whats a good feed that has 0 egg laying hormones?

[castrbl]

i need to switch my hen to a new feed but literally all feed in stores has egg laying hormones which i do not want. what are some organic, natural brands to look for?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, hope you are enjoying BYC!

Feeds DON'T have laying hormones added to them. It's illegal in the US. Adding your general location to your profile can help others make more relevant suggestions at a glance without having to ask first.

Feeds that are labeled "layer" have calcium added to them to form egg shells for layers. Usually close to 4 or 5%. Non laying feeds will closer to 1% calcium. "Layer" feed is also lower in protein at about 16%... verses any grower will be about 18% protein... and flock raiser is 20% and most starter is around 22% protein. The ONLY (main) difference in ALL the feeds is PROTEIN and CALCIUM levels. There will be other minor differences in vitamin and mineral content of others.

Using ANY starter feed or flock raiser will have less calcium in them. The hen makes her own laying hormones... and it is light sensitive. More light equals more laying hormones... less light equals less hormones NATURALLY occurring IN the hen.

If you have an issue that you care to elaborate on... I will share all relevant information I have. Hope all is well for ya guys!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

There are no hormones of any kind in poultry feed.
Read the ingredient list. If you have found 'egg laying hormones' in your feed, please cite what those are for me.
As a professor of poultry production, I love to learn new things I didn't know before.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

i havent bought a new feed yet (i will on sunday probably)
ive just heard that layer feed pushes chickens to lay more than they should and i only want the best for my hen.

What you have heard is false. There was an attempt around the 1940s to use hormones in chickens but it had to be injected and therefor was cost prohibitive so the experiment ended.
The tremendous gains in poultry production for both eggs and meat have come from genetic selection and nutritional research - not hormones.
Other than slight differences in protein and some vitamins/minerals/fats/fiber, the only significant difference in layer feed and all the others (starter/grower/finisher/all flock) is calcium content. Layer usually has about 4% calcium while the others average around 1%. The high calcium content is to replace the calcium the bird pulls from the medullary bone to build a shell when an egg enters the uterus (shell gland),
A layer that is quite productive will use all the available body stores of calcium in just a few days of full production and can rapidly develop skeletal problems - not to mention thin shells or shell-less eggs.
Do you only have one pullet?
If so, you'll need to buy very small bags of feed (5-10 lbs.) because one bird won't be able to eat a 40-50 lb. bag of feed before much of the nutrition is lost.
Also, chickens are flock animals and need chicken friends.

 

[Dona Worry]

I haven't read anything else the op has posted, BUT:
Your chicken will be happiest if you can get her at least one friend that is close in age. Chickens are social creatures, and she deserves a friend that speaks the same language. Don't just get a random bird and chuck them in together-- how would you like it if I just dropped you in a locked room with a stranger?-- but keep them where they can see but not touch each other for a little while, but at least a week, then introduce them to each other on neutral ground.
Secondly, someone has been filling your head with nonsense. Chickens need the right nutrients for egg laying. Not to push them to lay more, but so they don't pull those nutrients from their energy and calcium stores. This is very important. It takes fairly significant malnutrition to interfere with a hen's genetic laying potential, and she won't thank you for starving her. The feed you get in the local feed store is absolutely fine for her, has no hormones, and won't make her unhealthy.

 

[DobieLover]

do you like making me feel horrible about myself lol
i will happily provide proof of my hen being happy and healthy and having fun but go off.

If you feel horrible about yourself, I don't know why. It was not my intention to make you feel bad so I'm sorry if that is the way you interpreted my reply. However, you have demonstrated over and over again that you will not take the advice you've come here asking for. It is more than a wee bit mind boggling.
Everyone wants you to succeed with your chicken. But you won't take our advice.
Why on earth do you keep asking the same thing over and over but in a different way?
Your chicken is coming up on POL soon. You will then find out that regardless of your refusal to provide her with a layer's diet when she starts to produce eggs (and she most assuredly WILL produce lots of eggs as she is a black sex link that was bred to do just that) she will simply start laying shell-less or soft-shelled eggs. That in and of itself will be an issue for her.
Good luck with your girl. Whether you believe that or not, I really mean it.

 

[Sneebsey]

To add my voice to the six? others here; She needs a calcium source, no doubt about it.

I personally feed grower to all my birds due to the calcium content found in layer, which I don't want my cockerels or other non-laying birds to consume. I provide oyster shell so that the hens can have as much as they need. A laying hen, particularly a production bird such as yours needs that calcium.

Chickens have been selectively bred for thousands of years to produce eggs. Your hen in particular is one of several production-type birds developed purely for that purpose over the past century or so.

If you do not wish to provide the nutrition your hen requires, might I suggest you rehome her and consider an ornamental bird such as a Budgie?

 

[Fishkeeper]

"layer feed" means feed that has all the minerals and calcium that a chicken needs to be healthy while laying eggs. A chicken not on layer feed will not stop laying eggs, she will be unhealthy and lay bad eggs. Give her layer feed or risk her getting very sick and potentially dying a slow and entirely preventable death.

She also needs to be introduced to other chickens. She may have a bit of trouble with it at first if you've raised her alone, but chickens are social birds. Unless you can interact with her in every bit of time she's awake, you need to get her some friends. There will be some pecking and fussing at first, yes, but they'll settle in once they figure out who's in charge. It's for her own good.

 

[Mosey2003]

Look, if you're that convinced that layer feed is going to force your bird to lay "too much" then just keep feeding her starter or grower, but put out a dish of oyster shell. If she starts laying daily (and she WILL) within a few days of laying and not having enough calcium in her diet, her reproductive organs will start leeching calcium from her bones. If allowed to continue long enough, she will get sick and die from that.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Chickens never get out of the pecking phase. She needs socialization. Lone chickens don't fare well. Flock dynamics dictate that there will always be a hierarchy in a flock. Some peck the others to show dominance and those lower on the totem pole will submit. The first couple days, things can look violent. But they are just working things out. Eventually, most chickens end up establishing strong lifelong bonds. They can recognize up to 100 flock members.