Feeding seed+pelleted feed vs just pellets

[Phisch]

So, right now, our birds are fed with a mixture of seed and pellets. In another group I'm in, one person said that the seed should just be a once-a-week treat rather than daily. Is that true? Have we been over-spoiling our birds?

This is the stuff we give them: Old Fashioned Layer

 

[Folly's place]

If your birds are all hens laying eggs, a layer feed should be fine. BUT layer feeds are generally meant to be fed as the sole diet, with nothing added, and were formulated for leghorn type birds in confinement, not larger dual purpose birds, and only for those laying hens.
Adding grain decreases the already 'barely enough' protein blend in the layer feed, and messes up the vitamin/ mineral balance of the diet too.
So, grains are a treat, table foods are treats, free ranging is extra, etc.
Birds not actively laying eggs also get too much Calcium when they eat a layer type diet.
Mary

 

[rosemarythyme]

Are you adding seeds to the feed you have linked, or is that Old Fashioned Layer the sole feed? If the seeds/grains are in the feed itself, they're meant to be eaten as part of that feed, and aren't there as a treat.

If you're adding extra seeds/grains (i.e. scratch) then yes too much of it can throw off their nutritional intake.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Feeding mixed feed leads to hens raking through the feed and wasting feed anyway. Take the previous poster's advice on nutrition and don't free choice feed treats. Now something with higher protein is a bit different as hens have difficulty getting enough protein to lay one egg per day. Still, a commercial laying ration is balanced six ways to Sunday and is the best option.