Question concerning feed mix for laying flock

[cmom]

I buy bales of alfalfa and give that to my birds. They will scratch in it and eat it.

 

[luvmygirlsinAK]

Alfalfa is very high in protein and nutrients. I give my girls alfalfa pellets, amidst many other things, along with their layer pellets.

 

[ChickenNoodle]

My hens are a year old now and i've just fed them cracked corn, table scraps, a little scratch and they free range in the yard a few hours 3-4 days a week. The only problem so far was a little pecking over the winter until we started scrambling eggs for them. They lay consistently and their egg yolks are a deep orange and tasty.

I'm interested in the alfalfa bales and/or pellets. Is one better than the other? Can I get this at the feed or animal supply store? Is there a cost difference? I'm thinking it might be easier to mix the pellets with the corn and serve that way. Thoughts??

 

[luvmygirlsinAK]

Quote:
The only word of caution I would mention about bales of afalfa is that some have reported problems with their chickens getting impacted crop from using the bales. Obviously though, some do use it and are very pleased with it. I pay $16.00 for a 50 lb. bag of the alfalfa pellets from azurestandard.com. I mix them with other goodies that I give them in with their layer pellets. Things such as dried coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, etc. This is not their main diet, the layer feed is. I also give them cooked meat, or scrambled quail eggs about every other day. This does seem to help with pecking, and egg laying, in fact it is very effective for these issues.