Can't decide how best to nourish my free-ranging flock

[matimeo]

I am coming up on the end of my bag of poultry feed. It is not layer feed, just regular feed. Since I bought the bag, the girls have started laying. I have been feeding them back their eggs shells and they also get to free range all day every day in my smallish suburban back yard. Their shells have been nice and hard in spite of not giving them any supplemental calcium besides the egg shells.

So what I'm trying to decide is whether to just continue as I have been with regular feed, or should I buy layer pellets on my next trip to the feed store. Do they really need it if they are free ranging?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know what you mean by regular feed. Starter, Grower, Flock Raiser, or something else. It sounds like you are doing OK the way you are. If they are transitioning into laying, then conditions are changing. There is nothing wrong with changing to layer feed with the extra calcium if you want to. You can also get oyster shell and offer that on the side. I don't like mixing it with their feed but give them the choice.

I don't know what your free ranging conditions are like or what they are finding to eat. They can get calcium from some bugs, some pebbles, and some plants they eat. Sometimes it is enough without any extra calcium. Sometimes it is not. If your egg shells remain hard, you are doing it right. That is your real key.

You can look at the difference in cost of what you are feeding them and the layer feed, plus the cost of oyster shell, if cost is important to you. Oyster shell is usually pretty cheap and it normally lasts a long time. There is no right way or wrong way to do it, just many different ways that work. If they are healthy and laying hard shelled eggs, you are doing it one of the right ways.

 

[clairabean]

Is there really a big difference in cost?

Things may be great now, but the deficiencies will catch up with them.

 

[Judy]

There are some experienced chicken keepers on here who feed egg shells back and never offer oyster shell, though I imagine most feed layer. Around here grower and layer cost about the same. Check the protein levels and make your choice.

 

[matimeo]

Cost isn't the issue. I'm not sure what my hang-up is about just giving them layer ration. Maybe a worry they'll get too much calcium- or that it would be unnatural. Locking a fixed ratio of calcium into the feed makes it seem like the chicken has to consume a certain amount of calcium with it's other nutrients, regardless of whether it needs it or not. I know that some just feed them grower and offer oyster shell on the side. I wonder if there are advantages or disadvantages to either approach.

 

[snowflake]

I have fed Flock Raiser with oyster on the side and I have fed Lyanna either way works well for me. I like the higher protein for winter, no bugs out then.

 

[HEChicken]

If what you're doing is working for you, don't change a thing! I have always fed egg shell back to them. The only problem I found is that eventually you run out of egg shells (especially if you sell/give away any eggs as you never get those shells back), so eventually I had to buy a bag of oyster shell. They won't touch it. What a waste of money! I have since learned I can put a little oyster shell wherever I plant tomatoes this year and it will improve them so I'm going to try that. Once all of mine were laying, I did switch to layer and they ate far less of the egg shell, so I have been able to build up a good supply of it again. However whenever I have young chicks again, I switch back to Flock Raiser, refill the egg shell container (free choice, not mixed in) and I'm good to go. The chicks don't touch the egg shell until they're close to laying. The laying hens take as much as they need. Mine also free range my suburban back yard and get all table scraps.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Quote:
I very much understand where you are coming from. That is the main reason I suggest oyster shell be offered on the side, not mixed in with their feed. Once they are no longer growing, they can handle excess calcium much better than when they are growing, but I don't like to force anything in excess down their throats, whether that is excess calcium, excess protein, or excess cabbage. They do have a wide range of acceptable levels of these things. You don't have to get it exactly right. Since you free range them, you don't control how much of anything they get anyway. You influence it, but you really don't control it. They do.

I've looked at the nutritional make-up of layer versus grower. Actually my option is 15% Grower/Developer, not the normal 16% Grower most people seem to be able to get. Other than calcium, there is not any significant difference. I'll include a comparison so you can see what I mean. A couple of days ago, 50 pounds of Layer was about 50 cents more expensive than 50 pounds of this Grower/Developer. Not a lot of difference.

I normally feed Grower/Developer with oyster shell on the side, especially when I have young birds in the flock, though I'll get a Combined 20% Starter/Grower with very young chicks. Mine hardly ever touch the oyster shell and usually leave the egg shells I throw on the compost heap. They lay eggs with nice egg shells.

If you want too continue what you are doing and the egg shells stay hard, you are doing great. If you want to offer oyster shell on the side, that is great. If you want to switch to Layer, that will work to. Many of us do it different ways and it works.



16% Layer 15% Grower Flock Raiser
Protein 16 15 20
Lysine 0.7 0.65 0.95
Methionine 0.35 0.29 0.35
Crude Fat 2.5 2.7 3.5
Crude Fiber 7 5 5
Min Calcium 3.8 0.6 0.8
Max Calcium 4.8 1.1 1.3
Phosphorus 0.5 0.6 0.7
Min Salt 0.25 0.2 0.35
Max Salt 0.75 0.4 0.85

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It's hard to argue with the decades of research into chicken nutrition. Which you benefit from when you buy a feed formulated for specific needs.
If they are laying they certainly won't get too much calcium from layer feed.
I feed 20% grower until they start laying. Then immediately switch to layer.
I also give oyster shell on the side and some don't use it, but most eat it up.
I don't feed egg shells, anything that they could remotely associate with an egg.
I crumble the egg shell and put them in the compost.
In really cold weather I'll give them some 24% game bird feed.

 

[silkiechicken]

Just put the shell on the side if you want them to choose how much calcium they are eating. They will be fine when they are young, but if they are not eating enough calcium they will take it from their bones till they have no more to take and end up with soft shells.