Feeding The Roosters

[osusana]

Also, my "chicken whisperer" friend said that she keeps the layer food only inside the coop. The roo never goes in there, so he doesn't eat the layer food. Pretty simple.

 

[danceinchicken]

I choose to keep my rooster away from my hens because, I was told the hens can be come scruffy looking do to him hitting on them all the time. I have 3 hens and 1 rooster. And live in an urban setting where people visit my chickens and goats, and don't care to have my girls looking poorly. Some people may not understand, or think that my girls are not being cared for properly. Don't want to invite trouble (ya know) !! So then I also was asking what he should eat.??
P.S. He bunks with my 2 bucks and has his own in and out hut & perch attached to the shed, and his own run. he will only see the girls when its breeding time.

 

[osusana]

If you're THAT concerned about it, just feed Flock Raiser or something similar, and supplement calcium separately.



As for Layena, it says on the bag that it can be fed to laying and non-laying adults, both male and female chickens. Adult is defined by Purina as over 18 weeks of age.

 

[aquaponics3712]

..

 

[tamiep]

There is also the concern of the rooster getting excess calcium wich can cause damage to their organs. If your birds are free-range, there probably isn't as much of a concern since feed is more of a supplement, except during the winter months.

 

[Rachael<3Chickies]

Just for clarity of people reading this post in the future: I noticed a lot of people asking why you would want to seperate the roosters or how/why you would train them to eat separate. I think a lot of people missed the point. Calcium can be supplemented on the side, like oyster shell, the hens eat it up as needed, nonlaying pullets andbroosters seem uninterested. I would like to know whether grower or flock raiser would be most appropriate for a rooster/hen mixed flock. You don't have to seperate or train them to meet their nutritional needs. I personally care about my roosters' health and was interested in this post for that reason. Those who eat their young roosters would obviously be less interested in longevity, that's really obvious.

 

[robinwhiskers]

My cockerel eats the layer feed the pullets eat and he seems happy and healthy!

 

[Chickassan]

I feed the rooster the same as everyone else half flock crumbles half layer. I did make a real effort not to give him layer in the beginning but the goober seemed to seek it out, probably because it was forbidden food. The same goes for the shells, he isn't supposed to but he does. Hard to police the food when you've got a rooster like that. So far he's fat and happy, not a single egg out of him though.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

I feed Purina Flock Raiser to the whole flock. 20% protein, 1% calcium. That covers hens, roos, and chicks. Simple. I love my guys as much as my girls, so I don't want them having to deal with excess calcium that might shorten their lives. I'm just a softie.

 

[starryhen]

This is an old post but I will reply. My roosters get too fat eating with the hens and worrying about them is tiresome. My new rooster is young and likes to eat by himself in the garden (which has its own challenges). Since I make up about 1/2 of the hen's total diet myself and supplement with layer pellets, I have just been putting less calcium in the rooster's food but enough protein since he's still growing, and no layer pellets. Seems to work just fine. They are also free range.