Pig feed instead of Laying Crumbles?

[yanmar1610d]

My local feed store owner told me to start feeding my layers Pig Feed instead of Laying Crumbles. He says the Pig feed has more protein than layer.

Does anyone on here feed their chickens Pig Feed?

 

[mickey328]

I would be leery of that. Pigs are omnivores as well, but their nutritional needs may be different. Most layer feed is between 16 and 20% protein and has other things the girls need to keep their laying going and have it not impact their overall health. There are a number of ways to increase their protein if needed that are quite inexpensive. You can give them meat scraps as long as it's cooked and cut into bit sized pieces...and not salted. I give mine cooked pinto beans (they must be cooked or they're toxic); they're high in fiber and protein and they love them. Yogurt and cheese are also excellent sources of protein. They don't get much cheese here because we love it and it can be pricey, so I make yogurt for them. It's really easy and easy on the pocketbook too. I use powdered skim milk, mix up a quart of it according to directions, heat it to about 110 degrees, stir in a tablespoon of active culture plain yogurt and then keep it at about 110 degrees for 2 to 12 hours (I do about 6 to 7 hours). When most of it's gone, I repeat the process using a tablespoon of the yogurt from the last batch.

You can also make cottage cheese for them using powdered skim milk...it's not tasty to my way of thinking but the birds love it!

 

[Fred's Hens]

Lots of folks do, but this needs to be said. It isn't designed for layers and how much can you really save?

Perhaps searching for a semi-local feed mill, a mill that grinds their own layer mash. Don' know what you were quoted for the hog feed, but I pay $19.00 for 100 of Layer. It is high quality. Hog feed compared to TSC type Layer feed prices? Sure, it may look cheaper.