How do you feed your Rooster(s)?

[thepick4uchicks]

I want to thank Eggsighted, Mary, JacinLarkwell and all the rest of you experienced chicken keepers who have given of your time and lots of important information to us in this thread. It is so helpful to me and I know Jackie and others also will read it as well and take many notes probably mentally, via phone cameras, and on papers old school. I know I will do both. That way I cover all my OCD bases.

All I wanted to add as far on my personal comments to Eggsighted and Jackie was that I have also been using the Scratch and Peck Organic Starter Grower crumble also which I ordered from Amazon before my chicks arrived. They love it and it smells good. They don’t like another kind I won’t say what it was on here so that I won’t tick anyone off. I had to mix it in in small amounts to use it up because I was not going to waste it or thrown it away. I am getting ready to transition them to finisher I thought and I wanted to have them eat pellets in a Grandpa’s feeder when they were fully mature so it would be less waste all around. I was thinking it would be easier for me to manage and prevent rodents, wild bird problems etc- but they can’t get into their run. I am disabled and need all the shortcuts I can take and filling the feeder one time a week or so will be a big help to me and not having to move it around to prevent bugs and all either will probably work easier if I use a pellets style that shakes down with less powder and is not crushed up so easy. What do you think?

I am going to be using Nutrena brand layer feed and giving them oyster shell on the side. I can find Nutrena here locally easier on a regular basis at a distributor that has the local monopoly on that in our closest city. TSC there only sells black label Or no label Purina and other off brand names. The local feed stores have their paper bag brand of feed that some people call mash but I don’t trust it. I like to know what I putting into my body, my dogs bodies, and my chicks bodies. I’m just that way. I’m not an experienced chicken owner but I’m not dumb.

Thank you all again for so much information and time! I wish you the very best with your flocks and their health and outcomes.
Pam

 

[Folly's place]

Chickens do hate change, so any food change goes better if the new feed is mixed with the old gradually, so not an abrupt change. Start adding the new stuff at the top of the feeder, mix it in a bit, and as it goes lower, add more of the new feed.
I'm all about making things as easy as possible!
If we didn't have bantams, the rodent proof feeder would be a good idea. With small birds, it won't work for us.
Mary

 

[Flockincrazy]

mine all get the same feed they get chick starter till its time to switch i make there food but in your case when its time to switch go to an all flock

 

[Sonya9]

I currently have 6 males and 7 females of various ages. All get game bird feed including chicks. It is about 30% protein so has more than most all starter feeds.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I currently have 6 males and 7 females of various ages. All get game bird feed including chicks. It is about 30% protein so has more than most all starter feeds.

I had that thought before and I've used 30% turkey starter, usually smell like extra soy... excess protein gets excreted as extra smelly expensive waste. Chickens don't have the same intense nutritional needs that turkeys and game birds do early in life.

In addition excess protein fed long term could be JUST as harmful as excess calcium.. POSSIBLY leading to yet another type of gout and yes kidney failure.

The ONE key factor none of us know is genetics... genetically predisposed birds will suffer sooner. Those that are not genetically weak on those areas MAY be able to compensate.

More than that high protein diets were also shown to reduce hatch-ability and male breeder fertility..
https://www.poultryworld.net/Breeders/General/2012/3/The-golden-secrets-of-male-fertility-WP010083W/

https://www.researchgate.net/public...he_Embryo_and_Time_of_Death_During_Incubation

Energy comes from only 3 sources.. protein, fat, and carbohydrates including fiber. ALL serve vital purposes.

One thing I forgot to mention previously and noticed in the OP's feed ingredients is animal protein.. Chickens require some amino acids that can only be derived from animal sources. Many feeds are vegetarian and therefore have these added in synthetically. Point being not all protein is created equal.

 

[Chickdeb7]

Hello there! I’ve been doing some research online and have read some conflicting rules on what to feed and not to feed roosters. I figured I’d be able to seek some advice from all of you flock veterans out there!

I have 11 pullets, 7 of them are 14 weeks old, and 4 are 9 weeks old, in addition to a cockerel at 9 weeks old.

Currently they are all on Grower feed, and I was wondering how you feed your roosters with hens since Layer Feed has so much calcium in it?

I’ve read that some people stay on Grower feed for the rest of time and provide oyster shells in a separate dish, and some say roosters are okay with eating layer feed.

What are your thoughts? Any advice would help! Thanks in advance!

I read a post yesterday where a rooster had a problem from too much calcium. It can damage the kidneys. I’m going to provide separate food for the roosters. And I’m going to put out oyster shell so they can eat it if they want.

 

[Jackiebjackie]

My information says they 28% fat in the adult form at their lowest. They are fine as a treat but overall low in nutrients.. even when gut loaded before feeding..
mealworms

I also had a ton of fun raising live meal worms/darkling beetles. My birds love them much more than dry. The things chickens have talked me into doing, like keeping roach looking things in my dining room!

That feed looks like it will serve your flock fine unless you add chicks since it says two weeks old. In that case you would switch everyone to a "starter" feed with the oyster shell still on the side.

Only the bag I'm actively feeding is stored in a metal can insider it's original bag.. and temperature fluctuations from sun shining under the covered patio/run at times cause heavy condensation/degradation. Bags being stored longer are inside my house where the rodents (guinea pigs) are caged invited guest. But I'm working on converting an old deep freeze into hopefully rodent proof feed storage within my pole barn eventually. But it also hard not to turn it into a cabinet incubator since it's upright.


