grower vs flock raiser?

[sydney13]

i was planning on feeding my hens flock raiser but the feed store thats close by doesn't sell it so i would have to drive to longer to get it. all that they sell is chick starter, grower and layer (i dont want to feed layer because my goose eats the same feed as my hens). right now my birds are 2 months old and they are on grower feed but when they are adults could i keep feeding them the grower or is flock raiser better. the grower has 14% protein which is the same as layer but the flock raiser has 20%. so what would be better for my hens flock raiser or grower?

 

[moetrout]

I thought the 20% protein feed was for meaties, but not 100% sure of that.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

the feed store thats close by doesn't sell it

Can't they order it for you?

I feed all my birds Flock Raiser instead of Layer pellets, and they seem to do better with the higher protein​

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
Yeah, it's designed to put weight on the birds. Once your hens start to lay you should go to layer feed as it will provide the nutrients they'll need for egg production. The goose will get along fine on it.

 

[chickenlady08]

sydney13. I feed my 16 month old chickens the grower/finisher food and I also give them the flock raiser. I mix it 50/50. I did used to give them when they were 17 weeks the laying food but I was getting to to many eggs and I didn't want to force them to lay anymore eggs than the amount they were giving me so I switched them a year ago. I give them the oyster shell and they free range all day and I give them a bag of kale every morning. I dont plan on switiching them over to the layer food because of my geese either. So I don't see anything wrong with giving them the grower food along with the flock raiser. I also have older hens that are 2 and 3 years and could possibly have some older so they seem to be ok with it as well. That way when I put my younger ones out with them they can all eat the same food to.

 

[NevadaRon]

My chicks have been on flock raiser since they finished off the first 5lb. bag of chick starter. The reason being, around here (N. Nevada) you can't get unmedicated starter/grower in anything larger than a 5lb. bag (CA law requires commercial producers to use medicated feed and that's where all of our feed comes from

) and I didn't want to feed my birds any antibiotics. I plan to switch them to layer at the appropriate time.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Layer feed is NOT made to make your chickens lay more eggs. It's meant to give them enough calcium & protein to lay the eggs they are meant to lay. In fact feeding higher protein like broiler or flock raiser could even make them lay more eggs, but it is lacking the calcium they need to make & lay their eggs. Any of the grower feeds are Ok for chickens if they have additional calcium, but it is not going to make them lay less eggs.