Can rooster eat layer food?

[JodyJo]

Quote:
you feed scratch as food? I was always told this is a no-no that it is a treat and should not be fed daily as a food staple. someone else mentioned to cut down on it if you have high production egg layers...

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
you feed scratch as food? I was always told this is a no-no that it is a treat and should not be fed daily as a food staple. someone else mentioned to cut down on it if you have high production egg layers...

I'm not the one you quoted but I may be able to help in this.

A lot depends on what you are feeding as a base feed (Layer, Game Bird, All Flock) and it's protein amount.
If you are feeding a high protein feed say 20 percent or higher you can add some scratch grain, whole grain or even pigeon feed to you mix to cut the protein and still be safe.
I at one time feed a 28 percent game bird feed mixed with a all grain pigeon feed at the rate of 60 lbs base feed and 40 lbs all grain pigeon feed. This mix put me at around 20 percent protein.

Now here is a quote from Buckeye Nutrition (Buckeye Feed);
"Feed to laying hens at the rate of 60% Gold Standard Laying Crumbles and 40% grain. For lighter weight hens and hens in extremely heavy production, the level of Gold Standard Laying Crumbles to grain may be increased to 70% Crumbles and 30% grain."
http://www.buckeyenutrition.com/media/137702/20_pct_gold standard laying crumbles.pdf




Chris

 

[windzbreezy]

i usually mix all my feed with cracked and whole corn, i just ordered a 1000 meal worms from ebay for 14 dollars. it should arrive thursday; so i will start a mealworm habitat to ensure insects for food over the winter.

 

[Sp0iledFl0ck]

I also had this concern, as 8 of my 9 birds are 21 weeks old, (one is a week or two older and just started laying Monday), one of them is a rooster. Unfortunately, I just bought a new bag of Growth Crumbles (of course), and they get scratch, a nut meat mix for treats, meal worms, and veggies/fruits. My hubby just bought some oyster shell for them since we just got our first egg. I am a wildlife rehab volunteer, and have had some nutritional training; too much calcium for an animal that can't use it (like a hen), will cause long term damage to their organs and shorten their lives. I like the idea of the Flock Raiser Mix, and just add oyster shell, so the hens can self-regulate intake. They get plenty of protein from occasional meal worms and nut meat snacks. I need to get the ingredients list for both Layer Crumbles and Flock Raiser to see what the main differences are. I love my sweet boy, and I want to keep him healthy!

 

[ChampionAlex]

Yep

 

[cyw iar]

I just went through this same issue. The hens finally started laying, and I was unsure what type of feed to switch to, since we didnt want to separate the rooster from the girls. I asked at the feed store (we use Blue Seal), and the owner said in all her years of chickens, she free ranged and fed layer to the whole adult flock, and her roosters seemed fine and lived into their teens.

 

[Sp0iledFl0ck]

Okay, found this:
Purina Layena SunFresh: Purina Flock Raiser

Guaranteed Analysis
Protein, not less than 16.0%
Lysine, not less than 0.55%
Methionine, not less than 0.25%
Fat, not less than 2.5%
Fiber, not more than 7.0%
Calcium, not less than 3.25%
Calcium, not more than 4.25%
Phosphorus, not less than 0.5%
Salt, not less than 0.3%
Salt, not more than 0.8%
Vitamin A 3,000 IU/lb
Vitamin E 10.5 IU/lb

Guaranteed Analysis
Protein, not less than 20.0%
Lysine, not less than 0.95%
Methionine, not less than 0.35%
Fat, not less than 3.5%
Fiber, not more than 5.0%
Calcium, not less than 0.8%
Calcium, not more than 1.3%
Phosphorus, not less than 0.7%
Salt, not less than 0.35%
Salt, not more than 0.85%
Vitamin A 7,000 IU/lb
Vitamin E 14 IU/lb​

Still leaning towards Flock Raiser with supplemented oyster for Calcium. Thoughts?

 

[NovaAman]

I also had this concern, as 8 of my 9 birds are 21 weeks old, (one is a week or two older and just started laying Monday), one of them is a rooster. Unfortunately, I just bought a new bag of Growth Crumbles (of course), and they get scratch, a nut meat mix for treats, meal worms, and veggies/fruits. My hubby just bought some oyster shell for them since we just got our first egg. I am a wildlife rehab volunteer, and have had some nutritional training; too much calcium for an animal that can't use it (like a hen), will cause long term damage to their organs and shorten their lives. I like the idea of the Flock Raiser Mix, and just add oyster shell, so the hens can self-regulate intake. They get plenty of protein from occasional meal worms and nut meat snacks. I need to get the ingredients list for both Layer Crumbles and Flock Raiser to see what the main differences are. I love my sweet boy, and I want to keep him healthy!

I use a flockraiser just because of all the age differences normally. For the winter months though, I change to gamebird feed because of the higher protien with free choice calcium for the hens.

 

[Sp0iledFl0ck]

ah, ok... well, besides mealworms, they get a chicken snack mix that has mealworms, river shrimp, nut meats and scratch in it (Called "Chicken Crack"). Mostly, I started upping their protein lately as someone in there started a vicious round of feather pecking, besides pasting bare butts with purple repellent gel. I have two girls separated from the flock until their butts are refeathered. They came from a feed store where the bad habit was rampant, and these two were already pretty pecked. I will look into the game bird mix as well. Thanks.

 

[cluckcluck32]

Yes, i also give my rooster layer feed and they free range.