What age do you you change their food?

[notsoangrybirds]

Thanks for all your responses. Appreciate it- you're all great

 

[Chris09]

What do you feed non-laying hens? I mean adult hens...........prob a dumb ? but I didn't realize or think about the times they aren't laying!

I feed all non-laying fowl either starter/grower or a starter feed.

My feed for a adult non-laying flock is a Turkey starter with scratch added to drop the protein of the mix to around 16 to 18 percent protein.


Chris

 

[jak2002003]

Ups! I seem to be feeding my chickens wrong.

They all live in one big mixed flock, chicks at all ages, laying hens, many roosters. I feed the lot of the layers pellets! They all seem healthy though.

So what would you feed my chickens in this 'natural' situation. I can not feed them all on the chick started, because the layers will eat this in preference to their pellets.

The chicks can squeeze into a cage, where the big ones can not get in. In there they have their chicks starter food. But they also eat the layers pellets when they are in the run.

Now I am worried.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

You can feed a maintainence formula and provide calcium free choice...them let them forage...I let Nature take care of it and not really worry so. I am going to try fermented feed all around and skip all the rest. The chickens seem to know what to eat, but then they get plenty of roaming too.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Ups! I seem to be feeding my chickens wrong.

They all live in one big mixed flock, chicks at all ages, laying hens, many roosters. I feed the lot of the layers pellets! They all seem healthy though.

So what would you feed my chickens in this 'natural' situation. I can not feed them all on the chick started, because the layers will eat this in preference to their pellets.

The chicks can squeeze into a cage, where the big ones can not get in. In there they have their chicks starter food. But they also eat the layers pellets when they are in the run.

Now I am worried.

Under a wild situation....Jungle Fowl...the chickens wouldn't be laying the large numbers of eggs that our modern breeds lay. So the extraction of mineralised calcium from the bones of the wild fowl wouldn't be near the strain on the hens.

With modern and historical fowl the chickens are laying eggs pretty much year round and the need for added calcium is much greater. Young birds that are not laying eggs don't need these additional amounts of calcium, nor do birds intended as source of meat. Modern science has provided us with great insight into the nutrional needs of commercial layers and as such we now have very precisely formulated feeds that meet the needs of a growing bird, a laying bird, or a bird that is intended as a meat source.

There are several appraoches:

1. Process the laying flock all at once and bring in the replacements all at once so that the entire flock is on the same diet as they mature and start laying eggs. This is not ideal, as the producer is then out of the egg business for several months as the replacements mature and begin laying eggs.

2. Maintain two separate flocks. One flock is the layer flock and the other flock is the replacement flock. Once the replacement flock begins to lay then the layer flock is sorted as to producers an those that are not producing. The none producers are processed and the two flocks are then merged into one.

3. Sam approach as above, but all the layers are processed and a new layer flock is started so all the birds are in the same age class and should possess the same lay patterns.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

You can feed a maintainence formula and provide calcium free choice...them let them forage...I let Nature take care of it and not really worry so. I am going to try fermented feed all around and skip all the rest. The chickens seem to know what to eat, but then they get plenty of roaming too.

Great Idea...

 

[goldies99]

chick starter from a day old for 8 to 10 weeks.....at 10 weeks switch to finsher grower till they are 18 weeks....at 18 weeks...switch to layer feed....
this table should be on most bags of feed you buy....there is a new agway brand of feed that is chick starter/grower finisher....then you switch right at 18 weeks...
you can also have a bowl of grit and oyster shell available for your layers to eat when they want......good luck!

 

[Chris09]

chick starter from a day old for 8 to 10 weeks.....at 10 weeks switch to finsher grower till they are 18 weeks....at 18 weeks...switch to layer feed....
this table should be on most bags of feed you buy....there is a new agway brand of feed that is chick starter/grower finisher....then you switch right at 18 weeks...
you can also have a bowl of grit and oyster shell available for your layers to eat when they want......good luck!

Buckeye Nutrition recommends switching to a layer feed at first egg.

CHris

 

[salzw59]

So how do you feed your rooster separately if they shouldn't have the layer food? Mine all share a coop/yard. Right now they are all on grower feed, but will be changing them over in mid August.

 

[Chris09]

So how do you feed your rooster separately if they shouldn't have the layer food? Mine all share a coop/yard. Right now they are all on grower feed, but will be changing them over in mid August.

My feed for a adult laying flock is a mixture of Turkey starter, Alfalfa Meal and Scratch the protein of the mix to around 18 - 19 percent protein and I have a bowl of a mixture of Calcium Carbonate and Oyster Shell for add Calcium for the hens.


Chris