Food Supplements for my girls

[birdgirl408]

My girls were quite poorly when I first got them. I have managed to build them up and they have really come on health wise and weight wise, their feathers are thick and shiny. I did feed them a 'nutritional supplement' bought from my local Country Store. They are fed on layers pellets which from memory is 16% protein, daily veg (cabbage, carrot, fresh sweetcorn, a little fruit and today I discovered they like cheese!!!), they also free range. It is winter here so not many bugs about at the moment. When I went the store today, the two sizes of supplement were £22.00 for organic 750g in weight and £34.00 for non organic 1.5Kg weight. I couldn't believe the price! Am wondering what supplements you use on the BYC forum. My girls are laying well at the moment, but I do feel they need a supplement to help keep up the strong shells and the lovely yellow yolks. I researched this:
http://www.chicken-house.co.uk/acatalog/Poultry_Spice_450g.html Has anyone used it and if not what do you use please? I also have, but haven't used yet Gro2max probiotic, any thoughts on this would be welcome. Thank you in advance.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

My girls were quite poorly when I first got them. I have managed to build them up and they have really come on health wise and weight wise, their feathers are thick and shiny. I did feed them a 'nutritional supplement' bought from my local Country Store. They are fed on layers pellets which from memory is 16% protein, daily veg (cabbage, carrot, fresh sweetcorn, a little fruit and today I discovered they like cheese!!!), they also free range. It is winter here so not many bugs about at the moment. When I went the store today, the two sizes of supplement were £22.00 for organic 750g in weight and £34.00 for non organic 1.5Kg weight. I couldn't believe the price! Am wondering what supplements you use on the BYC forum. My girls are laying well at the moment, but I do feel they need a supplement to help keep up the strong shells and the lovely yellow yolks. I researched this:
http://www.chicken-house.co.uk/acatalog/Poultry_Spice_450g.html Has anyone used it and if not what do you use please? I also have, but haven't used yet Gro2max probiotic, any thoughts on this would be welcome. Thank you in advance.

I don't use supplements - I provide a good base diet (I prefer my feed to be 20%+ protein, especially if I will be feeding lower protein treats (veggies, fruits, scratch, etc because it is easy to get below the optimal protein content when starting out with an already low end protein feed such as 16% layer) and calcium in the form of oyster shell. A good base diet will do more for egg quality and overall health than any number of supplements - those are just a good way to dispose of money.

 

[birdgirl408]

Thanks for your quick reply Ol Grey Mare, I haven't actually searched for 20% protein pellets, most of the layers pellets here in the U.K. as far as I know are 16%. I did notice some organic pellets (but didn't look at the protein content) but dismissed them as they were so expensive. It will be interesting to hear what other members think. I suppose I started using a supplement initially as the chickens were so poorly.

 

[RonP]

Higher protein feeds are sometimes called "All Flock" here, they are not layer pellets.

When used, additional calcium is usually offered free choice, the birds seem to know when they need it.

This is especially useful when you have a mixed aged flock, some laying, some still growing.

 

[birdgirl408]

Sorry for the late reply but thank you Ron.