Do they need crumbles daily?

[ChrisisaGirl]

YES! If they will accept the correction, I wouldn't buy them the treat stuff. they get enough treats from scraps here and there from the table. next month I may get them some of the corn stuff they like but that's nm

Oh I guess Dad didn't know!Maybe that's why after a while he never got good egg laying even though they were about 6 and should still lay pretty nice. I just kept doing what he did and what the store told us. I don't remember how old they are now but I am sure I could reach back in history on here and guess it out

 

[ValerieJ]

You might have to give them a little time. They'll eat when they get hungry enough. But, if that's hard for you to watch, then you can add some of your old stuff with the new for a couple days and change over gradually. That uses up the old stuff too.

 

[ChrisisaGirl]

Yup yup!

 

[ChrisisaGirl]

could incorrect feed be wy they went off laying as good as they should when they should have still been laying, like 2 years ago if they were about 6?

 

[chrissynemetz]

Incorrect feed can affect their laying, yes. But it could also be their breed and age. Many breeds really slow down egg production once they get that old.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

YES! If they will accept the correction, I wouldn't buy them the treat stuff. they get enough treats from scraps here and there from the table. next month I may get them some of the corn stuff they like but that's nm

Perhaps, mix in the new feed with the little that you have left over of the scratch so it’s not so drastic for them, since you are concerned about them accepting the bones feed. Plus, many animals do not like change, so it might help. Then by day three it could be purely the the good feed and no more scratch.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

You might have to give them a little time. They'll eat when they get hungry enough. But, if that's hard for you to watch, then you can add some of your old stuff with the new for a couple days and change over gradually. That uses up the old stuff too.

Oops, didn’t read this, and then I said the same thing...

 

[Mimi13]

It sure isn't cheap by any means.

Amen, Sister Sue!

 

[Mimi13]

If they will accept the correction, I wouldn't buy them the treat stuff.

Of course they are gonna want the scratch grains over the nutritional feed, just like kids will choose chips and candy over broccoli and good protein.

Your birds may protest a bit, but you are the parent. Withhold the treats and feed the good stuff. Like @valerie said earlier, “It sure isn’t cheap by any means,” but it is what is best for them. If the cost of feed is too expensive, I would lessen the number of birds I had before I fed them only junk food. Since you have a “mixed flock” (different ages and different sexes), your best bet to feed is an All Flock or Flock Raiser, with oyster shell à la carte. My birds tend to prefer the crumbles over pellets, but if I could find Purina All Flock in pellets that’s what mine would get...until then, the crumbles it’ll be.

 

[Mimi13]

Incorrect feed can affect their laying, yes. But it could also be their breed and age. Many breeds really slow down egg production once they get that old.

Ditto.