Purina Organic feed?

[rirluvr]

A man walks into a bar goes up to the bartender and says, "what do you recommend?" The bartender tells him, "A grasshopper." So the man orders that. On his way home he looks down and there is a grasshopper following him. The man bends down and says to the grasshopper, "do you know they named a drink after you?" The grasshopper looks up and says, "they named a drink Irving?"

Hope that gets you all thinking.

 

[DawnSuiter]

Layer pellets are layer pellets, so to speak, regardless if they are made with organic ingredients.

If your organic feed choice is NOT layer pellets, then that settles that, there is no way to compare apples & oranges. You can compare the ingredients, and make up for any losses that the organic feed doesn't offer you... usually more calcium, lysine etc.

Or if they ARE both layer feed, then they are probably basically the same, except one is made with "certified organic" ingredients... at least that is the hope.

 

[rirluvr]

my girls are going to be 4 months dec 5th they are rhode island reds and now I am wondering if I should be feeding them layer pellets yet?

 

[DawnSuiter]

Quote:
Read the bag

5 months is my "rule of thumb" for beginning the switch to a layer diet

 

[rirluvr]

Quote:
Read the bag

5 months is my "rule of thumb" for beginning the switch to a layer diet

super! thanks for the prompt answer.

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what really grinds my gears is when people use another person's post to get their questions answered.

 

[Reinbeau]

Five months is two weeks past the recommendation of 18 weeks - that's when I switched, I was told to switch then by posters here on BYC and by reading the bag.

 

[rirluvr]

Quote:
OMG I could have made a terrible mistake by waiting... that other guy told me his answer was "organic" and I believed him. Live and learn.

 

[rirluvr]

"every time it rains.... it rains pennies from heaven.... every cloud contains... pennies from heaven."

 

[DawnSuiter]

4.5 months or 18 weeks is a good guide or average age to begin needing this requirement.

But bags are labeled for averages & for laying breeds, but many of us do not HAVE laying breeds, we might have dual purpose breeds for instance... with different needs.

The point of layer feed is that certain nutrients are decreased and others increased from the growth feed. You want to feed this mixture at the right time for your birds, every bird is different. The Right Time is when they cease their growth phase, much like a teenager stops growing taller at an "average age" and they begin the production phase of their life cycle.

If you start the production phase nutrients during the growing phase, you could stunt their growth
If you start too late, you could cause problems with their production of eggs...

In time you will get to know your chickens, specially if you keep only one or two breeds and you will learn what works best for yours.

For me so far, combs begin turn red 4-5 weeks before the onset of lay, that is my signal to start thinking about egg requirements, including nest boxes etc.

When in doubt, follow the manufacturers recommendations for sure! That is always the best option.

 

[greathorse]

I apologize for being one of the folks taking this thread off course. Will not comment again to off track subject.

There should be no reason that a well formulated organic feed will have less nutritional value or ingredients that assist in laying than a non organic one. The difference is that the organic feed would not be allowed any form of antibiotic or Ionophore drugs and the grains themselves must be grown under specific protocal.