Feeding pullets.

[chickenenthusiasts5698]

March 9th I bought a batch of chicks at TSC (I think there were about 40 of them) I have a remaining 25 (sold all the bantams and roosters) My remaining pullets will be 6 months old Sept 9th and due to them quickly outgrowing their pen i’ve had to add them to my adult flock (all is well) But I was still feeding my pullets Flock Raiser at least 6 of them are laying so far can I swap them to layer feed? My older girls eat most of the flock raiser before my pullets can and the older girls quit eating their laying feed because of it. Do swap them all to layer or keep attempting to feed separately? Pic of some of my pullets included. They all free range if possible in the evenings.

 

[sourland]

Why not feed flock raiser and supply oyster shell on the side ?

 

[chickenenthusiasts5698]

Why not feed flock raiser and supply oyster shell on the side ?

A couple reasons. My hens absolutely turn their beaks up at OS and it’s a bit out of my budget for how much I have to buy ( I go through about 500 pounds of feed a week)

 

[ChickNanny13]

Is the Layer pellets or crumbles? Is the FR you're using pellets or crumbles?

The hens will eat OS as they need, I feed FR w/OS & grit in separate dishes. Some days I don't need to replenish, other days I do. I have never had an issue with laying nor egg shells. Chickens don't like change, it may take them a few days to accept the change. FR comes in pellet & crumble form.

 

[chickenenthusiasts5698]

Is the Layer pellets or crumbles? Is the FR you're using pellets or crumbles?

The hens will eat OS as they need, I feed FR w/OS & grit in separate dishes. Some days I don't need to replenish, other days I do. I have never had an issue with laying nor egg shells. Chickens don't like change, it may take them a few days to accept the change. FR comes in pellet & crumble form.

I’ve had the same bowl of OS in my run for like 6 months without a dent in it lol. The layer is pellets and the Flock raiser is crumble.

 

[FeatheredFriends&Horses2]

I would say definitely switch them to laying feed. They are old enough now that they don't need the 18% protein they needed to grow. If you're worried about calcium, most layer feeds contain enough of it, but a cheap supplement that chickens will willing eat is to take egg shells from eggs you've used, crush them up, then bake them and offer free choice.

 

[NatJ]

a cheap supplement that chickens will willing eat is to take egg shells from eggs you've used, crush them up, then bake them and offer free choice.

Easier and cheaper yet: skip the baking. Just squish the shells and offer them to the chickens.
But for 25 pullets plus the adult hens, it would take a lot of eggshells to make much difference--more than most families use.

 

[FeatheredFriends&Horses2]

Easier and cheaper yet: skip the baking. Just squish the shells and offer them to the chickens.
But for 25 pullets plus the adult hens, it would take a lot of eggshells to make much difference--more than most families use.

I totally agree that the eggshells wouldn't make a huge difference if there was a large calcium deficiency. My thought was just since quality laying feed already should contain enough calcium already, IF there's any deficiencies it should only be a small amount. Since eggshells contain roughly 2 grams of calcium and one hen needs roughly 4 grams, the eggshells used in an average week should help supplement any deficiencies as they should be very minor. If they aren't, a new feed may need to be looked into.
Good idea on the not baking the shells! When I started doing it, I did it just because someone said that it could help keep the chickens from egg pecking which I'd had an issue with for several weeks before I offered egg shells. They said it would help make the shells unrecognizable. Honestly though, I seriously doubt my chickens would have made the connection between crushed egg shells and a whole egg. Oh well, live and learn.

 

[ChickNanny13]

I’ve had the same bowl of OS in my run for like 6 months without a dent in it lol. The layer is pellets and the Flock raiser is crumble.

The difference pellets to crumbles is the difference they are "rejecting".