Topic of the Week - Feeding Chickens - What to feed and when?

[roddycn1216]

MEDICATED OR NON-MEDICATED:
I personally don't use medicated feed. I am feeding a flock of 46 and have never seen any symptoms indicating the need for a medicated feed.

WHEN TO SWITCH:
I keep everyone on NEW COUNTRY ORGANICS NON-SOY 22%STARTER. I keep Oyster Shell and Grit available at all times. I think they eat less food on a higher protein content feed.

IS IT OKAY TO FEED OLDER BIRDS CHICK FOOD:
I have never encountered any problems. As I said before, I keep Oyster Shell available at all times so any calcium not available from feed, they get from the shell. My birds also free range and I haven't had any losses since the addition of my Anatolian Shepherd Dog.

THOUGHTS ON ORGANIC:
I feed organic feed and order it by the ton and have it shipped to me BECAUSE where I live, nowhere carries organic non-gmo, soy free feed. I also love the fact that it's soy free. I have a lot of menopausal women who will ONLY buy eggs from me because they saw a significant difference in hormonal changes since decreasing/eliminating soy from their diets.

TREATS:
I give treats young but it's just more of a pain because then you have to be concerned about grit. I do also feed fodder..... Wheatgrass and Alfalfa which is also organic and non-gmo. Wheatgrass is rated at 22% whereas Alfalfa is rated at 35% protein. I do a mix of these two and the girls and boys love it and gobble it up by the mouthfuls.. My turkeys too!

HOMEMADE FEED:
No. Too time consuming and not cost effective for me.

FERMENTED FEED:
During the summer months I ferment but now that it's colder I'm just feeding dry. Fermenting definitely cuts down on the volume fed!

 

[chiefkeith]

We currently feed 16% Organic Layer to our three 3 year old hens. They are all currently into a heavy molt (and not laying) and we were wondering if there is another feed we should give them at this period of time?

 

[sumi]

We currently feed 16% Organic Layer to our three 3 year old hens. They are all currently into a heavy molt (and not laying) and we were wondering if there is another feed we should give them at this period of time?

In this case I would switch them to chick starter. They don't need the added calcium in the layer feed now and will benefit from the extra protein in the starter feed.

 

[lazy gardener]

One quick add on: Importance of grit. IMO, grit should be offered soon after hatch. While "they say" grit is not necessary if birds are kept on processed feed and not offered "treats", I question this philosophy. Birds are designed to process their food with grit in a gizzard. Some studies say that providing grit of the right size at an early age fosters proper development of the gizzard. This in turn fosters the bird achieving optimal growth and development. Birds kept in a closed run may not have adequate grit source available, depending on the nature of the soil in the keeper's yard.

 

[Nardo]

I do not feed layer feed to any of my flock. I've run a taste test on my girls and they hate layer. Yuk, they say, we won't eat it. They prefer all-flock feed.

I thought it was just mine. They will eat anything rather than layer feed.

 

[Blooie]

One quick add on: Importance of grit. IMO, grit should be offered soon after hatch. While "they say" grit is not necessary if birds are kept on processed feed and not offered "treats", I question this philosophy. Birds are designed to process their food with grit in a gizzard. Some studies say that providing grit of the right size at an early age fosters proper development of the gizzard. This in turn fosters the bird achieving optimal growth and development. Birds kept in a closed run may not have adequate grit source available, depending on the nature of the soil in the keeper's yard.

Hence the reason mine get the dirt clump early on, even if they are in the run on the litter. Got that little tidbit of useful info from you in the first place, didn't I LG?

 

[worsham76]

I have been feeding my hens and roosters chick starter mixed with cracked corn.they are all free range as well during the day. Is this going to be a problem when my hens start laying? I have 2 roosters and 4 hens. I have been only getting 2 eggs a day but not sure how old they actually are.

 

[Blooie]

Yikes....I think I'd be a little more concerned about the ratio of roosters to hens. Too much competition and they can end up over-mating the hens, almost literally to death!

I don't see a huge problem with feeding them starter (although some may disagree with me) but since you have a mixed flock and they are at point-of-lay already I think I'd be switching to either all flock or grower, making sure there's oyster shell as a calcium supplement for the girls.

 

[lazy gardener]

I have been feeding my hens and roosters chick starter mixed with cracked corn.they are all free range as well during the day. Is this going to be a problem when my hens start laying? I have 2 roosters and 4 hens. I have been only getting 2 eggs a day but not sure how old they actually are.

It all depends on how much cracked corn you are giving them. It wouldn't take much cracked corn to tip the scales into giving them an unbalanced feed, deficient in protein, calcium and other essential nutrients. On the other side of the scale is this: How good is the free range you are giving them? Is it a typical lawn, or is it a bit more on the "wild side" with a mix of heavily weeded growth and wooded areas? BLooie speaks words of wisdom re: the concern about the roos being too much for so few hens. Especially if all of your birds are young, just reaching sexual maturity.

 

[yyz0yyz0]

Hence the reason mine get the dirt clump early on, even if they are in the run on the litter. Got that little tidbit of useful info from you in the first place, didn't I LG?

+1
+1
+1

After raising three different batches of chicks in as many years, I now give my chicks a dirt clump as soon as I get them home and in their new digs.

twice I've had instances of Pasty butt in my chicks, each time after cleaning up the affected chick(s) the flock then got a clump of dirt. After the dirt was added there was no more pasty butt.

Also after watching my broody having her chicks scratching in the dirt on day two and eating wireworms(looks like a meal worm) straight out of the garden by day 4, I'm convinced of the usefulness of dirt clumps for very young chicks. In a way it's so funny, after letting a broody raise chicks this spring, so many questions regarding raising chicks were answered just by watching the broody with her clutch. I found myself responding to many questions on the Raising Chicks forum section with answers that started with "well, by day X my broody was doing xyz with her chicks"


I've only seen a couple of responses here the mentioned Fodder. I've read that fodder doesn't increase the nutrient level and may actually reduce it slightly. But regardless of the nutrient level of fodder, I do it through the winter to provide some fresh greens for the girls. Mine dont' get out to freerange much in the warmer weather as they will destroy the yard/garden. But when they do get out they all stop right outside the run and tear into the grass that was just out of reach when locked in the pen. This is the reason I feed fodder in the winter.