Feed hen and roo

[Mamagirl3]

My girls have been getting 18% feed from the beginning and are quite happy and healthy. You are getting BS. 16% is minimum, not optimal protein for health. Just like how the human recommended daily iodine or vitamin D intake are orders of magnitude too low for optimal health.

Thank you! Experience is so much better than words on paper!

 

[TooCheep]

Why doesn't everyone feed the higher protein feed? Money? Because they expect their chickens to eat plenty of bugs while free ranging? I don't know...

Money is certainly a factor. We can't (and shouldn't try) competing with factory farm eggs on price. We'll never be that efficient... or that cruel.

People make their own decisions- many will want to go as cheap as possible, some will have other priorities like non-GMO/soy/whatever, some will want happier/healthier chickens, etc. There are many paths available and we don't have perfect information. The rules (like 16% protein) were made for keeping chickens alive for about 2 years with maximum egg production. Make your best decision and go with it unless you are seeing problems.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Now we are finding that 3 days on pellets is causing eating problems? Don't know if it due to hard pellets or taste? When mix old crumbles with pellets they will peck out the tiny crumbles and leave pellets... they are eating "some" pellets .. but not nearly enough. When I go to the pen they all run excitedly to me like when they are hungry and need feed.... not like when they are looking me over to see if I brought a treat! Haha.
Will they eventually eat these pellets? Like when they say. WHEN THEY GET HUNGRY THEY WILL EAT!

I accidentally ended up with a 50lb bag of pellets, my ladies wouldn't touch it, I waited 3 days thinking of they were hungry enough they'd eat it... they didn't unless I turned it into a wet mash. I sold the bag to my neighbor for next to nothing and chewy replaced the mistake for free

 

[Shadrach]

There are lots of opinions on the topic. unfortunatley we seem to be living in an age where one persons opinion is worth the same as anyone elses. It isn't.
Luckily we don't have to rely on trying to work out who knows what they are talking about and who doesn't because we have evidence to base our knowledge on.
The evidence and the differences in a hen and roosters biology indicate that high levels of calcium are not suitable for roosters. Yep, lots of people will tell you they've fed their roosters layers pellets without their rooster falling over dead. The falling over dead bit can take some time. One of the first questions one should ask such people is how long they had their rooster for and did they do a necropsy when the rooster died.

 

[FunClucks]

I agree with the general idea, but can chicks really eat whole pellet feed?

They make both pellets and crumble in the Purina Flockraiser I like to feed my chickens. You could try either or feed both, whatever works best, it's the same nutritional makeup regardless of form.

 

[igorsMistress]

I’ve read the calcium bit before. People will tell you they’ve fed their roo the layer feed with no bad results. How do they know? Unless they have a dead roo necropsied to find out cause of death they assume it was natural and don’t consider the feed to be a problem. To each their own, I don’t use layer feed.

I feed my flock an all flock pellet because it’s universally ok for all ages, and supplement with oyster shell for the layers.

My chicks couldn’t eat the pellets because they are too big, just like the small wild birds don’t raid the feeder because the pellets are too big. It takes a couple of minutes to make crumble from pellets for chicks in the blender. Realistically they only need it that way for a short period of time so I didn’t find it to be a hassle.

 

[TooCheep]

My girls have been getting 18% feed from the beginning and are quite happy and healthy. You are getting BS. 16% is minimum, not optimal protein for health. Just like how the human recommended daily iodine or vitamin D intake are orders of magnitude too low for optimal health.

 

[Mamagirl3]

Now we are finding that 3 days on pellets is causing eating problems? Don't know if it due to hard pellets or taste? When mix old crumbles with pellets they will peck out the tiny crumbles and leave pellets... they are eating "some" pellets .. but not nearly enough. When I go to the pen they all run excitedly to me like when they are hungry and need feed.... not like when they are looking me over to see if I brought a treat! Haha.
Will they eventually eat these pellets? Like when they say. WHEN THEY GET HUNGRY THEY WILL EAT!

 

[Mamagirl3]

I feed 20% Purina Flockraiser crumble to hens and roosters pre-laying and just about to lay. I'll continue after laying for as long as I can find that feed. Took the recommendation of several folks on here that have done tons more research than I have for brand and protein content. Wish they had it in pellet form.

Everything with 16-18% is cheaper. I was reading about one person who fed their hens 22% (I think) while raising them, and got large/extra large eggs out of those chickens, while the flock she raised on 18% (I think) only laid medium/large eggs. What you do for those first 17 weeks influences their egg size and output and general health.

Why doesn't everyone feed the higher protein feed? Money? Because they expect their chickens to eat plenty of bugs while free ranging? I don't know...

Thank you for info! The difference between 17% and 20% here is about $5 .. a little less 4 something... both bags being 40 lbs. BUT they are different brands as well .. duvour (spelling?) and purina.

 

[TooCheep]

Sometimes chickens just don't like a particular mix. Give them a few days, but if they don't change their mind, then try another brand.

Try to use the feed with within a few months of the production date (generally on the label attached to the bag). Also, make sure that it didn't get wet and moldy at some point which makes feed unpalatable.