Is this feed good quality and healthy for my birds?

[Skyla]

Hello,
I have been having problems with my chickens health lately and also in the egg laying department. I have been getting little eggs and the ones I do are thin shelled and wrinkly. I give them free choice oyster shells and grit and I make sure their feeder is always full. It made me wonder if perhaps it was the feed they were getting and it wasn't good quality or maybe it just wasn't what they needed. Below are the ingredients and rations of the feed. It is no-soy organic layer feed from a local mill. Please let me know your thoughts on the feed, it rations, and ingredients. I appreciate any feedback! Thank you!

 

[Perris]

looks OK to me, but how old is it? Can you find a 'best before' date on it?
Also, how long have they been laying this season? Is it late spring or autumn where you are?

 

[GC-Raptor]

I make sure their feeder is always full.

Do you clean the feeder?
I live in a humid continental climate, cool damp spring, and hot humid summers.
I feed Crumbles and it can get damp and eventually moldy in those conditions. I use hanging galvanized feeders and feed in the center doesn't flow out readily, so I let my chickens feeders get nearly empty monthly and wash and thoroughly dry.

How long does a bag of feed last you?
How and where do you store the feed?
In my climate feed stored outside should be used within a month.
I keep my feed, scratch and other stuff in a spare room in my house. , and even then, I still had feed go bad at 5 months from mill date. (Feed consumption dropped suddenly and egg production also dropped off).
So even feed stored in your house should be used before its 5 months old, IMO.

It made me wonder if perhaps it was the feed they were getting and it wasn't good quality or maybe it just wasn't what they needed.

Feed ingredients are interesting. Is the feed a Pellet, Crumble, Mash or Whole Grain?
I don't see the percentage of Lysine or Methionine in the analysis.
Methionine is listed in the ingredients though.
Otherwise the analysis looks good for egg layers. GC

 

[Skyla]

Do you clean the feeder?
I live in a humid continental climate, cool damp spring, and hot humid summers.
I feed Crumbles and it can get damp and eventually moldy in those conditions. I use hanging galvanized feeders and feed in the center doesn't flow out readily, so I let my chickens feeders get nearly empty monthly and wash and thoroughly dry.

How long does a bag of feed last you?
How and where do you store the feed?
In my climate feed stored outside should be used within a month.

Thanks for the reply! I do not clean the feeder regularly, something I will definitely start to do, however the feeder never appeared necessarily dirty and I havn't noticed any moldy feed. Do you use soap when you clean the feeder or just water? I also have a galvanized feeder and allow it to empty (almost, I still make sure they have a constant access to feed) before I fill it up again. A bag of feed last me about a month give or take currently. I store my feed in a metal garbage can in my garage. I do usually have a bag of feed on hand that I store to limit monthly runs to the feed stores but maybe that's not such a good idea and the food is going bad. The feed is a mash (i'm hoping to switch to a pellet to reduce waste and dust).

 

[Skyla]

looks OK to me, but how old is it? Can you find a 'best before' date on it?
Also, how long have they been laying this season? Is it late spring or autumn where you are?

I got the feed around a month ago. I checked the bag and couldn't find a best before date on it. It is late spring where I'm at and in early spring they were laying fantastic. I got an egg from every single bird nearly everyday for a month. Although the poor health of the birds has been going on longer and the sudden deaths happened in February and this month. Thank you for the reply!

 

[GC-Raptor]

Do you use soap when you clean the feeder

Yes, I use dish soap to clean the feeder.
When I first got chickens I cleaned a galvanized waterer with vinegar and the finish started to darken after awhile. Don't make that mistake.
I also use a splash of bleach to clean the waterer if it smells.

The feed is a mash (i'm hoping to switch to a pellet to reduce waste and dust).

Some chickens don't like Pellets!
I was able to switch to Pellets by mixing with Scratch Grains scattered on dry ground and I mixed Pellets into the Crumble feed 50/50.
If you don't give Scratch as a treat, don't start.

I haven't fed Pellets in a couple of years now.
I feed Crumbles. My chickens like it. . GC

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

How much for a bag of those? And how many pounds?

 

[Folly's place]

In the USA, feed will have a mill date somewhere on the package. It's the day the feed was milled, not a 'use by' date, as on human foods.
If the bag doesn't have a mill date on it, ask at the store, and if they can't show you the date on the bag, buy something else, or shop elsewhere.
I want to use chicken feed within two months of the mill date always, and store it in the original feed bags in metal garbage cans in the coop.
Other issues could be mites or lice on the birds, internal parasites, molting. or ???
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

I like to feed a 20% protein feed, but when you want specific ingredients, your choices will be more limited.
Mary

 

[Skyla]

Yes, I use dish soap to clean the feeder.
When I first got chickens I cleaned a galvanized waterer with vinegar and the finish started to darken after awhile. Don't make that mistake.
I also use a splash of bleach in water if the waterer smells.

Some chickens don't like Pellets!
I was able to switch to Pellets by mixing with Scratch Grains scattered on dry ground and I mixed Pellets into the Crumble feed 50/50.
If you don't give Scratch as a treat, don't start.

I haven't fed Pellets in a couple of years now.
I feed Crumbles. My chickens like it.. GC

Yeah I was told many chickens aren't a big fan of pellets, and knowing my chickens they'll probably make the whole neighborhood aware too. Worth trying anyway, i'll make sure to slowly mix it in and they'll be none the wiser. That is until their not lol. I used to give scratch as a treat but havn't for a few years now. If they end up never warming up to pellets crumbles will be better than the mash.