Flock feeding

[misspinklady]

Hi!
I have a flock of four hens:
Lady - 4+ yrs old
Molly - 1.5 yrs
Connie - 6 months
Tilly - 6 months

Molly is the only one laying (she’s a very good layer) and at the moment I’m feeding them grower’s pellets and oyster shell. Next year when Connie and Tilly start laying i’d planned on moving them all onto layers pellets, but I don’t think Lady will lay again as she is quite old (don’t know her exact age). Will it be bad for her to be eating layers pellets?
Thanks

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I feed an All Flock with a separate bowl of oyster shells. Any birds that aren't laying shouldn't be eating layer. You can also keep them indefinitely on a non medicated grower.

 

[rjohns39]

You'll likely get a variety of answers to your question. There are a lot of variables in play, but if you want to play it safe, keep them on a grower. All layer feeds are not created equal, some have as little as 100 pounds of calcium/ton while others exceed 200/ton. Excess calcium can and will cause issues in birds, but how much damage, at what rate for a mature hen? I haven't found any studies that address it. So, in short it's a question of what are you most comfortable with. As long as the layers have free choice Oyster shell or other calcium available they will eat what they need. Just for reference, most growers will have 20-25 pounds per ton. Also good quality feeds will generally use a mix of limestone and oyster shell and/or Aragonite

 

[Folly's place]

I also like an all-flock feed for everyone, in part because it's higher protein and other nutrients than layer feed. Mary