Feed questions

[PioneerChicks]

Feed is tough, and I only recently unscrambled the lables. Here's what I know.

Layer Feed is meant for laying hens only (by the way, it's not a treat). It has extra calcium to help keep their eggshells thick, but that much extra calcium isn't good for a rooster to a chick who is to young to lay. Feed this to only female chickens when they near laying or are laying. If you have roosters then feed your whole flock All Flock Feed along with oyster shells or dried and crushed eggshells for the hens.

All Flock Feed is made for your whole flock of chickens. Check the labels to see age restrictions. It doesn't have any extra calcium so roosters and not-laying chicks can eat it. But as said above, if you do feed this to your flock and have hens then they will need either oyster shells or dried and crushed eggshells to get more calcium.

I often get Scratch for my chickens, which is a mix of cracked corn and seeds. It is a treat.

Not so sure on this but I think Chick Feed (or Starter Feed) has extra protein to help them grow and is crushed (also called Crumbles) so they can eat it easily.

If your chickens are all girls and four months old then I think you would be okay giving them a mix of Layer Feed and All Flock Feed. I don't follow the rules too tightly, and am okay giving them a bit of Layer Feed before they lay.

Some information you might like is that you can ferment your chicken food. I only just started. You soak a mix of Whole Grains (I think that includes wheat) and your chicken feed, then feed your chickens the mush. I've heard that it's healthier for them and boosts their laying. I've been using Whole Corn and All Flock Feed. Search "fermenting chicken feed" on the internet to find instructions.

I'm not sure if wheat is bad for chickens. I've never used it. Hopefully some person who does know will stop by and tell you!

I hope this info helps! Good luck!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It can destroy their kidneys and affect other organs. The kidneys job is to regulate mineral levels in blood. When there is too much calcium, the kidneys must remove it and they get overloaded.

Why do you think it is necessary to add a grain?
Poultry nutrition has been studied ad nauseum for well over a hundred years. We know the precise levels of the 45+ nutrients that chickens need at each stage of life. That is in the bag if you buy the feed appropriate for the age of your birds.

 

[Agathas]

Ok so I'll be going back to the feed store to get the starter I won't be feeding this to them. Guess I'll just save this for my two hens when they start laying.thanks for the info. I will be trying the fermentation of there feed in the future.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Have you opened the bag? If not, return it.
By the time they are ready to lay, the feed you have may be getting old. Two hens will take months to go through a 50# bag of feed. The vitamins and likely the amino acids will be well depleted by the time they get through the bag. The fats in the feed can become rancid as well. With only 2 hens, you should either try to get a smaller bag or split up a bag and freeze some of it.
Try not to feed anything over 3 months since milled. What is the mill date on that bag of feed?
Always look at the age of the feed before you buy it.

 

[Agathas]

Is this the date your talking about? sorry I'm very new to this.

 

[Agathas]

Is this the date your talking about? sorry I'm very new to this.

This was a ma and pa store and im not sure if they will take it back so I'm not gonna make a 45min drive just to pick up feed and return it, I'll just have to buy it on my way home and take the loss.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You don't have to be sorry. You can't know until you know. This site is a great educational asset for newbies.
Hopefully that isn't the mill date. It is probably the date the label was designed.
Sometimes the date is on the guaranteed analysis tag but it can also be printed on the seal strip at either the top or bottom of the bag. It isn't always easy to find and the store manager should be able to find it for you. Some manufacturers will use the Julian date rather than the date format we normally see.
If they use the Julian date, it may be preceded by other numbers. The Julian date will be between 1 and 365. This time of year, somewhere between 1 and 50. If it is below 365, it is from last year.

 

[Agathas]

You don't have to be sorry. You can't know until you know. This site is a great educational asset for newbies.
Hopefully that isn't the mill date. It is probably the date the label was designed.
Sometimes the date is on the guaranteed analysis tag but it can also be printed on the seal strip at either the top or bottom of the bag. It isn't always easy to find and the store manager should be able to find it for you. Some manufacturers will use the Julian date rather than the date format we normally see.
If they use the Julian date, it may be preceded by other numbers. The Julian date will be between 1 and 365. This time of year, somewhere between 1 and 50. If it is below 365, it is from last year.

Here is what I think the date is stamped cause it's the only thing that is printed on bag. but you cannot make it out at all. Theres nothing else on this bag..

 

[Agathas]

It's a lost and I'm ok with that.. husband will be stopping on way home from work to get some starter.. guess we are gonna try to return it now least that's what my husband called and told me... the feed store was so full of people yesterday that I personally didn't wanna go back in there.. not with all this going on lately. They are shutting almost everything down in dallas at midnight tonite. Thank god my husband does the work that's not gonna be shutting down. Work may get slow tho. So we too will feel this..

 

[ChickenCanoe]

We aren't supposed to be out here except for essential activities. I have to assume feeding one's animals is an essential activity.
I'm not familiar with the feed you have but most feeds have feeding instructions on the back of the bag or on the guaranteed analysis tag. Sometimes, for the unenlightened, it is as simple of a matter as just reading the bag. The manufacturer knows what is in the bag and the birds it was intended to feed, hence the instructions.