mixing flock raiser and lay feed

[jk47]

I want to up the protein levels of my lay feed well mixing flock raiser into the lay feed work or well I just delute the lay feed to much

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Why not just feed flock raiser and offer oyster shell on the side? This is a much simpler solution to increasing protein without decreasing calcium.

 

[jk47]

that's what I am going to do now I going to feed 1 bag of flock raiser then go back to16% lay feed
I have some hens that are a little to skinny for my liking so im going to fatten them up a little bit then go back to lay feed
because high protein feed cost more

 

[RichnSteph]

that's what I am going to do now I going to feed 1 bag of flock raiser then go back to16% lay feed
I have some hens that are a little to skinny for my liking so im going to fatten them up a little bit then go back to lay feed
because high protein feed cost more

That's sort of what I'm doing. I feed a back of layer (16%) and then a bag of game bird grower (28%). Our birds are healthy and happy.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Ah, but as you have seen, sometimes paying a little more in the short term leads to better return on the investment in the long term. I pay $3 more per 50lb bag of Flock Raiser than I would pay for the cheapest 50 lb bag of layer ration offered at the local TSC. Switching feeds back and forth is likely to take more of a longterm toll on your flock in general than just picking one, or the the other, and sticking with it as the increased protein may give them a boost, but then going back down in feed quality will cause their body to lose the condition it has gained. Yo-yo dieting for chickens, if you will. Have you evaluated the flock for the other potential causes of the poor condition of your birds? All the feed changes in the world will do little to improve their condition if a heavy internal parasite load is in play, for example.

 

[jk47]

no, one was just broken of being broody so the hen lost some weight and I have already wormed them so im just getting their weight back to normal so by feeding a high protein would gain there weight back to normal then a16% lay feed to maintain their weight and nutrition I believe a laying hen needs