Chicken Feed

[Dixiechicks2020]

I’ve been feeding my laying hens Nature's Best Organic Egg Layer Pellets, my husband picked up Purina Organic Layer Hen Crumbles Poultry Feed. It’s a different brand of feed and I want to make sure it’s ok to change the feed. It says it has oyster calcium in the feed, but I have oyster shell in a dish that they can eat when they want. My girls are very happy and healthy and I don’t want that to change.
Purina doesn’t list exactly what’s in the feed either. I would appreciate any feedback. I sent a couple pictures of my flock.

 

[sdm111]

They're chickens they will be a ok

 

[neo71665]

If you have roosters you don't want to feed layer feed.

 

[Dixiechicks2020]

I only have one. I was supposed to get all layer chicks Thelma turned out to be Theo. What should he be eating? He’s been eating the same food as the rest of the flock since he was a chick.

 

[neo71665]

If keeping the roo you need to feed all flock with the oyster shell on the side. The calicum in layer feed builds up and causes kidney damage in birds that don't need it like males and any females not laying.

 

[Dixiechicks2020]

I do have oyster shell on the side. That’s why I’m concerned when my husband bought this other brand that contained oyster shell. I’ll go back to my original brand. Thanks for the information. It’s appreciated.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

One bag of layer isn't going to hurt anyone, particularly with them well grown. Go ahead and feed it. Over a long time scale, calcium builds up in roos and can cause a host of problems, Its an even bigger problem for birds still in development. They younger they are, the more it potentially hurts them.

Purina is otherwise a fine feed.

Your husband should listen better to you when you send him with a shopping list.

That said, both the feeds you mention are "Layer" formulations. They BOTH have excess calcium. You should move to an all flock type feed and offer oyster shell on the side for the long term health of your Roo.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I switch brands all the time. Usually between all flock and flock raiser or feather fixer. @U_Stormcrow has given you solid advice

 

[NatJ]

I’ve been feeding my laying hens Nature's Best Organic Egg Layer Pellets, my husband picked up Purina Organic Layer Hen Crumbles Poultry Feed. It’s a different brand of feed and I want to make sure it’s ok to change the feed. It says it has oyster calcium in the feed

I’m concerned when my husband bought this other brand that contained oyster shell. I’ll go back to my original brand.

Switching between those two bags should not make any real difference to your hens or your rooster.

If you want a lower calcium feed for the sake of the rooster, you will need to find a different feed (look for one that does not say "layer" in the name, then check the guaranteed analysis to be sure.)

Read the "guaranteed analysis" label on each bag.
If it has 3% calcium or more, it's a layer feed with too much calcium to be good for your rooster (long-term issue, not a problem for just a few days.)

If it has calcium closer to 1% it is suitable for chicks, for roosters, and also for laying hens if the layers have a separate source of calcium.

If you forget what numbers the calcium should be, just look on any bag labeled "layer" and any bag labeled "chick starter."

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Here's your Nature's Best ingredients:
Organic Corn
Organic Soybean Meal
Organic Roasted Soybeans
Organic Wheat
Organic Alfalfa
Calcium Carbonate
Monocalcium Phosphate
Diatomaceous Earth
Sodium Chloride
Sodium Sesquicarbonate
Methionine Supplement
Manganous Oxide
Zinc Sulfate
Ferrous Sulfate
Copper Sulfate
Calcium Iodate
Sodium Selenite
Choline Chloride
Wheat Organic Middling
Organic Vegetable Oil
Dried Penicillium funiculosum Fermentation Product Vitamin D3 Supplement
Niacin Supplement
Vitamin E Supplement
Calcium Pantothenate
Vitamin A Supplement
Riboflavin Supplement
Menadione Nicotinamide Bisulfite
Organic Soybean Oil
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride
Thiamine Mononitrate
Vitamin B12 Supplement
Folic Acid, Biotin
Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Product


Ingredient number 6 is "Calcium Carbonate". Oyster shells atre almost entirely... "Calcium Carbonate". Same with crushed limestone - it being limestone because it was formed of crushed shells over geologic timescales.

And here's its label:

For comparison, Purina's Organic Layer formulation has a little less Lysine, a little more Met, and a little less Phos. I think Met is more important than Lys, particularly when 0.3 is the minimum recommend for Met (only Purina meets this) and 0.6 or 0.7 is the usual layer recommend for Lys - both meet or exceed that (Purina is 0.7, or was - I need to see a current label). I can't honestl y say which I'd use, because I'm not fond of layer formulations.