Your feeding someone else it seems, or wasting a whole lot, according to my math! 9 birds should NOT be eating 50# of feed per week, especially including bantams. 50# should be lasting you a whole month! I went through 50# a week when feeding my flock of 72.. mostly large fowl, including ducks, grow outs, and bantams. Average consumption should not be more 0.25#/bird/day max. My usual usage including free range averages 0.18- 0.20 #, year round in moderate temperatures.

EDIT- I see someone touched on this already as I was typing.


I feel it varies by breed and according to your goal. All my technical information indicates people are fear mongers of protein deficiency blaming it for feather picking and other undesirable flock behaviors while feathers despite being made from 90% protein AND it's amino acids are only about 2% digestible in raw form.

Veterinary manual are considered trusted resources by me. I'll share the links I have.. Note the tables on the side of the page..
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poul...t-poultry/nutritional-requirements-of-poultry

This link has a typo in Table 2 that say 5 to 17% and should say 15 to 17%... Written by a DVM..
https://ucanr.edu/sites/poultry/files/186894.pdf

https://extension2.missouri.edu/g8352

https://www.nap.edu/read/2114/chapter/1#iii

If I get lost before the end of the thread.. please tag me and share YOUR final thoughts on all you've discovered. The learning adventures never end!

ETA: the meal worm link I overlooked is now in place above.

Hello @EggSighted4Life!

Sorry it took me so long to respond! We’re in the process of fencing our backyard and starting on the chicken coop shortly after. It’s been quite the joy digging through rocks with an auger from Home Depot...

I’ve been reading through the links you’ve sent, and especially on link 2 with the tables of nutrition I found extremely helpful and interesting. According to the study, I find that my chick starter has more similar nutritional value than the grower feed that I am currently giving to my flock. I’ve also did a comparison on your Flock Raiser with my chick starter, and the ratios are comparable. Chick starter is undoubtedly more expensive, but at the same time if they are consistently getting better nutrition, I don’t see why I would compromise the few dollars to gain more in the long run.

As I was searching through nutrition I also stumbled on articles of how the environment in which the chickens are raised can produce more nutritious eggs and may even taste better due to vitamin d intake in free range environments.

I am still in the process of reading the poultry requirements book, and it is extremely helpful in the studies of why chickens need their energy and how it is digested and used. When I was doing research earlier in chicken feed, I was going through all the forums here and investigating on the controversy of feeding chicken soy and corn; and decided to opt out of both. Perhaps corn will be something I will consider in the upcoming months when the girls need an extra layer to help them through winter, but otherwise I see no nutritional value in it.

Do you think there are any down sides of keeping my girls on a starter feed for life?

What are your thoughts about feeding your flock corn? Soy?

And thank you SO much for providing me so much information! If you don’t mind I will continue to reach out and keep you posted on my findings as I‘m absorbing all the info!

Also, if you have any advice on chicken coops, tips and tricks that you can share through trial and error, PLEASE DO!

-Jackie

 

[Jackiebjackie]

I read a post yesterday where a rooster had a problem from too much calcium. It can damage the kidneys. I’m going to provide separate food for the roosters. And I’m going to put out oyster shell so they can eat it if they want.

Hi there! I’ve read some similar articles, and that’s when I decided to make a post to ask all the flock veterans here, and I’m so glad I did because there’s so much information that one can’t exactly google and find the answer to. I’m on the same boat of providing less calcium, more amino acid and protein feeds and having oyster shells on the side for the girls.

 

[NatJ]

Do you think there are any down sides of keeping my girls on a starter feed for life?

I'm not the one you're asking, but the downsides I see:
--slightly higher financial cost
--only comes in crumbles, which some chickens waste more than pelleted feeds

Neither of those hurts the chickens. Whether they are a problem for the person seems to depend on the person involved

(I am assuming you will be offering oyster shell as well, so the hens can get enough calcium.)

 

[Double Yolked]

Hello there! I’ve been doing some research online and have read some conflicting rules on what to feed and not to feed roosters. I figured I’d be able to seek some advice from all of you flock veterans out there!

I have 11 pullets, 7 of them are 14 weeks old, and 4 are 9 weeks old, in addition to a cockerel at 9 weeks old.

Currently they are all on Grower feed, and I was wondering how you feed your roosters with hens since Layer Feed has so much calcium in it?

I’ve read that some people stay on Grower feed for the rest of time and provide oyster shells in a separate dish, and some say roosters are okay with eating layer feed.

What are your thoughts? Any advice would help! Thanks in advance!

I have never done anything special regarding feeding my occasional roosters. I allow them to eat with the hens and so far, I have never had a trace of health problems. Keep in mind however that as soon as a rooster gets aggressive in my flock he goes to freezer camp since I don't consider a rooster as an absolutely necessary part of my flock. So the oldest rooster I've ever had was 3 years old before he tackled my left leg for no apparent reason and left a 2-inch gash that needed stitches. He'd been pretty mellow before that. In his case, since he was older, I offered him to a friend with a flock who wanted an aggressive bird to fend off some smaller neighborhood dogs. She said worked out well.