whats a good feed that has 0 egg laying hormones?

[castrbl]

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, the only 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 when an egg enters the uterus (shell gland),
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.

ive had my chicken interact with a lot of different animals including chickens and she just does not like it one bit. i wish i could have another but she just keeps either attacking them or jumping on my shoulder to avoid them. im gonna try again when shes older and is out of the pecking phase and see if shes okay with them then. thank you though!

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[castrbl]

"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.

i am with her every day and she just likes to chill on my shoulder. if i do leave i dont leave her longer than 5 hours and i immediately cuddle her and give her treats when i get home. when im gone she'll just sleep.

 

[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.

 

[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?

 

[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.

 

[Morgank]

Hi! My chickens also fly to my shoulder, because i have time for them and i like to keep track of them. But we also have to understand, they have their own world. For example: i had two sick pullets at my house (apart other flock) and i saw how they want to get back to their own flock. I think you a little a bit spoiling this bird

 

[ChickenCanoe]

"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.

Excellent post.

 

[Cyprus]

I have two suggestion
1) Grass
2) A different home

I really do believe that you need to get at least one more chicken. Chickens are social animals and should not be kept alone.

FYI, as long as she isn't laying she can still be on chick feed.
OR... if you insist that commercial LAYING feeds have "hormones" then I suggest you buy an All Flock feed. Give her calcium supplements on the side because I can guarantee you that she will still lay and if she does not have extra calcium, she will take calcium from her own bones to put onto the shells of her eggs.


Honestly, your best bet if you REALLY want to feed her something that is not commercial or produced en masse, is to feed her grass, fodder, and homegrown grubs.