Can my rooster eat layela?

[UGAchick]

Or is it just for hens?

 

[Mrs.H]

My roo eats what the girls eat

 

[pardenx3]

Layena never hurt our roo. Actualy, he looked really good.

 

[BarredBuff]

Its for both.

 

[Willow's Meadow]

try flock raiser by purina if you want too. Its made to be fed to hens, roosters, ducks, turckeys, guineas etc.

 

[gumpsgirl]

My roosters eat the layena right along with the hens.

 

[zatsdeb]

mine too, they all eat layer feed, it is too hard to not feed them the same unless you had a separate living quarters for your roo.

 

[mikki717]

All my birds are eating layer feed. The whole flock looks fat and shiny and happy. I have wondered though, if eating the layer feed is one reason that roos die so young?
OK, this is my first flock, but I have read many posts about young roos dying, other than predator attacks. Anyone else have an opinion?

 

[zatsdeb]

my first rooster, elvis, is almost 7 years old and layer is all he eats.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I think you are asking a very good question. The extra calcium in the layer is not nearly as hard on a grown rooster as it is on a developing chick. A grown rooster can handle the extra calcium he gets by eating layer. His organs have already developed. He does not need as much calcium as the laying hens need, but he needs some.

This is a great reason to offer extra oyster shell on the side, if you feel you have to offer it, instead of mixing it with the feed. Why force a rooster, or hens for that matter, to eat more calcium than they need? There is a range of calcium that is safe, a minimum level that they need to maintain body functions, including what a hen needs for her egg shells, but also a maximum level that if they get above that level it starts to do them harm. Same thing with your body. Too little or too much calcium can cause problems. I like to let them regulate how much extra calcium they eat instead of trying to force them to eat more than they may possibly need to the point it does them harm by mixing it with their food.

Just my personal opinion. I'll get off my soap box.