Need help with a feeding question

[crystal new chicken mom]

So I have three hens that eat layer crumble about 8 weeks ago maybe 9 now we got 16 baby chicks all suppost to be hens or are they called pullets anyways well we think 2 of them are roosters. I read that roosters can’t have layer feed but I just opened a 50lb layer feed and don’t want it to go to waste so my question is in 8 weeks or so could I mix grower feed and layer feed together until the layer feed is gone and then get grower or and all flock feed after all my layer feed is gone or is this just rumors and roosters can eat the layer feed?? I want to in the future go to a feed mill place in my town but I will feel dumb because I don’t knew how that works do for now I get my feed from tractor supply haha

 

[DobieLover]

Neither the rooster nor the pullets should eat the layer feed that has excess calcium in it.
I would slowly get rid of the layer feed by mixing it 1 part layer to 2 parts Flock Raiser or All Flock until it's gone. Or ask one of your chicken owning friends to buy it off you.
If you haven't done so already, put out one or two containers of oyster shell for the active layers. I have one hanging next to their feed trough and one attached to the framing member of the door that leads out of the run into their pen so it's right in their face.

 

[crystal new chicken mom]

Neither the rooster nor the pullets should eat the layer feed that has excess calcium in it.
I would slowly get rid of the layer feed by mixing it 1 part layer to 2 parts Flock Raiser or All Flock until it's gone. Or ask one of your chicken owning friends to buy it off you.
If you haven't done so already, put out one or two containers of oyster shell for the active layers. I have one hanging next to their feed trough and one attached to the framing member of the door that leads out of the run into their pen so it's right in their face.

I know pullets can’t have layer feed until there like 15 or 16 weeks then you can start transitioning them to it. Can oyster shells get rain on them??

 

[DobieLover]

I know pullets can’t have layer feed until there like 15 or 16 weeks then you can start transitioning them to it. Can oyster shells get rain on them??

Oyster shell used to live in the ocean and never dissolved or molded. Yes. They can get rain on them. I wouldn't want them SITTING in water. That will definitely cause a problem. You would want them to dry out. I use this for a dispenser. There are eggshells in this one but I attached one of these to the run framing for OS too.

 

[crystal new chicken mom]

Oyster shell used to live in the ocean and never dissolved or molded. Yes. They can get rain on them. I wouldn't want them SITTING in water. That will definitely cause a problem. You would want them to dry out. I use this for a dispenser. There are eggshells in this one but I attached one of these to the run framing for OS too.

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I realize that I asked a stupid question after I posted it hahah oyster live in water goodness thanks for the idea!!

 

[NatJ]

So I have three hens that eat layer crumble... I just opened a 50lb layer feed and don’t want it to go to waste so my question is in 8 weeks or so could I mix grower feed and layer feed together until the layer feed is gone

In 8 weeks or so, with 3 hens eating the layer feed, that 50 pound bag will probably be almost gone.

A common estimate is that a laying hen will eat 1/4 pound of feed each day.
At that rate, your 3 laying hens would eat up all 50 pounds of layer feed in 67 days.
Not all hens eat exactly the same amount, but eating more is fairly common, and eating less is fairly rare.

about 8 weeks ago maybe 9 now we got 16 baby chicks all suppost to be hens or are they called pullets anyways well we think 2 of them are roosters. I read that roosters can’t have layer feed

Layer feed has more calcium than other chicken feeds.

Too much calcium is "bad" for any chicken, but bigger chickens tolerate it better than baby chicks. So adult roosters will have less trouble than baby chicks of either sex.

in 8 weeks or so could I mix grower feed and layer feed together until the layer feed is gone and then get grower or and all flock feed after all my layer feed is gone

So at that point the pullets and cockerels will be about 16-18 weeks old?

At that age, feeding them straight layer feed until the bag runs out should be fine, and then you can buy grower or all flock feed for the next bag. Mixing the last of the layer feed into the new feed would also be fine.

With 16 "chicks," when they are old enough to start laying eggs, they will probably eat 50 pounds of food in less than two weeks. That is short enough that cockerels should be fine.

or is this just rumors and roosters can eat the layer feed??

Layer feed will not make the roosters drop dead tomorrow or next week. But if they eat it for a long time (months or years) it can eventually damage their kidneys.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Oyster shells can ABSOLUTELY get rain on them. I actually offer mine in a plastic rain gutter!

Layer feed is cheap, and has extra calcium added to the mix. Whether its enough for your hens or too much or not enough is anyone's guess - the amounts are based on old studies involving commercial layer breeds under commercial management conditions. if you aren't raising commercial layers of quality similar to those used in the old studies, under commercial management conditions, those assumptions don't hold, and the studies' conclusions may be inapplicable to your situation.

@DobieLover says, not for roosters, not for hens either, before onset of lay (much more important than calendar date).

/edit @NatJ too - typing at the same time I was. Excellent advice. As usual.

For the typical backyard owner, of the typical backyard flock, under typical backyard management conditions, I recommend an "All Flock/Flock Raiser"-type* crumble feed for all of your birds, all of their lives, without regard to age, gender, molting status, or onset of lay. Plus free choice grit, oyster shell, and fresh clean water in seperate dishes, of course.

*For our purposes, "All Flock/Flock Layer-type means an 18-20% Protein feed, about 3.5% Fat +/-, 1.5% Calcium +/-, 3.5% Fiber +/- in that order of importance. We can really get into the weeds and talk about Methionine, Lysine, Phosphorus levels, but start with the big three - Protein, Fat, Calcium. Plenty of "Starter" or "Starter/Grower" feeds also fit this definition. The important things are the mill dates and the guaranteed nutritional label, NOT how Brand X chooses to label the bag.

Yes, you can mix 1:1. 2:1 All FLock to Layer is better - you are trying to reduce the calcium content. Calcium Toxicity is progressive, it builds with time, but it is particularly damaging on young birds, early in their development. Additionally, Layer is based on old studies for ADULT birds - the nutritional needs of hatchlings are much higher as they put themselves together - levels of Methionine and Lysine particularly that Layer feed just doesn't meet.

The example I've given recently draws from human history. A hatchling fed layer may look healthy among its fellows, it may even be healthy - but it will never live up to its potential after recieving a deficient diet early in life. In this respect, its like comparing a human male from North Korea with one from South Korea. Among their own populations, each appears normal and healthy - but put the North Korean male next to his South Korean counterpart and he is (on average) abotu 3" shorter and many pounds lighter - owing almost entirely to the improved diet of South Korea as the stepped from Third World towards First in the last half century or so.