Rooster eating layer feed

[Gunner2022]

Hello wondering if my rooster can eat layer feed. New to chickens and from what I understand it’s not safe. We have one rooster should we be changing their food they just started laying yesterday. Thanks for the help

 

[thecatumbrella]

Roosters cannot eat layer feed. The calcium will be too hard on his kidneys. Keep them on the chick feed and add oyster shell for the layers.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Hello wondering if my rooster can eat layer feed. New to chickens and from what I understand it’s not safe. We have one rooster should we be changing their food they just started laying yesterday. Thanks for the help

Since you have a flock with both layers and a non-layer (the cockerel or rooster), you should not use layer feed. A few meals certainly won't hurt him, but over the long run, the excess calcium causes organ damage. Also, layer feed is typically at the bare minimum level of protein, meant for production hens that generally are culled before they are two.

Many of us just continue whatever chick feed that they were on before the started laying. Alternatively, you can switch to an all-flock feed. You MUST provide a calcium supplement in the form of oyster shells, chunks or flakes, for the laying hens. The male might take a nibble out of curiosity, but he won't eat it regularly.

Avoiding layer feed also means that if (when!) you add new young chickens in the future that aren't yet laying, they can eat what everyone else is eating.

Edit: or you can save time and read thecatumbrella's reply above!

 

[Ridgerunner]

There have been studies that show that excess calcium can harm non-laying chickens. The studies I've seen were on growing chicks and roosters. I have not seen any on broody hens or when they are molting so I do not know the effects on them. The studies mainly show damage to the kidneys but there can be liver or joint damage.

The excess amount studied was the amount in Layer feed. All they were fed was Layer feed equivalent. No treats, no foraging, so they could control how much calcium they ate. The damage comes from the total amount of calcium they eat in a day and that effect is cumulative. One bite will not harm them, it is the total grams of calcium they eat in a day. If they eat a lot of low calcium food along with the high calcium Layer equivalent then the likelihood of them being damaged drops. It does not go away but it drops.

To test the effects of excess calcium they observe how many on this diet die compared to others on a low calcium diet. The effects on growing chicks and roosters is that a few more die than on average. Not a lot, but a few more. But they also cut the birds open and look at the organs and body. Not all growing chicks or roosters show damage but enough do that it is recommended that growing chicks and roosters do not eat excess calcium.

I have a rooster and I almost always have growing chicks in my flock that forage for a lot of their food. I never feed Layer. I feed a low calcium feed with oyster shell on the side.