Question on feed ...

[FrancieM]

I was really concerned about the medicated feed being out & my laying hens getting that. I feed my girls lots of veggie scraps & they love watermelon. I don't think asking a question or two is too far out though. I really thought this forum was to bounce around questions without being laughed at or made fun of. Oh well...to each his own. Hope everyone has a safe & enjoyable Labor Day.

 

[WYNot]

I was really concerned about the medicated feed being out & my laying hens getting that. I feed my girls lots of veggie scraps & they love watermelon. I don't think asking a question or two is too far out though. I really thought this forum was to bounce around questions without being laughed at or made fun of. Oh well...to each his own. Hope everyone has a safe & enjoyable Labor Day.

My chuckles were not aimed at you. No one was laughing at or making fun of anyone. Concerns over medicated feed with layers is a legitimate one. One thankfully I don't have to deal with as all my chickens are currently the same age and we are lucky enough to have a second, smaller coop/enclosure that can be used with new birds as well as for quarantine.

My chuckles were simply a lighthearted view of the "great debates" over which feed is best and when should I switch to this or that type of feed. These debates sometimes remind one of the age old Chevy vs. Ford debates. In the end, the right answer is the one that works for you and keeps your birds healthy and happy. For some people that is production feed from the local farm store. For others, it is home grown grains and/or worms. For still others, it is a combination of other products.

 

[FrancieM]

With those of us that are "newbies" there are questions that I personally have that I appreciate help from those of you that have experience. It's kinda like holding up your hand in first grade to ask a question & someone laughing. Maybe I'm a little sensitive...sorry...didn't mean to sound like a brat!!!

It's all good & again thanks for the help.

 

[WYNot]

With chickens, I am in the same boat of being a newbie of sorts. But, I grew up raising, processing, and eating beef cattle so there are some similarities or at least starting points that simply differ in size. Sometimes I also forget the newness of raising critters because of my tendencies towards sarcasm. Glad to see you back, as I said I honestly meant no offense.

Some of my concerns and worries were blunted a bit from my past experience with cattle and other farm animals. We had the same issue of the bag of chick food getting used up a couple of weeks before the chicks were "officially" supposed to switch to grower food and the grower food running out a few weeks before they were supposed to start on the layer food. Past experience and economics let me just roll with the flow and move to the next food early. They are animals after all and not chemistry experiments. They adapt and generally thrive despite our best efforts rather than because of them.

Our chickens have pellet food offered in the feeder but MUCH prefer to free range our yard and woods and occasionally the corn field across the street. They tend to only eat the pellet stuff in the mornings when they are waiting to be let out of their coop. The last bag (that we just finished) was Layena. The current bag is the Rural King store brand pellets as that is where I happened to be when I was out shopping. I went with pellets over crumbles because for me it seems that they waste less and also the crumble seemed to be more powder and dust than crumble. They get a solo cup of TSC store brand scratch grains every morning when I let them out and then they roam most of the day in search of the biggest, juiciest, tastiest bugs and greens they can find. In the evenings they come running when they see my wife because they know she's a sucker and they'll probably get treats. Normally leftover veggie scraps. Sometimes the heels of a loaf of bread. They have a small feeder of oyster shell and a small feeder of grit hanging in the coop but they aren't much used. They are there though for choice. We always keep plenty of fresh water available. There is a small hanging waterer in the coop and some nipples outside attached to a length of PVC pipe and fed from a 5gal bucket.

In return all five hens give us five wonderful, tasty eggs each day. One of them, the newest layer, is currently skipping one day out of every three or four and then the next day give us a huge egg instead of the normal size ones they all lay. Thinking it is just her body figuring out the whole, new process. Now to figure out what to do with all these eggs. I suppose I'm going to have to repurpose the wife's wine fridge, buy some blank cartons, and put a sign out by the yard. For now I'm just enjoying the sight of the eggs in the fridge and the taste of omelets and other goodies.

If they aren't stuck in a coop/run all the time, they tend to be pretty self sufficient creatures. As mentioned they tend to roam far and wide in search of just the right bug or greens and have their own routine/route around the property during the day. At certain times you can find them in their dust bath, at others they'll be resting under a particular pine tree. Depending what is in season, they will feast upon fallen or low hanging fruit from our trees. Sometimes feels like I'm just here to collect eggs, keep the coop clean, provide treats, and open/close the coop in the mornings and evenings.

 

[FrancieM]

In my situation we are in a subdivision but have over 2 acres. I have a large coop a large run that my girls are in most all the time. We can't have roosters or free ranging chickens, but they really have a great place!! I'm going to go get the grower feed & with the oyster shell I have out I'm feeling good about everything. We are having so much fun & the neighbors are loving a dozen beautiful brown eggs as gifts

. Again, I appreciate all the good advice & I'm sure I'll be back with more questions in a day or two!!

 

[WYNot]

I agree that whether to feed this or that brand, organic or standard, or pellet or crumble is simply a matter of preference. Layer feed, however, is not safe for chicks or roosters to consume. -calcium content is too high for birds not producing eggs.

Again, not being smart-alecky here... Is the layer feed really that bad for chicks and roosters? I mean, it seems pretty tough to keep them from eating it if the flock is running as a group and not kept segregated.

 

[FrancieM]

I have layer feed pellets out along with the grower feed. I also have oyster shell out. My younger pullets don't eat the layer feed. They gobble up the grower feed though. If my laying hens eat the grower feed its ok cause I see them in the oyster shell. My older hens are also eating the layer feed. Everyone is thriving at this point.

 

[GreenMountainEric]

Again, not being smart-alecky here... Is the layer feed really that bad for chicks and roosters? I mean, it seems pretty tough to keep them from eating it if the flock is running as a group and not kept segregated.

Prolonged consumption of layer feed, by chicks, will kill them. Calcium/Phosphorus ratios higher than 2-1, in growing birds, will cause them to develop Rickets. Skeletal health will decline severely, and their breastbone will be so deformed, that it will suffocate them........ very slowly, and painfully. Even if they don't eat enough to kill them, they can end up with health problems, and general discomfort, because of it.


As long as roosters are fully grown, they have more ability to deal with high calcium diets. However, it's not particularly good for them.

 

[WYNot]

Ah. Gotcha. Currently all hens same age and laying. No roosters. Chicks brooded separately. While in there they have their own chick food. They have a small coop they go in till they are old enough to join the main flock. While in there they have their own feeder of grower food. So, not an issue here. More a matter of curiosity as I don't recall running into that info in all my research before getting chickens.

Main run has layer pellets as well as free choice grit and oyster shell. They free range the whole property (5 acres) during the day so even that is just there while they wait in the mornings to be let out. hehe

 

[GreenMountainEric]

Chickens are very smart like that..... You can put them all together, and have the different types of grain available. 99% of the time, they figure out which food they should be eating, and go after that one. If you only had layer feed available for the chicks, that would be when you would see a problem.