The owner of the feed store says that....

[deerman]

Quote:
No its not right corn is very low in protien...I seen people feed layers just corn then wonder why their hens don't lay many eggs.



The infor is on the feed bag tags , for people who want to feed their chicken proper, for those that don't it will be your fault for the results you get ,NOT THE CHICKENS

 

[bullyforme]

Quote:
I have heard this many times from farmers. Chickens instinctively go for healthy grass, bugs, grit, etc. Sometimes I think people overthink things, especially chickens.

 

[Papa Rooster]

Its not that im to cheap to buy the food they need but its the reading of food levels. 17% for 1 age 3% for another its just gets confusing. then i started lettting them out all day after i went back 2 work and they were fine. im going to tell you this first hand just because its the highest price doesnt mean its the best. plus(no offense) i think those of you who have never lost a chicken because of something are great and more power 2 you. and you might be better then me but i have lost alot of chicken from all sorts of things and well you learn from it. i make sure i never make the same mistake twice.

 

[LoreenH]

Quote:
Have him read the tags from each bag, then ask how they can be the same.........Good reason they are not the same,

The local feed store I buy from has their own blend of grower and layer feeds as a feed option ....they are one in the same except the layer has added calcium.

 

[cottagechick]

I THINK it stands to reason that a laying hen would need more calcium than a much smaller non egg laying chick...but that doesn't mean it is harmful The only thing that I could find that looked halfway "Technical" and not just opinion was this:
"Minerals:
The calcium requirement of laying hens is difficult to define. Too much dietary calcium interferes with the use of several other minerals, as well as fat, and tends to reduce palatability. For laying, the recommended level of 3.6-5.0% is adequate in most cases, depending on strain, level of egg production, body weight, and egg mass. Older hens, and especially those subjected to high environmental temperature, may require levels up to and perhaps >3.75%.

Unidentified Nutrients:
The chick has requirements for 40 nutrients, together with an adequate level of metabolizable energy. Some unidentified growth and hatchability factors may improve performance under certain stress conditions. However, with the identification of vitamins and the significant role of many trace elements, many poultry nutritionists disregard the importance of such factors. "
http://vetmanual.org/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/206901.htm&hide=1

It doesn't sound too bad, but who knows what "interferes with the use of several other minerals, as well as fat..." means to a growing chick. If it were a huge cost issue, it seems that several people on here seem to give their chicks layer food without them noticing problems. On the other hand, I don't have that many chicks so I don't think it is an issue for me to keep it separate.

I am not sure that the major egg factories are concerned enough about the health of their chickens to do any major studies on it. After their year or so of egg laying they are going to cull anyway. So what would they care about the long term effect of calcium. And I suspect most breeders don't have the money to fund major studies. It may not be so dire that they drop dead from it. It could be they live less long, are less hearty than they would have been. Who knows? Until we see a legitimate study there is no way to really know the difference. It is very possible that it is all a marketing scheme to sell more products, but since I think that it MAY not be good for them, and I can do it without to much cost or effort, why not err on the side of caution.

 

[lishah2000]

All my birds get Flockraiser. They like it and I don't have to worry about who is eating what. They all seem to do well on it. Sometimes when I don't have any young birds I'll grab a bag of layer, but none of them really seem to like it. I've tried many brands and they prefer the Flockraiser.

A few weeks ago I was low on feed and money. I had enough Flockraiser for the pens with babies, but not everyone. So I asked the price difference between a layer feed and scratch. (I only needed to get through a couple of days). The scratch was only 50 cents cheaper! I think the Flockraiser is a few dollars more, but the same cost as a starter feed.

My feedstore guys thought I was crazy for feeding Flockraiser to my layers - they actually call it Meat Builder. I used to have to have it special ordered, but now they have lots of customers using it.

 

[appychick]

To remedy the situation of going broke by the hens eating all the chick feed,I pick up the free wooden shipping crates at the local farm store .And with a little work,make creep feeders just the chicks can get into with their own kind of feed & waterers close to the ground. Or a creep feeder could also be made from wire panels or field fencing with squares cut to fit chick sizes. Or if you needed something large,use pallets,usually free....

 

[texasgal]

Quote:
This. I thought I was the only one doing this .. lol.

 

[Papa Rooster]

What is flock raiser? ive never heard of it but my tsc doesnt carry all brands of feed

 

[speckledhen]

There is a difference between survive and thrive. At the wild rate chicks grow, they have different basic needs than laying hens as far as protein levels and calcium.


There is a HUGE difference in whether a bird can free range or is penned up 24/7. Free range birds get much of their needs met out and about, if there is some vegetation and a reasonable size they can roam. Penned birds must have ALL needs met by whatever their keepers give them. Can't compare the two things, period.


I've seen examples of what happens when growing youngsters do not have their needs met when I sold some and kept some of the same breed and sex, then had opportunity to compare the two later on, at around 16 weeks of age. They didn't look like the same age, nowhere near the same size, the same quality stock. It was scary enough that I had to ask what this person was feeding their youngsters, found out they were being fed layer pellets and scratch mixed from 8 weeks old onward. Mine were huge and in glowing health. The other ones were stunted and sickly looking, very alarming. That was enough evidence for me.


Yes, chickens will make do with what they're given and survive, especially if they have access to some free range time. Will they thrive? Depends. Adult chickens are a completely different animal than fast growing chicks and the main difference in needs is in the protein levels.