I feed All-flock with oyster shell on the side. Why? Because I want to. Yep, that's it, pure and simple! Oh, it started innocently enough...had a flock of chicks and adults together and couldn't keep them out of each other's food. Being relatively new to chickens, the logical thing for me to do was put them all on one food, and "studies showed and the experts said" that layer would harm the rest of my birds. But the determining factor turned out to be my pocketbook and time. I only have to drive 50 miles one way to get the All-flock pellets as opposed to 100 miles one way to get the layer pellets. I have never been able to talk the owner of the closer store to get pellets instead of dust, er, crumbles, but he does carry the All Flock in pelleted form. So there ya go. That said, when new folks ask, I have a tendency to suggest All-flock over layer, and I should probably stop doing that since my own reasons for feeding it are vague at best.
As for studies, I have zero faith in 90% of them. Examples:
Studies show butter bad, margarine good. A couple of years later studies show margarine bad, butter good.
Studies show any kind of alcohol in any form bad....a few years later studies show red wine good.
Eggs, bad. No, eggs good.
It goes on and on, from light bulbs to crops. If you can find a study on one side, you'll likely find another on the opposite side.
Studies by experts don't trump experience because they don't reflect real life - my life.
So I feed All-Flock. My own experience, limited though that is, shows me that my birds are doing fine on it. That's all I need to know, and I don't have to drive for 4 hours to get it. If layer pellets were available at the closer store I'd be flip-flopping this entire post.
