New Polish/Tophats flock owners

[DarliaC]

We are mom and dad to 6 Tophats and new to this as of the middle of May when they hatched from the hatchery and we brought them home on day 2.
They are not sexed of course so we are not sure what we have yet. They are now 10 weeks out and so hilarious, fun, entertaining and just plain fun
Looking forward to lots of good help and info on this website

 

[DarliaC]

How can you feed the layers feed to your flock when you don't know if they are hens or roos? I read it's not healthy to feed the layers feed to roos so....
I'm confused about this.
Thank you

 

[JedJackson]

Welcome to BYC! You don't feed layer feed until later. They should have grower feed until 16 weeks at the earliest.

 

[DarliaC]

I know
I plan to start it at 18 weeks. But my question is not that .. my question is about feeding it to the flock of 6 without knowing roo or hen..

 

[JedJackson]

I know
I plan to start it at 18 weeks. But my question is not that .. my question is about feeding it to the flock of 6 without knowing roo or hen

The problem with layer feed is that it has calcium added for layers who need to make eggshells, and the excess calcium is not good for roosters because they don't lay. Many of use all flock feed which doesn't have calcium. Instead, we provide crushed oyster shell in a side dish that hens can eat as needed. Roosters will usually ignore the oyster shell.

All flock needs to be at least 16% protein for layers, and it doesn't hurt to make that percentage higher, up to 21 to 22%.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello Darlia, and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

I've never fed layer feed to my flock in over 5 years and have always had roosters/cockerels. I just keep them on grower/broiler mash, Flock Raiser or whatever all flock type feed is available that offers 18-20% protein. I have two containers of oyster shell on the side for the active layers.
Hens don't need the extra calcium during the winter after they molt and before they start laying again in the spring either.

 

[007Sean]

Howdy, Darlia and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello Darlia and welcome to BYC!

You have been given great advice above. For a mixed flock I always feed an All Flock type feed that does not have high calcium levels. And offer oyster shell on the side in a small tub kept near the food or water for hens to access when needed.

Enjoy your flock, Tophats are a fun breed!

 

[Lovely Lettie]

Welcome to our awesome community! Nice to meet you

 

[Jenbirdee]

Hi there!! Welcome to BYC!