What feed to use

[Wilson Chickens]

Have another question for everyone. I got 3 white chickens today. They seem to be around a month and a half old roughly. The lady I got them from wasn't for sure what breed they were let alone how old they are. She gave me a little bit of feed for them and for some reason had some baby chick crumble on the bottom of the jar and filled the rest with a broiler mash. I am going to use these chickens for egg laying if I end up with any hens so I'm wondering what kind of feed to give them. Can I keep them on a broiler mash or switch them to a different feed? Thanks again.

 

[Mister B]

I have not kept any for that long. This year I want to, so I am interested in the answer. I know once they get to layer age, give them layer food (I use pellets, but some use mash. Not sure if there is any difference to the chickens) I think I read you need to switch them to a high protein growing mix, but I'm not sure.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The two main things to consider are protein % and calcium %.
Growing birds can make use of more protein. 18-22% to about 10 weeks or more. About 16% as they mature.
Only birds that are actively laying should be getting the 4% calcium in layer feed. All other birds should be getting 1% calcium that is in all other feed.

 

[Mister B]

I put out layer feed for my hens, but the rooster is in there as well. Is eating that hurting him? How can I keep it separate?

 

[elorraine52]

I've always just fed the layer pellets to all the chickens once they are laying...roosters included, never had any problems with that...my question is, I can't remember what age to stop feeding the medicated chick feed? Do I keep it up till they start laying?

 

[Mister B]

I think its about 8-10 weeks. Not really sure, though.

 

[VegeyGirl]

Hi everyone,
I have been reading up on raising chickens and I came across something about mashing up the egg shells that the hens lay and feeding it back to them. Wouldn't that make the eggs non-vegetarian? If there is some nutrient that the chickens need isn't there something else that can be used that will still keep the eggs produced for vegetarian consumption? Thanks.

 

[Mister B]

I do know people feed eggshells to chickens. However, it seems to me if a vegetarian is eating an egg, there wouldn't be a problem with feeding the eggshell to the chicken. Just my view. I will ask my friend.

 

[evemfoster]

For feeding chicks up to laying hens: There isn't just one answer, it depends on what brand of feed you bought and how they formulated it. Read the recommendations on your bag if it has them.

Chick starter should be feed up to 14 to 22 weeks, grower from 14 to 22 weeks, and layer after that. Layer can be started as early as 16 weeks. Just so long as you are feeding layer when or a little earlier than the hens start laying eggs. Chickens start laying from 16 to 26 weeks depending on the breed. You should look your breed up to find out when they should start laying.

Yes the numbers don't work out and are very confusing for beginners. If you only have a few birds it is recommended that you feed starter until the bag is empty. Then feed grower until the bag is empty then start them on layer anytime after 16 weeks.

If you have only a couple birds and it looks like the feed will last long after the 20 weeks you can mix the feeds 10% at a time until the feed is gone. Or just add a calcium source to the feed until the feed is used up.

Or you can buy Starter/Grower mix and feed it until the layer feed is needed. That is what i got for my very small flock. I expect the bag to last until i can start the layer feed.

Something else to consider when thinking of changing feeds. Chickens need 12 hours of light a day to lay. We start getting 12 hours of sunlight the third week of March. And during the third week of September the light shortens to less than 12 hours of sunlight a day. So you need to adjust your feeding schedule to work with the light, or add artificial lighting to extend the season.

Don't worry about feeding layer to roosters. The extra calcium wont hurt the birds. The extra calcium isn't adsorbed, going through the bird unused. When you see chicken droppings that has a white covering on the dropping that's the unused calcium. I would worry more if my hens didn't show the white covering once is a while. I use it as a indicator that more shells are needed.

If you use eggshells as a calcium substitute they must be crushed so fine that the chickens cant tell that they were once eggshells. If they can tell they are eggshells some chickens will start eating their own eggs if they are short on calcium.