What makes laying mash work????Anyone???

[Jeff9118]

So what is in laying mash that makes it work? I never use it but my chickens always lay good. I just recently wormed my whole flock and since then laying has dropped off dramaticly. Im not sure if that had anything to do with it but I am trying to collect eggs from my flock and bantams for the bator. I would like to go ahead and get a start on the next generation but I need eggs to do that. I never eat them for 2 weeks after worming to be safe. Is laying mash safe? I only plan to feed them it for about a month. I generally let nature take it course but she is slacking and I'm hopeing this will give her a kick in the head.

 

[Jeff9118]

Yea............dont everybody jump at once.

 

[Renee]

Hi Jeff,

I don't know why you would think it is unsafe. What do you feed your chickens?

Laying mash or pellets (same nutritional content) have been developed to provide for the complete nutritional needs of egg-laying hens, including the calcium and vitamins they need.

I buy organic layer pellets, rather than the mash, because the chickens seem to prefer it.

Feeding your chickens laying pellets or mash is equivalent to feeding your kids three square meals a day with plenty of vegetables, very little fat or salt, and no sugar. In other words, it is a very healthy diet.

Chickens would prefer corn, scratch, and treats, but they do not provide a balanced diet. Some chickens live a long time on such foods, just like I have lived a long time on grilled cheese sandos, potato chips and A&W root beer. Hmm, I wish I had someone who would only feed me whole grains and vegetables...

Anyway, layer mash or pellets do not "work" or make your hens lay more eggs. They just provide optimal nutrition for egg-laying chicken health.

 

[Jeff9118]

You are going to think I am nut but other than scratch grains and game bird feed. I feed them table scraps and fresh and canned veggies along with bread and yogurt for a treat. I know canned has alot of sodium but somtimes its easier and more cost effective. they are free range nearly 24/7 and are bad for eating the dog food out of the dishes since I just fill them back up when I see they are low and before anyone says it my big dogs are rescues and only get overweight in the winter but are less active then. I feel like it helps keep them warm. They are free all the time too. They do go to the vet on a regular basis and are on frontline and heartguard my vet says they are perfectly healthy. Someone told me that layer feed causes chickens to lay out earlier and that they are more apt to lay out there egg sac???

 

[Renee]

I don't think that could possibly be true, since commercial operations use it and they would not use a product that would negatively impact their bottom line. If you read the ingredients on it, you'll see that it's just a mix of grains, veggies and protein.

 

[Akane]

Layer feed is just nutritionally balanced and made to be a complete feed for laying chickens. It will not make them lay any sooner than they would otherwise unless they are not getting all they need nutritionally. Game bird feed works fine if you supplement calcium such as oyster shell. I feed my japanese bantams game bird feed and all my chicks game bird feed because I can't get unmedicated starter here. Many people also feed it to show chickens. I believe it does lack the calcium level of layer feed though so you risk getting shell less and thin shelled eggs if you don't give a calcium supplement. Mine have oyster shell available 24/7. Game bird feed has most of the same ingredients and goes through the same process as layer feed so unless your comparing different brands or organic versus not neither one is going to be that much healthier or safer than the other. Gamebird feed is just higher protein and lower calcium compared to layer feed. I would avoid the really high game bird feeds. Generally chickens are fed 16-20% protein. My game bird feed is 22%. Some go up to 28% which I think would be too high.

I supplement my quail with some dog and cat food. It's not really harmful but again you want to watch protein levels. If they eat a ton of low protein dog food and aren't eating a really high protein game bird feed it could result in too low of protein. They may also want to eat it because their getting a lot of protein and your dog food is lower protein. The reverse is true if your using very high protein dog or cat food. I actually use evo for the quail which is 42% protein but many dog foods are less than 14%.