Keeping Chickens Free Range

[QueenBubbles]

No Roos, amazingly enough. My Light Brahma got red wattles early on and we thought she was a cockerel for quite awhile. She just went thru a heavy Juvie molt and no roo feathering. Yay! I can't have Roos, but I'm glad I was waiting for the crow before processing! And there would have been no way to keep "him" out of the layer food - top chicken and always eating. :-D

 

[K Epp]

You said the littles like you have two different ages. How old is the youngest? Do they still need grower?

 

[Tikkijane]

I started all of mine on layer feed at 16 weeks.  That's what the recommendation on the bag was.  I had one lay around that time and the rest took a couple of weeks.  I have found about 4-5 shell-less eggs total and I have 10 layers.  They are all hatchery chicks as well and are about 27 weeks old.  The first laid at 15 weeks.  I do throw some oyster shell to them occasionally as well.  They seem to really love that!  

Personally, I'd use up what they are currently eating and put them all on the layer to get them prepared.  

POL = 20 weeks. Only start layer AFTER they are laying. The higher calcium can cause kidney damage.

 

[RoosterLew]

Quote:
If you "throw" oyster shell to them and they really gobble it up, they could be calcium deficient. Of course they could also just think its a treat, lol. Some chickens will gobble up whatever hits the ground! Oyster shell should always be out for layers, they know how to control their own levels.

One common misconception about calcium is that you can judge a hens need for it by eggshell. This is not true, though thin eggshells MAY mean the bird is calcium deficient, by the time it shows in the egg shell she is very low. Egg shell formation is not the only thing birds need calcium for!
Another one is that layer mix is bad for Roosters do tue high calcium content, while it may not be the optimal dietary mix to actually impact the roosters health the calcium levels would have to be much higher over long periods of time. Studies showing the negative effects have been a bit taken out of proportion. There have also been studies showing that Roosters fed high calcium diets are more fertile....

One thing to remember about "studies", often the reports are based on "Optimal" nutrition and they fail to differentiate between "optimal", "adequate" and "harmful". Sometimes studies "conclude" with something to the effect of : "This research would appear to suggest that calcium levels above x.xx% could cause damage to the internal organs of male fowl"...or some other vague supposition. By the time it makes it to the general populous this has changed into "Layer feed kills roosters" .

As for when to start Layer feed...I start when I run out of chick starter, LOL

 

[K Epp]

Just last month I did a big research to find the best food for my flock that contains hens, chicks and roosters of both LF and bantam size. Every possible food I found had some negative side effect be it kidney damage, gout, to much protein, to much calcium. I have about 100 birds and can not afford the $25 bag of food that was suggested for that many chickens. Over the summer I was feeding the free ranging flock a little bit of three grain scratch. The cooped birds were getting scratch and game bird starter. Now that the days are getting shorter and having a fox having breakfast every morning I stopped turning the LF flock out in the am. Now I wait until I get home in the afternoons to turn them out. I started mixing 22% layer pellets with the scratch 50/50. If the coop has chicks in it I throw in some starter its all mixed up together. I figure they can get what they want.

 

[ChickyChickens]

Do you have roos? I had kept food separate for my roos but they would still sneak and eat the layers food. I'm not sure how to stop them. I rehomed my roos to a farm in the family because I just didn't have the right ones for my flock. Maybe someday I will try again. BYC is the best! I come here daily whether I need to or not! Lol!

Jip... I also do that!

 

[JessicaThistle]

POL = 20 weeks. Only start layer AFTER they are laying. The higher calcium can cause kidney damage.

I had a hen laying already at 16 weeks when I switched to layer. Besides, I ran out of chick starter and decided I would rather just put them all on layer because I didn't really want to buy a whole other bag of chick starter. They are all doing wonderfully. I would be willing to bet that many people have switched to layer at 16 weeks per the feed bag's recommendation before their hens have actually started laying and they are just fine as well.

I suppose "throw" some oyster shell to them was a poor way to describe that I actually put it in a dish in their coop occasionally. I apologize for that. I use a silver platter for their kitchen scraps and had thrown a handful on their platter a couple of times before I got a proper dish to use. I'm sure they thought it was treats those times.

 

[RoosterLew]

Quote:
A silver platter..LOL!! That is funny!

Do you put some Grey Poupon with their finely served scraps?? LOL

 

[JessicaThistle]

A silver platter..LOL!! That is funny!

Do you put some Grey Poupon with their finely served scraps?? LOL

Why yes. Yes, I do. LOL!

We laugh about the silver platter too. It's not actually silver. Just silver colored, in my defense. I really like my chickens you know.

 

[Tikkijane]

I had a hen laying already at 16 weeks when I switched to layer. Besides, I ran out of chick starter and decided I would rather just put them all on layer because I didn't really want to buy a whole other bag of chick starter. They are all doing wonderfully. I would be willing to bet that many people have switched to layer at 16 weeks per the feed bag's recommendation before their hens have actually started laying and they are just fine as well.

I suppose "throw" some oyster shell to them was a poor way to describe that I actually put it in a dish in their coop occasionally. I apologize for that. I use a silver platter for their kitchen scraps and had thrown a handful on their platter a couple of times before I got a proper dish to use. I'm sure they thought it was treats those times.

Depends on what feed is being used. Purina Start-n-Grow goes right to 20 weeks ("Feed Purina

Start & Grow

SunFresh

Recipe free-choice from hatch until laying age (18-20 weeks)"). Purina All Flock= to 18-20 weeks. Some feed brands don't have ages and just say "mature or laying age;" some will say "Provide feed free choice to birds over 18 weeks old." My local feed mill products don't have any ages on them, except for the layer, which says over 17 weeks. Point being, folks should research and learn when and how to feed for the ages and know what are complete feeds and what are treats (like scratch, for example); what are supplements, etc.

I like to have my oyster shell in a feeder, available all the time, as well as grit, even though they are eating the driveway and prolly don't really need it. It gives me peace of mind, lol.