Have you had any problems with Bomgaars feed?

[beaks_and_bills]

My chickens eat a diet that mainly consists of Bomgaars 16% Layer Pellets. We've never had any nutrition-related issues, and our chickens are always happy and active, but I just want to make sure nobody's ever had problems with it, or if anyone has any better recommendations!

Thanks,
Riverside Flock!

 

[DarkAngel77]

I started my 1st set of chicks out on bomgaars feed, medicated chick starter. At the time they appeared to like it, but I switched them to nutrena starter/grower, and realized they wasted alot of the bomgaars feed. I don't have any experience with the layer feed, but figured I'd share my experience with their brand of chick feed.

 

[FrostRanger]

I'm unfamiliar with that feed but I've been liking kalmbach flock raiser. My girls aren't laying yet but as long as they don't have any issues with the kalmbach + oyster shells on the side I may not switch. When I had active layers I really liked nutrena naturewise 21% layer pellets. My egg shells were always nice and strong and the only reason I switched is 'cause I got chicks. The main issue I see with bomgaar's is it only has 16% protein. Myself and many others here like to shoot for anywhere between 18-22% protein. Birds are more likely to have issues with egg eating, feather picking and aggression if they don't get enough protein and while many birds get along OK with 16% there's also quite a few who don't. If you have roosters in the flock it's also not advisable to feed layer feed at all 'cause the excess calcium that layers need is bad for roosters and other birds not laying for whatever reason. Easiest and best solution is to feed an all flock or flock raiser and provide oyster shell on the side for any birds that need extra calcium

 

[beaks_and_bills]

I'm unfamiliar with that feed but I've been liking kalmbach flock raiser. My girls aren't laying yet but as long as they don't have any issues with the kalmbach + oyster shells on the side I may not switch. When I had active layers I really liked nutrena naturewise 21% layer pellets. My egg shells were always nice and strong and the only reason I switched is 'cause I got chicks. The main issue I see with bomgaar's is it only has 16% protein. Myself and many others here like to shoot for anywhere between 18-22% protein. Birds are more likely to have issues with egg eating, feather picking and aggression if they don't get enough protein and while many birds get along OK with 16% there's also quite a few who don't. If you have roosters in the flock it's also not advisable to feed layer feed at all 'cause the excess calcium that layers need is bad for roosters and other birds not laying for whatever reason. Easiest and best solution is to feed an all flock or flock raiser and provide oyster shell on the side for any birds that need extra calcium

I see, thank you! I'll do more research on chicken protein intake and make sure our flock is getting enough protein. It seems that a lot of people seem to recommend the Nutrena Layer Pellets as opposed to the Bomgaars feed, so I'll see if I can switch to that! We also do have one rooster, and I had absolutely no idea that layer feed isn't good for roosters! I'll definitely put it in my priorities to switch from layer feed to an All Flock/Flock Raiser, preferably Nutrena since it's recommended. We also haven't been including oyster shells in our flock's diet for awhile, so I'll also make it a priority to add those back in! Do you usually mix your oyster shells with their feed, or just put it on the side in a separate container? Also, will switching from a layer feed to a flock raiser (in a flock with laying hens) affect egg strength/egg production? As I said before, or flock consists of both hens and a rooster, and although all our hens are laying, I don't want our rooster to eat the layer feed. Sorry for all the questions!

 

[FrostRanger]

No need to apologize! You would serve the oyster shells on the side, the oyster shells are to make sure the layers have the calcium they need to make sure their eggshells are strong