Mixing Grower and Layer Feed Together?

[Frizzlett]

Hi there! Last week upon running out of chicken feed, my husband made a quick trip to the store and bought the only feed they had, layer feed. I only have 2 layers. The rest are still young and on grower. Anyway, I had no choice but to feed the layer feed to everyone until we were able to get more grower. But I was wondering if we could mix the two to make a blend of layer and grower that will work for everyone, as well as last longer and prevent the layer from sitting around going bad until everyone is at laying age in about 5-7 months. We’ve been feeding grower with free choice oyster shell and all has been well. I just want to know if it’s been done or if it’s a good/bad idea.

 

[Yardmom]

I have not had any problems due to chicks eating layer. The Problem would be a build up overtime, so I personally don't worry about chicks getting some layer feed here and there. One bag shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The tests that prove that growing chicks eating excess calcium is bad used feed that had the same calcium content as Layer. Those levels did not affect all of the chicks but it did some. More died outright and when they cut them others open to look at internal organs damage was evident in some of them.

If you mix Layer and Grower 50-50 you reduce the amount of calcium they are eating. One bite will not kill them anyway, the damage is accumulated over time. In my opinion if you mix the Layer with Grower and finish that bag you are highly unlikely to do any damage to them. I'd recommend doing that to avoid wasting feed.

This mix may not work for the two Layers. If they are getting more calcium from another source they may be OK but that mixed feed alone will not give them enough calcium for their eggshells. I'd suggest getting a bag of oyster shell and offering it free choice. The two that need it for their eggshells should eat enough and the others should not eat enough to harm themselves.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Like @Ridgerunner , I 've done the research. Calcium toxicity is a progressive disease. Mixing one bag isn't going to kill them. In all likelhood, if it hurts them at all, it will do so in ways that are clinically measurable but you will never observe. Slightly smaller birds. Less efficeint feed conversion. Earlier onset of gout-like symptoms. and the older the bird is when it starts getting extra calcium, the less damaging it becomes (to a point).

I would not concern myself over mixing the two bags as a one off. I would not make a regular habit of it with your hatchlings.

and FWIW, I do mix a 24% CP "grower" with a 16% CP "Layer" and feed it to all my adult birds, even though its "too much" calcium for my roos. Call it educated risk taking. I know the damage it causes - I can sometimes see the damage it causes when I bucher my own birds if they are male and old enough. But I keep few of my roos past five months, and none past two years. My hens can get to their third molt, but likely go to freezer camp at second - no evidence at all in them.

My hatchlings are on the "adult" mix generally between 8 and 12 weeks, though they are not yet adult - but most of their rapid growth is done, the effects are partially buffered by the way they have been fed up to that point...

TL;DR? Time scale is important. Age and Gender are important. Brief periods of excess calcium will have effects you will likely never notice. Go ahead, risk is low.

and if you want to get REALLY deep in the nutritional weeds? P (Phosphorous/Phosphorus) buffers Calcium - so if your feed has relatively high levels of P (0.6%, 0.7%) the effects will be less than if its an 0.5% P blend. Calcium DiPhosphate and DiCalcium Phosphate seem to be less damaging than Calcium Carbonate at identical rates of Ca inclusion...

 

[JPadronMiami]

Hello friends, hope you all find yourselves in good health, until I joined this forum recently I would regularly give my chickens an variety of greens such as kale, spinach, little alfalfa hay, cabbage, mustard greens, and collard greens, to make up for the loss of greens they would normally eat from foraging out in the open, I keep my hens in large runs mainly to protect them from aerial predators, cats and dogs. then i found out that greens such as spinach and kale will remove the calcium in their gut which can cause them to stop laying eggs, or reduce the egg count in that process, my question here is what type of greens is recommended for poultry raised in runs? i feel i am being remiss in supplying them the beneficial minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants they would normally receive in a free range environment.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Careful mixing feed if you are using any sort of gravity feeder or even treadle feeders. The hens might prefer the taste of one feed over another and start raking feed. We have a solution for our feeder but most treadle feeders do not . That said, it is better to not mix feed types to avoid raking and spillage.

 

[JPadronMiami]

thank you for your insight, i actually use a large rubber feeder pan like the ones you use for horses, they usually eat everything I put in there in terms of chicken feed, however, i stopped giving them greens when I received conflicting information about possible harm in giving them greens which went contrary to what I learned on my own about greens and fruits from my hens, id like to give them some greens but not at the risk of causing them harm. they "loved" their kale and spinach, big no no in giving them these i heard, do you give your poultry greens, fruits and such?

 

[PoppasGrill]

thank you for your insight, i actually use a large rubber feeder pan like the ones you use for horses, they usually eat everything I put in there in terms of chicken feed, however, i stopped giving them greens when I received conflicting information about possible harm in giving them greens which went contrary to what I learned on my own about greens and fruits from my hens, id like to give them some greens but not at the risk of causing them harm. they "loved" their kale and spinach, big no no in giving them these i heard, do you give your poultry greens, fruits and such?

Everything I’ve read shows that kale is not bad for chickens. Not sure where you got your information , but this is an article I read… https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/can-chickens-eat-kale-all-you-need-to-know.77103/

My chickens love most greens, they free range and eat a lot of stuff around the yard and garden, and usually make their own choice on what they want to eat .
Personally, we’ve not lost a chicken to anything we’ve fed them, it’s like they know what’s not good for them. Also , if we throw it out there and they don’t eat it that day we pick it up and figure it’s not for them.

 

[JPadronMiami]

good morning, i think im going to gradually add in the kale for them again, they also liked spinach, i took them off of spinach bcuz i read that it removes the calcium from their gut which affects egg production and shell thickness, shame, bcuz the protein count in spinach is good comparatively. My chooks are not free range, they are in large outside runs underneath a shady tree line of Lichee. lots of areal predators out here. if they'd free range Id lose them all in a matter of a few short weeks, Joe

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Spinach isn't really high protein. Its mostly water. CP under 3%, same with kale. and while there is some concern that high levels of oxalates present in all cruciferous veggies can affect calcium absorption, in theory...