starter feed and laying feed

[rickochet]

Well after months the ladies have started to lay eggs,3 yesterday!!These being my first chickens(cinnamon queens)leads to this question,Just bought a bag of the starter last week .My friend said just mix it with the laying feed till you use it up.What do ya'll think?Well just called the local co-op and my buddy there said he'd pull them off the starter as the laying has a little medication in it.Plus i thought about maybe some chops for a little treat every now and then,tho they love the grass clippings when i mow.Any advice would help.thanking you in advance ,Rick[

 

[swmalone]

This is about where I am. I have at least one of three pullets getting ready to lay and I have a bunch of starter feed still. I have placed oyster shell in there for them and it seems to be disappearing at a pretty high rate. I guess the thing I'm most concerned with how the medication in the starter food effects the eggs.

 

[dsqard]

If the starter feed is medicated I would suggest taking them off of it. I have heard that you aren't supposed to eat the eggs if they are on medicated feed. I have also heard about people that have eaten the eggs with no harm done so I am not going to suggest what you do with the eggs. If the starter feed doesn't have any medication in it, you can mix it with the layer food. I would suggest offering oyster shell free choice. Personally, I get my chicks off medicated feed around 8 weeks and put them on grower feed. I actually mix the grower feed with gamebird feed to increase their protien intake. Since I have a mixed age flock and a few roosters, I just keep them all on that mix and offer the oyster shell.

 

[rickochet]

Aha so i misunderstood my friend at the co-op .Its the starter that has the meds in it,I guess I'll switch to laying feed.What about the oyster shell?,Got mixed advice on that too plus i heard its high.

 

[Judy]

Depends what med it has. Usually it's amprolium which won't hurt the chickens or you when you eat the eggs, and I would definitely feed them the rest of the feed, mixed with layer if you have it. If it's an antibiotic, I wouldn't feed it, myself. But unless you are allergic to the antibiotic, it probably won't cause any new problems.

Layer has extra calcium, and oyster shell is a way of adding calcium to a laying hen's diet. Many offer it in addition to layer, and indeed, some hens evidently need more calcium than others to thrive and make good hard shells. Some people feed them back their eggshells instead, some give high calcium treats, and some just give layer and nothing else. Personal choice. I offer oyster shell because I feed everyone grower or flock raiser, not layer.

 

[dsqard]

Oyster shell is not very expensive when you consider how long it takes to go through a bag. I got a 50 lb bag last fall and I probably have about half of the bag left. Now of course it depends on how many hens you have. Right now I only have eight laying hens but that will change over the next few months since I have some pullets growing out. I leave out about a cup and a half and it takes them about a week to go through it. Like ddawn said though, it is a personal choice to feed oyster shell or not. If you notice your shells are pretty thin or you start getting soft shelled eggs, I would suggest offering the oyster shell.