accomplished almost nothing. Too hot.

 

[cmom]

Another break. Just have to load up the birds I'm taking to sell tomorrow. No rain here. What does pop up has been going around us. My grass is crying with thirst. I think this next week the chances for rain is higher.

 

[RoosterML]

What part of oyster shell did you miss?

The oyster shell itself is what I missed . High production hens will suffer from a non layer feed. I hit 150 birds this spring. How many birds do you care for?
No need to try an be a smart ass. Just thinking oyster shell is the answer shows your lack of experience.

 

[mgharris30]

I’ve been putting ice in their water in the afternoon/early evening. I’ve also cut up some grapes and froze them. They get about one full grape per adult/teen and 1/2 a grape for the chicks (different coop). I just hate to see them pant.

ants are a good protein source too.

I feel your heat - we lived outside of Austin till two years ago, i spent a bit more than a decade in TX for a job there. Suggest wetting the feed - loose oatmeal like consistency with cool water. Helps cut down on waste,

ants are a good protein source too.

I feel your heat - we lived outside of Austin till two years ago, i spent a bit more than a decade in TX for a job there. Suggest wetting the feed - loose oatmeal like consistency with cool water. Helps cut down on waste, some, too.

 

[Farmgirl1878]

Saltines and water can go a long way.

It’s absolutely miserable here in waaaaaay-Southern Ohio. At 0530 it was already in the mid-seventies and 99% humidity, no breeze... I’m a redhead and can not stand this without complaining - a LOT! All the birds are doing okay so far. I mix their chow with cool water and they seem to think that’s a special treat!

I’ve got five month-old Brahma chicks being raised by my Speckled Sussex, Dottie, so am feeding everyone unmedicated chick starter/grower. I always offer free choice oyster shell, regardless of what feed the girls are on. Within the past ten days or so, I’ve had one soft shelled egg from one of six three year old hens. And a couple more with thin shells. And that’s with the oyster shell. I just bought a bag of starter/grower, but am thinking I might start the switch over to all-flock in a couple weeks.

 

[kodster]

Yes, you can switch from layer to Flock Raiser. It's a higher protein feed than the layer, as well. So just make sure that you provide the calcium supplement on the side (oyster or whatever) to make sure that the laying hens have enough calcium to make strong egg shells.

I fed Flock Raiser to my entire mixed flock of chicks, juveniles, layers, ducklings, ducks, goslings, geese, poults and turkeys. It was a lot easier to deal with one feed for them all. Now, I feed Purina's new Layena Free Range formula to my layers and juveniles that are now in that part of the flock... they're old enough to eat it. The chicks (4 to 5 week olds) are on the Flock Raiser until they're old enough to move over to the Free Range formula and be incorporated into the bigger flock. We're working on that now... the chicks are in the coop, and stay in the coop, won't go out into the run yet, as they're just getting used to being with the older birds this past week. All is going well, but when it's feeding time, they get shut into the coop with the Flock Raiser to eat, while the rest of the flock is out in the run eating their Free Range, which they LOVE! My five ducks are all on Purina's new Duck Feed formula, because of the higher niacin content, but they're not with the chickens, so it's easy to keep their feed separated. My Silkie bantams, however, are also on the Flock Raiser, but they have a separate coop from the other chickens. I don't have any other poultry now except for chickens and ducks.

 

[dfsndc7]

and the short form, before I head back out in the heat, is this...

"Layer Feed" has been scientifically formulated to meet the MINIMUM dietary needs of commercial hybrid laying breeds, under commercial management practice, during their commercially productive lifespan (about 18-20 months +/-, typically). It is a low protein (because protein is expensive), high calcium (to support prolific egg laying) formulation intended for RSL, BSL, and similar hybrid layers sharing the following characteristics:

1) Early Onset of Lay
2) Large eggs relative to body size
3) High Frequency of Lay

All that calcium comes at a cost, however. Excess calcium builds up in a chicken, contributing to kidney damage as well as damage to other organs, which is likely, but not guaranteed, to affect lifespan and quality of life. As with any situation where "the dosage is the poison", the length of time before the excess calcium intake is balanced by egg production, as well as the amount of calcium intake daily have an effect, as does variations within individual chickens. Its like smoking - no individual cigarette is guaranteed to give you cancer, but its a statistical certainty that the more you smoke, and the longer you smoke, the more likely you are to develop a cancer attributed to your smoking.

Excess calcium is bad for ALL birds. It is worst for Roosters, who never develop a way to excrete extra calcium - they never lay eggs, their kidneys become increasingly damaged with time. They can also develop gout, intestinal problems, lesions, renal failure, etc. Its also bad for pullets before start of lay - and if your pullets are Dark Brahma, or another breed that goes six or seven months before start of lay (rather than the 4-5 months for commercial breeders like Golden Comets) that a long time for calcium to accumulate. If your hens don't drop eggs almost every day (most don't), again, calcium will begin to accumulate, at risk to long term health.

The flip side, is a shortage of protein. Protein is expensive, which is why the bare minimum appears in Layer feed. But protein is very important for the development of new birds, particularly the first 12-18 weeks. Protein assists weight gain, muscle and feather development (which is why many - myself included - recommend higher protein feeds during molting even for those raising nothing but laying age commercial egg producers who plan to keep their hens thru their first molt - factory layers become dog food, etc around that point, often as not). Birds which don't get enough protein will try and eat more, increasing their calcium uptake... Certain breeds need a lot of protein, either due to large body size, heavy feathering (winter hardy breeds), or an "excess" of attractive, but not necessarily practical, feathering.

Unlike calcium, "too much" protein is not a danger to your birds (unless you have ducks, then protein over 24% is associated with higher incidence of "Angel Wing"). Indeed, it generally benefits them in better overall form/body condition, increased early weight gain, and lessened duration and apparent severity of molting. So it really comes down to expense. Typically, the cost of an all flock or flock raiser blend is $1.50 to $2 more than a similar layer feed from the same product line and manufacturer per 40# or 50# bag. Free choice oyster shell, so that your active layers can get as much as they feel they need, but not more, will likely add $7-10 a year for you, given your flock size. One small bag.

The longer form of the above includes additional details, links. I hope you find it useful.

This was well written. When I had mixed flock of ages, I had free feed options of grower/starter feed in one container and layer in another. I had the grit in one bowl and oyster shell in another.. All my adult and juvenile birds would devour the chick food first which had the higher protein. I did offer flock raiser too but ultimately I made sure both types were available and let them pick.