Strange behavior with Non-GMO Feed

[Vadard]

Greetings. I've wanted to put our hens on non-GMO feed for a while, and a local feed store started carrying the Kalmbach 17% non-gmo layer pellets. It's affordable, and I was impressed with the quality as it looked and smelled fresher and better than my previous feed (Nutrena 22% pellets).

I planned to help offset the protein drop off with extra mealworms and boiled eggs, and have been doing that. But here's the thing.

The chickens really don't like the new feed. It's been about a month, and they eat less than I've ever seen. Probably about 20-30% less consumption. I can't figure out if they just don't like it, or if something more serious is going on. Here are my flock details:

- 14 heritage layers (Australops, Barred Rock, Sussex, and Delawares) confined in a large coop & run (total 12x32).
- They are 2.5 years old.
- Started molting about a week after I switched feed.
- I'm in south MS, so the weather is great right now.
- I should add that these girls have always eaten like pigs. Never seen them leave so much of their daily ration at the end of the day.

ETA: I picked up one of the Sussex hens and hand fed her some of the Kalmbach feed this morning, just to see what she'd do. She pecked a single pellet, but the seemed to really stretch out her neck to swallow it. Then wouldn't eat any more. I'm wondering if this batch is too hard for them? Maybe I could try fermenting some?

Thanks for any ideas.

 

[FrostRanger]

Supplementing protein via mealworms and the like can throw off the balance of other nutrients such as fat. Too many extras like mealworms can cause them to become overweight, so if you're worried they're getting too little protein it's better to just feed a higher protein feed to begin with (kalmbach does make higher protein feeds that are nongmo).

As for why they're eating less, might be due to them not laying due to molting (and molting birds ideally shouldn't be on layer as they don't need the extra calcium rn). As long as they are otherwise behaving normally (as normally as molting birds can anyways) and they have no other symptoms I wouldn't worry too much

 

[Vadard]

Supplementing protein via mealworms and the like can throw off the balance of other nutrients such as fat. Too many extras like mealworms can cause them to become overweight, so if you're worried they're getting too little protein it's better to just feed a higher protein feed to begin with (kalmbach does make higher protein feeds that are nongmo).

As for why they're eating less, might be due to them not laying due to molting (and molting birds ideally shouldn't be on layer as they don't need the extra calcium rn). As long as they are otherwise behaving normally (as normally as molting birds can anyways) and they have no other symptoms I wouldn't worry too much

Good points, thank you. They are otherwise behaving normally. I will probably try to ferment the rest of the Kalmbach stuff I have, then switch to a simple all-flock mix or something similar. Will lay off the mealworms, too.

 

[FrostRanger]

Good points, thank you. They are otherwise behaving normally. I will probably try to ferment the rest of the Kalmbach stuff I have, then switch to a simple all-flock mix or something similar. Will lay off the mealworms, too.

Kalmbach makes a nongmo version of their flock maker feed if you want to stick with nongmo. Chewy carries it if your local stores don't (I buy multiple bags to get free shipping). I've fed the regular version of their flock maker (nongmo isn't something important to me personally) and my girls have done well on it. Just keep crushed oyster shell on the side and you can keep them on the feed even when they're laying

 

[VaDutch]

They could be eating less because they are getting more of the nutrients they need thus dont need to eat as much. Switching to a better feed can result in not having to feed as much.

 

[Vadard]

They could be eating less because they are getting more of the nutrients they need thus dont need to eat as much. Switching to a better feed can result in not having to feed as much.

Now this sounds really good. Hopefully that's the case. I guess time will tell.

My wife and I have been joking that the cheap Nutrena stuff we had before was McDonald's, and the fancy non-GMO stuff is like a $12 salad from the hippy health food store. Nobody wants to eat their veggies LOL.

 

[SunriseChickers]

Now this sounds really good. Hopefully that's the case. I guess time will tell.

My wife and I have been joking that the cheap Nutrena stuff we had before was McDonald's, and the fancy non-GMO stuff is like a $12 salad from the hippy health food store. Nobody wants to eat their veggies LOL.

I switched my birds from Purina to Kalmbach years ago, and now that I'm reading this, I think we did start going through bags a bit more slowly. They were just on Purina Layer, and I had moved them to non-GMO Kalmbach Layer. My family now feeds them the Kalmbach 20% All Flock, I think.
My first thought was that your birds are likely just receiving better nutrients.

 

[Molpet]

Mine eat like piggs when I bought cheap food. Better food they ate less.

 

[VaDutch]

Mine eat like piggs when I bought cheap food. Better food they ate less.

They put molasses in some of the cheaper feeds to make them eat it like that. Causes messy stools too.

 

[Altairsky]

Honestly, switching from 22% to 17% sounds like a huge downgrade to me.
I'd never go below 20%, no matter what.