Looking to change layer feeds - Opinions needs

[JasonTee]

Hello all,
I have 7 New Hampshire reds just under 2 years old. I have primarily used Dumor 16g layer crumble this whole time and it has seemingly been fine. Egg production seems to have slowed down dramatically in the last few months, more so now that the cooler weather is coming in. I mostly keep them in the coop and when time permits, I let them roam free in the backyard for a few hours. Unfortunately I don't let them out nearly as much as I used to. I don't know if that routine affects their attitude and the way they eat because sometimes they sound aggravated when I go to clean their water and I don't let them out. Back to the feed question, I wanted to experiment with different feeds and found several that looked good and all of them looked similar with some slight difference. I wanted to see which one is the better choice.

Nutrena NatureWise Harvest Blend Egg Layer Textured Feed
Nutrena NatureWise All Flock Pelleted Poultry Feed
Nutrena NatureWise 22% Protein Silkie & Ornamental Layer Poultry Feed
Nutrena NatureWise Meatbird Crumbled Chicken Feed

I like that these all have a higher amount of protein with almost the same amount of calcium than the Dumor feed. I only included the "meatbird" variety due to reviews. Many people seem to use it for their layers as well and have good results, although the calcium is on the lower end. My only concern with the pelleted feeds is that I tried the pelleted version of the Dumor feed a while back and they did not seem to care for it too much. Unfortunately I can't seem to find the "all flock" or "feather fixer" feed in the crumble form from TSC, so I was leaning more towards the silkie feed but I wanted to get all of your opinions before making any purchases.
Thanks

 

[nuthatched]

All nutrena feeds are good, I use the all flock and the harevest blend as scratch, but i wouldn't use the harvest blend as feed.
as for pellets, chickens don't like change.
Leave it there and they'll learn to like it.
Crumbles are wasteful with all the dust.

 

[BonnieBlue]

All nutrena feeds are good, I use the all flock and the harevest blend as scratch,

I also use Nutrena All Flock. I cannot find any complaints with it, and my girls don't seem to have any either.

 

[nuthatched]

I also use Nutrena All Flock. I cannot find any complaints with it, and my girls don't seem to have any either.

I think it smells nice.

 

[BonnieBlue]

I think it smells nice.

I never thought of that, but you are right.

 

[The Yardbird Life]

I'd like to tag onto this subject, specifically the Nutrena Harvest Blend. I'm currently feeding this after changing from All Flock because with all the grains, etc in Harvest Blend, it seemed to me to be better for my now 25-26 week old ladies. I just got my first 2 eggs yesterday, Thank you to my Pinky girl!

Anyway, they are exited about Harvest but I'm noticing there's tremendous waste! They won't touch the pelletized component of the feed nor the peas (I think) and maybe one other grain in there but their enthusiasm for the mix is high. The last load of All Flock pellets in a feeder are essentially untouched while the remnants of the Harvest are strewn about everywhere. I really like the idea of natural grains over the pellets but I'm not the one eating it. Any others here experience the waste with Harvest or are my ladies just too snooty? I gotta figure out something that they'll eat and not waste!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

When you switch from crumble to pellets, do it gradually. Chickens are skeptics, suspicious of anything new. Mix it 75/25 at first, heavy on the pellets. They'll grumble, but they'll eat it. Do that for a week. Then mix it 50/50. They'll grumble again but they'll eat it. The third week, go 25/75, mostly pellets. They won't say a word.
And finally give them straight pellets and they'll swear that's what you've always fed them. I said they are skeptics, not geniuses.

 

[Folly's place]

Mixed whole grain feeds are a problem. because birds will select the yummy stuff and leave other parts of the blend, as you've seen. They aren't getting a balance diet, very bad for them.
Either a crumble or pellets are fine, better to look at the nutritional profile and the mill date on each bag of feed, so you aren't buying old stuff. I like to feed within two or three months of the mill date, because some vitamins deteriorate over time.
Here we feed Purina Flock Raiser, 20% protein, and fresh where we shop, with oyster shell and grit in separate containers so birds can eat what they need of each.
Layer feed, with it's high calcium, is meant for birds actively laying eggs, and nobody else. Molting, winter slowdown, males, birds old and young, shouldn't have layer feed. And the 16% protein in minimal, designed for feeding leghorn type hens actively laying eggs and eating nothing else.
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

Depending on what's available fresh where you shop, Nutrena, Klambach, Purina, or maybe a local brand should all be fine, considering it's nutritional profile.
Mary

 

[Ahoragi]

We use Dumor layer crumbles. No issues to date. When it started getting cold we switched to a 50/50 mix of Dumor layer crumbles and Dumor Chick Starter as it has more protein. They still get the layer feed needed with a little more protein for the cold/feathers and we also blend up their egg shells and feed it back to them.

In the summer we were getting 13-16 eggs a day from sixteen birds. Now, in the middle of winter, we are getting 7-11 eggs a day. We don't expect them considering it's winter and they are supposed to stop but they provide them so it's a blessing. Our birds have 1/4 of a fenced acre to roam everyday and their run is covered in 90% clear plastic so they still get sunshine when they take shelter.

I have a buddy who has 16 birds as well, same aged as mine, and he placed them in the woods as they think it helps deter hawks. Feeds them Purina layer feed. His run is covered but not transparent. His birds pretty much stopped laying when winter came.

I would not change the feed but focus more on giving them freedom and sunshine (when it's there) and additional protein. I would also refrain from adding other ingredients to regular feed as they will go for that and make a waste of the feed. We once added sunflower seeds to the layer feed and they had a 4 ft radius of layer feed on the ground within a few days because they all wanted the sunflower seeds.


Not an expert but that's just my observation and experience to date.