suitable feed other than laying pellets?

[Folly's place]

She will produce what she's genetically designed to do, unless you provide a diet so unbalanced that she's unwell. Pets deserve good care!
Mary

 

[PachecoPeeps]

As others have said you can give her an all flock, flock raiser or grower this way she is getting the nutrients she needs in order to survive. If you do not want to feed her layer you should still give her oyster shells on the side. Even if you don’t want her to lay she will and without the calcium she could end up with laying problems that kill her. Good luck with whatever your decision is.

 

[ShrekDawg]

She will produce what she's genetically designed to do, unless you provide a diet so unbalanced that she's unwell. Pets deserve good care!
Mary

Exactly! Definitely agree. X2.

She will lay eggs no matter what and laying eggs is not unnatural, wild birds lay eggs too. Obviously not as much as domestic ones have been bred to but she will lay no matter what and in all honesty, in my opinion, what you are doing or planning on doing is way more inhumane. She will lay anyway and you cannot avoid feeding her a proper, balanced diet just to try to force her to stop laying. That will just cause severe malnutrition and possibly death and is cruel and inhumane. Also, I think keeping her alone is cruel too. Chickens are flock animals and need at least one other chicken. Please provide her with the proper care or rehome her. I know that you love her and likely do not mean any harm and definitely don't mean to be cruel, that is obvious, but without a proper diet she will die. Sorry, I know that is maybe blunt but I just want you to be fully informed and aware of the risks. Also, laying eggs does not hurt or bother them. They take like a few minutes then move on with their day and forget all about it.

 

[OlympicChick]

Perhaps its that you wish to feed her a natural food and not one from Big Ag? If so, look into something like Scratch and Peck. Whole grains and all organic.

 

[Aceoky]

For the "rest of the story" see here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/is-baby-feed-just-ground-up-laying-pellets.1272815/

Sometimes folks refuse to accept the truth and wish to believe what they want to despite several folks showing them the real facts..
Domestic chickens are going to lay more than 1-2 eggs per month no matter how many ways you ask the question the answer remains what is factual. Thinking you can change the feed and stop her from laying"more eggs than she should" will only damage your baby........laying mixes do not "make chickens lay"they simply provide nutrition so they don't lose nutrition and health would otherwise decline rapidly. Obviously you're wanting to hear things no one here is going to tell you since it's not true...

 

[chuckachucka]

i do not want her laying eggs abnormally .i do not want to consume her eggs my bird is my baby not my slave.

I see. I understand that there is a suspicion (I had the same thought when I started keeping chickens) that the layer feeds are engineered nutritionally to get the maximum and best quality egg production from hens rather than to be optimal for actual health. I'm not an expert on commercial feeds so I can't say if there is any truth in that but it seems to make common sense that the companies who produce the foods are meeting a common consumer demand for 'as many good eggs as possible for as low price as possible' from chickens. But at the same time an unhealthy chicken does not lay well so the feeds must keep the chickens as healthy as possible in order to keep them laying.

Then there is a question of the quality of ingredients because we all know that most dog foods are full of rubbish that will keep a dog seemingly pretty healthy but are the cheapest ingredients possible and could lead to long term health issues or deficiencies. Some people therefore choose to feed their dogs 'real' food meat with some veg and carbs etc for the right balance etc.

So if you are concerned about giving your pullet the optimal nutritional requirements and maximum quality then you could try to source a premium organic brand of feed, perhaps something locally produced. Or you will have to make it yourself. This would involve combining grains and seeds in the right balance maybe with vitamin supplements and oyster shell for calcium. It would be hard to get it right but it can be done and it might be much more expensive than layer feed.

I understand that you love your chicken and want the best for her so the effort and expense will be worth it if you can give it, just for the peace of mind. A hen will lay if she is healthy and you should not worry because it is natural.

What breed is she? Many breeds go broody often and stop laying to give their bodies rest. I have several frequent broodies and i like to think it is good for them to take those breaks from egg laying so always let them sit for a while or hatch eggs rather than breaking them immediately.

 

[DobieLover]

For the "rest of the story" see here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/is-baby-feed-just-ground-up-laying-pellets.1272815/

Sometimes folks refuse to accept the truth and wish to believe what they want to despite several folks showing them the real facts..
Domestic chickens are going to lay more than 1-2 eggs per month no matter how many ways you ask the question the answer remains what is factual. Thinking you can change the feed and stop her from laying"more eggs than she should" will only damage your baby........laying mixes do not "make chickens lay"they simply provide nutrition so they don't lose nutrition and health would otherwise decline rapidly. Obviously you're wanting to hear things no one here is going to tell you since it's not true...

I think it's very unfortunate that the OP does not want to take the advice she is asking for. Her bird will suffer the consequences. It is just sad.
She clearly does not understand the biology of this species. It has been explained very thoroughly to her. I advised her (perhaps a bit too snottily as I was very frustrated ) to go do her own research on chicken biology. I believe all the advice we have offered the OP has fallen on deaf ears.

 

[PirateGirl]

There are lots of homemade feed recipes that can be found online, some better than others.

Here is a link to a feed calculator to help you figure out if what you are making is adequate.

https://www.gardenbetty.com/garden-...culator-for-determining-your-protein-content/

Here is a link to a whole grain/seed based feed.

https://www.serenitysprouts.com/product-page/non-gmo-sprouting-feed-ferment-fodder-shipped

Here are links to two recipes to two homemade feeds.

https://www.gardenbetty.com/garden-bettys-homemade-whole-grain-chicken-feed/

http://theelliotthomestead.com/2013/06/organic-homemade-chicken-feed/

 

[EggWalrus]

There is

i do not want her laying eggs abnormally .i do not want to consume her eggs my bird is my baby not my slave.

Nothing abnormal about chickens or any bird laying eggs. It's just what they do. If you try to stop a bird from laying eggs you could kill it. You don't have to eat the eggs, you could give them away. Chickens are not people and their dietary needs are different, you may be a vegan or even a fruititarian, but birds are not. They are omnivores and need meat plants bugs and other things you might find gross. Too many people have fantasies of chickens being like people and think they should eat and behave like people, that kind of thinking can lead to the detriment or even death of your loved pet.

 

[PirateGirl]

I misread your post the first time around. Layer pellets do not make a chicken lay or encourage laying, they simply are formulated to support the nutritional needs of a chicken that is of laying age. When birds are producing eggs it uses up the nutritional stores within their bodies differently than if they are not laying because they are too old or too young or molting etc.