Hens, wild birds, and food quality

[Ceto]

I feed kalmbach flock maker pellets if you're wanting a good feed recommendation, I will say though that nutrition is far more important than the brand and if you do feed chick starter, flock maker/raiser or all flock, you must provide crushed oyster shell on the side for calcium. The main benefits of feeding that way is all flock and starter feeds have more protein which is better for the birds and less calcium which is good if you have a flock with mixed laying statuses (such as if you have a rooster, very young or very old birds or hens off lay for whatever reason such as being broody, molting or it being winter). The ones that need more calcium can still get what they need from the crushed oyster shell and the ones that don't need more calcium will just ignore the oyster shell

This is great, thank you! I got all of my chicks at the end of April, and I only have 3 out of 4 chickens laying, and then I have a pair of guinea hens that I was told I'd never find their eggs- if they ARE hens. Not that I got them for eggs lol so I wasn't sure which way to go... I had switched to layer crumbles about a month ago, but with winter coming soon it sounds like I should switch back to the higher protein feed- probably not the chick starter, though? I'll have to see what other variations there are... And I'll ask about the oyster shell! I've seen where some people on here grind up the eggshells and feed THAT back to the chickens...

 

[NatJ]

I'll ask about the oyster shell! I've seen where some people on here grind up the eggshells and feed THAT back to the chickens...

You can feed eggshells back to the chickens, yes. But you will also need to provide another source of calcium for laying hens.

If you use an all-flock feed or chick starter, you should expect to provide a calcium source at all times. A dish of oyster shell is a common way to do this, and it means the hens can always get the calcium they need, as they need it.

 

[Perris]

I'm not going to feed black oil sunflower seed to my chickens because it's *not chicken food*. I don't feed the dog cat food, and I don't let the rabbit eat the dog food (and he tries). Also, I'm trying to keep them away from the bird feeders so they don't get avian flu. That was the initial point...
As far as trusting what I'm seeing in my chickens behavior? I'm seeing they're pretty persistent beggars. Worse than the dog, who is def not starving. And I would hope that food specifically formulated for chickens is not rubbish! They ARE eating it, they just go nuts for the birdseed- now that other people have described that as junk food, it makes more sense. They would also love to eat everything in my vegetable garden... and my roses, apparently, too... I'm not going to let them just run rampant and eat *everything*.

black oil sunflower seed (aka BOSS) is fed by lots of people to their chickens (don't take my word for it, read around on it). Chickens are birds so bird seed is chicken feed (that shouldn't need checking, but hey, do so if you need to). They won't eat everything in your veg patch (don't take my word for it, read around on that too). They'll eat fallen rose petals (so save you some tidying up work in the rose garden) but not the rest of the plant (in my experience; it may be harder to check that because most people who post online keep their chickens confined so they never get chance to find out).

 

[FrostRanger]

black oil sunflower seed (aka BOSS) is fed by lots of people to their chickens (don't take my word for it, read around on it). Chickens are birds so bird seed is chicken feed (that shouldn't need checking, but hey, do so if you need to). They won't eat everything in your veg patch (don't take my word for it, read around on that too). They'll eat fallen rose petals (so save you some tidying up work in the rose garden) but not the rest of the plant (in my experience; it may be harder to check that because most people who post online keep their chickens confined so they never get chance to find out).

Wild birds have different nutritional needs than domesticated chickens. Yes, they are all birds but different birds have different needs

 

[FrostRanger]

This is great, thank you! I got all of my chicks at the end of April, and I only have 3 out of 4 chickens laying, and then I have a pair of guinea hens that I was told I'd never find their eggs- if they ARE hens. Not that I got them for eggs lol so I wasn't sure which way to go... I had switched to layer crumbles about a month ago, but with winter coming soon it sounds like I should switch back to the higher protein feed- probably not the chick starter, though? I'll have to see what other variations there are... And I'll ask about the oyster shell! I've seen where some people on here grind up the eggshells and feed THAT back to the chickens...

You can feed starter if you want. Only thing is starter is generally only available in crumbles. You can certainly feed egg shells back if you want but you still need to provide crushed oyster shell on the side as giving them their eggshells back won't provide enough calcium on it's own

 

[Perris]

Wild birds have different nutritional needs than domesticated chickens. Yes, they are all birds but different birds have different needs

For the umpteenth time, I am not suggesting it as an exclusive feed, BOSS and nothing else. I am saying it can be fed as a component of a varied and diverse diet, rather than the homogenous ultra-processed synthetic-vitamin supplemented so-called 'complete feed' in pellet form.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

For the umpteenth time, I am not suggesting it as an exclusive feed, BOSS and nothing else. I am saying it e can be fed as a component of a varied and diverse diet, rather than the homogenous ultra-processed synthetic-vitamin supplemented so-called 'complete feed' in pellet form.

Agree, but few people have the patience and the availability of different grains, seeds, peas, etc. to provide a homemade complete and balanced chicken feed.

For instance, I could do this, but with many of the individual ingredients only available in 50# bags, I could never use them all up for my flock of five before hitting one or more expiration dates.

But OP, chickens do need a diet with sufficient protein and other nutrients that meet a chicken’s needs, not a cat’s or dog’s or human’s needs. That means going with a commercial feed with preferably higher protein than the Dumor, or learning how to create your own. If you want to do that, don’t go with the ones you find on the general internet; use one that’s based on actual testing.

Examples:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/wholesome-homemade-feed-2.79307/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/wholesome-homemade-feed-2.79307/

 

[Perris]

Agree, but few people have the patience and the availability of different grains, seeds, peas, etc. to provide a homemade complete and balanced chicken feed.

I get that. But it's not a reason not to give one's chickens some BOSS now and then, which was what I was suggesting. (I was not suggesting that the OP start making home made feed.)

For instance, I could do this, but with many of the individual ingredients only available in 50# bags, I could never use them all up for my flock of five before hitting one or more expiration dates.

If they are whole, they should be good for years (whatever the nominal expiry date on the bag). A seed is nature's answer to nutrient storage. The notion of a seed bank and people's/ governments'/ donors' willingness to invest in them rest on the expectation that seeds can preserve their nutrients over very long periods in the right conditions. Of course different species' seeds have different abilities in this regard. For some extreme examples, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldest_viable_seed

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I get that. But it's not a reason not to give one's chickens some BOSS now and then, which was what I was suggesting. (I was not suggesting that the OP start making home made feed.)

Right. I was trying to head off the “handful of this, handful of that” approach.