What feed to give a mixed flock of chickens?

[I Like Turkeys]

Hello, I have a mixed flock of chickens, ranging from older birds that are laying, to younger birds who are close, to chicks who are a few months away from laying. I have them all on layer crumbles, but have read it’s bad for the younger birds and generally anybody who isn’t laying, and since I would like to continue keeping a mixed flock, I need to switch which food I am using.
Does anybody know what kind of chicken feed I should switch to? Certain brands, or types of chicken feed that will be good for everybody?

 

[sourland]

An all flock ration with oyster shell on the side should work for your needs.

 

[Wanderers tales]

Hello, I have a mixed flock of chickens, ranging from older birds that are laying, to younger birds who are close, to chicks who are a few months away from laying. I have them all on layer crumbles, but have read it’s bad for the younger birds and generally anybody who isn’t laying, and since I would like to continue keeping a mixed flock, I need to switch which food I am using.
Does anybody know what kind of chicken feed I should switch to? Certain brands, or types of chicken feed that will be good for everybody?

The best feed are always expensive so if you’re not worried about costs just go and ask local experts. But to save costs I recommend getting the materials like different types of grain separately from farmers this will cost less. If you can also get cheap rice that’ll be great. First mix the different types of grains and put them into a grinder to turn it to a powder like feed. Next go boil the cheap rice till it softens up a bit. Then add the boiled rice into a bucket and an amount of the powdered feed equal to half the amount of boiled rice into the bucket. Then add some water and start mixing the rice and powdered feed throughly. You should have a weird looking mixture of wet soft feed and rice. Go dump the food on a tray or something and watch the little ones fight over it. They’ll love it and never waste a bite. Except maybe on their first time. It’s healthy and cheap. That’s how I feed my birds. I own a fancy chicken farm. Where I also raise various different breeds and species of pheasanide poultry.

 

[I Like Turkeys]

An all flock ration with oyster shell on the side should work for your needs.

The best feed are always expensive so if you’re not worried about costs just go and ask local experts. But to save costs I recommend getting the materials like different types of grain separately from farmers this will cost less. If you can also get cheap rice that’ll be great. First mix the different types of grains and put them into a grinder to turn it to a powder like feed. Next go boil the cheap rice till it softens up a bit. Then add the boiled rice into a bucket and an amount of the powdered feed equal to half the amount of boiled rice into the bucket. Then add some water and start mixing the rice and powdered feed throughly. You should have a weird looking mixture of wet soft feed and rice. Go dump the food on a tray or something and watch the little ones fight over it. They’ll love it and never waste a bite. Except maybe on their first time. It’s healthy and cheap. That’s how I feed my birds. I own a fancy chicken farm. Where I also raise various different breeds and species of pheasanide poultry.

Thank you for both the responses!

 

[Brooks_]

The best feed are always expensive so if you’re not worried about costs just go and ask local experts. But to save costs I recommend getting the materials like different types of grain separately from farmers this will cost less. If you can also get cheap rice that’ll be great. First mix the different types of grains and put them into a grinder to turn it to a powder like feed. Next go boil the cheap rice till it softens up a bit. Then add the boiled rice into a bucket and an amount of the powdered feed equal to half the amount of boiled rice into the bucket. Then add some water and start mixing the rice and powdered feed throughly. You should have a weird looking mixture of wet soft feed and rice. Go dump the food on a tray or something and watch the little ones fight over it. They’ll love it and never waste a bite. Except maybe on their first time. It’s healthy and cheap. That’s how I feed my birds. I own a fancy chicken farm. Where I also raise various different breeds and species of pheasanide poultry.

That is terrible advise.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Any sort of all flock, grower, starter should be fine for all ages of chickens. In crumble, if you have very young chicks, otherwise pellets are fine.

 

[Wanderers tales]

That is terrible advise.

Well I’ve been using this method for over 7 years. My oldest hen lived up to 20 years and my oldest rooster is 9 years old.
On my fancy chicken farm I own 278 adult chickens of various different breeds, and I loose no more than 1 or 3 on a yearly basis.
Their feathers look bright and nice during spring autumn and winter. Their health is in great shape. I actually sell the highest quality fancy breeds in the country. I also produce most of the medicine myself.
But to be fair I also raise insect cultures for them like waxworms fruit fly larvae and mealworms. So in terms of health they’re top quality. And like I said this method is very cheap and easy and low in risk. It’s what works for me and I’ve been working on poultry for nearly 17 years now. So I don’t know what you mean by terrible care to elaborate ?

 

[Brooks_]

care to elaborate ?

Sure. I probably should have included it to begin with.

different types of grain separately from farmers this will cost less. If you can also get cheap rice that’ll be great. First mix the different types of grains and put them into a grinder to turn it to a powder like feed. Next go boil the cheap rice till it softens up a bit. Then add the boiled rice into a bucket and an amount of the powdered feed equal to half the amount of boiled rice into the bucket. Then add some water and start mixing the rice and powdered feed throughly

Had you included grain ratios to attain certain nutritional requirements, I would have scrolled by without comment. But reading as is, "just give them grains and rice", is terrible advice. In no way do I see that formulating a complete ration.

 

[Wanderers tales]

Sure. I probably should have included it to begin with.

Had you included grain ratios to attain certain nutritional requirements, I would have scrolled by without comment. But reading as is, "just give them grains and rice", is terrible advice. In no way do I see that formulating a complete ration.

When I said grain I didn’t specifically mean wheat grain. I meant multiple different types. So I’ll mention them on the list below:
1. Corn. I use about 40% meat and egg factories recommend 50% but that is bad for fancy chickens since the owners want them to live as long as possible. Having more corn is good for laying hens and meat breeds. Because they usually don’t live for more than 2 years in best conditions, Cornish don’t even live for a year. The ones people buy from markets are 45 days old.
2. Various legume mixture like soybean and peas and black beans I use about 20%.
3. Wheat grain. I use 9%.
3. Black and grey giant sunflowers. 15% though mostly black sunflowers.
4. Some minerals like salty rocks and eggshells. 1%.
5. Old oatmeal’s sold cheaper due to nearing expiration date I pay 1$ per kg. And they can last for 2 months in proper storage conditions. 10%.

Apologies if I wasn’t clear but when people say grains they don’t speak only about Wheat grains.

 

[DanDi27]

Aside from feeds, give your flock at least 10% of treats per day especially treats that have calcium to help your chicken lay eggs with strong eggshells.