Sweet horse feed for laying hens?

[nightshade]

I give my girls sweet horse feed as a treat from time to time. But I just read that a corn based diet is not good at all for them. That probably has something to do with the lack of eggs lately.

So DH was wondering if we could just by extra sweet feed and feed them that along with their laying mash, oryster shell, grit, sunflower seeds and fresh veggies. ( I get 5 gal buckets of salad scraps from a local restraunt at least once a week usually twice ) Instead of the 50lb of corn we are going through every two weeks or so. Would this be okay?

I was looking on here and it seems no one feeds the same thing as anyone else. I just want to make sure that it is not going to be bad for them and that it hopefully will be better for them then a corn based diet.

 

[MayberrySaint]

I'm not sure what the problem is with a corn-based diet (most commercial rations are corn-soybean mixes with additional trace minerals). The sweet feed is probably not a great idea. It is definitely lower in protein and much higher in fiber than what hens need for optimal laying. I'm also not sure what the molasses might do to your egg flavor. If you like sweet eggs it may be OK.
The best option is to feed them ad-lib laying ration and supplement that with some treats (scratch grain, a good oat-corn mix). Any kitchen/salad scraps are good for variety but I would keep the laying ration available at all times.