When do I change their feed?

[mango-o]

Layer feed contains calcium in higher amounts than any other feed (grower, starter, all-flock, feather fixer, etc.). This extra calcium can be harmful to non-layers and build up in organs such as kidney, liver and heart, and over time can cause gout, organ failure and even death. Since almost every flock is a "mixed" flock, containing both laying and non-laying birds, many of us prefer not to use it (layer feed), but instead provide another type of feed and offer calcium separately. As @rosemarythyme suggested, keeping a separate vessel of oyster shell works well because the laying hens will help themselves and all others will ignore it.

A caveat: you probably won't be able to tell that anyone is eating the OS. They don't need much and the level won't go down visibly, probably for several months. But they are. A five-pound bag could last you a year. Don't worry about it.

Thank you

 

[mango-o]

What is the purpose of these chicks? Eggs, meat, show, bug patrol, pets, breeding, eye candy, or something else. Some things, like raising them for show, requires a fairly specialized diet. For some other things it is not that critical. What breed or type are they? The commercial egg-laying hybrids might do better under a different diet than a dual purpose chicken raised for laying. Are yours only going to eat that feed or are they going to get other treats or maybe forage for some of their food? I'd want to know a bit about them and their purpose before I made specific suggestions.


When I first got my dogs I asked a vet this same question about dog food. His response was that as long as the nutritional analysis was OK brand did not matter.

Some people's own diet may only include gourmet meals while others are more "meat 'n potatoes" type of people. Some are vegan or vegetarian, some are not. So only eat organic or non-GMO foods, others don't restrict their diet like that. Some enjoy spending a lot of money on their chickens feed since this shows how much they love them while others are looking to be a bit more economical. I don't know where you fall on this spectrum. That might influence what brands you want to get.

The purpose of these chicks is they might be egg layers, I'm still not 100% sure of the breed. The guess is they might be red sexlinks. Also i dont know if they are female or not.

and Thank you I'll most likely stick with the brand they have now

 

[Ridgerunner]

If they are red sex links they are girls with that feather color. The white is probably dominant white that has turned feathers that would normally be black to white. The combs are not bright red, which is a good sign. With that upright posture and the thick legs they are giving off male vibes. I'm not sure what sex they are.