When to switch feed

[Folly's place]

Ground at some places is heavily contaminated with coccidia, and chicks can get sick and die when they develop an overwhelming infection all at once. The amprolium in the feed slows the coccidiosis so the chicks don't get sick. You find out the hard way if your property will have this issue., so feeding the medicated feed is cheap insurance. Mary

 

[9d84runner]

I only bought the huge bag of medicated because the feed store lady told me too. I even told her they were 18 weeks. When I was buying it I felt like she was wrong but I'm a first time chicken owner and she runs a feed store and has chickens so I just bought it. I did buy a bag of layer pellets today because I agree with it being a little less messy and something different for them. I think I will feed the start and grow until I get the first egg and than switch. I am going to put a cup of oyster shell out since a lot of people say it doesn't hurt.

We feed them lots of goodies and we free range them so we don't go threw food that quick.

Thanks for all the help! Really helps me out a lot. I may even change my mind and start feeding the pellets.

 

[lazy gardener]

It's amazing how many feed store employees are mis-informed about feed options. Several years ago, when I insisted on buying non-medicated feed for my chicks, I had employees getting P.O.'d at me and tell me my chicks were going to die. They didn't even carry non-medicated starter. Never had issue with coccidiosis. Never fed medicated feed, nor do I intend to ever do so. The same store now carries non-medicated chick starter.

 

[9d84runner]

I know. It is a family owned business too and it annoyed me but I'm over it now. I had an issue with them in the past because I bought a bag and it was infested with grain mites. I put the bag inside my house in my closet and I went to grab it and there was dust all over the top. I was thinking it was weird because it had only been sitting in the house for maybe a week and my house isn't that dusty. Than I saw it all over the floor! I was like ok? I opened the bag and there was so much "dust" I totally thought I had the end of the barrell type of deal. I put it in my new air tight container and closed the lid and I came back an hour later and all of a sudden the inside was cloudy and moving. Than I saw these creepy creature ALL over on the inside. My son (who is 4 years old) wanted a "closer look" opened the lid and blew on them so they went flying and I lost it. In my mind they were lice and I went into total freak out mode and I usually don't freak out. I put the food back into the bag and took it back and the lady was so rude about it. Did not want to change the food out because I kept it in a wet closet... She finally exchanged it because I showed her the receipt. She wouldn't even tell me about the nasty tiny creatures. Really turned me off. I decided to give them another chance and than this annoyed me.

I found out later what they were and they are sort of unavoidable and since I've have bags with them but not like that. That was definitely a infestation.

I found out I can order chicken feed thru my work sooooo I don't think I will be going back.

 

[Folly's place]

Yuck!!! I've never had bug infested feed, and hope it never happens. I'd avoid that store too. It pays to always check the manufactured date on each bag, and only buy very fresh. My locka TSC has good turnover on the products I buy, and some other local feed stores tend to have way older feed. I don't get feed from those places for that reason. I also have been able to feed unmedicated feed to my chicks, but everyone isn't that lucky. Mary

 

[bk15]

Ground at some places is heavily contaminated with coccidia, and  chicks can get  sick and die when they develop an overwhelming infection all at once.  The amprolium in the feed slows the coccidiosis so the chicks don't get sick.  You find out the hard way if your property will have this issue., so feeding the medicated feed is cheap insurance.  Mary

Thank u for explaining that to me!!! But I don't think I have that disease in my dirt cause I live in a Desert and there's barely any moisture in the dirt and if there is any rain it drains fast because we have Sandy Rocky dirt. And I have been raising chickens for 4 years now I haven't had problem but thank u for letting me know now!!

 

[9d84runner]

Of course one of my chickens started laying and they hate the layer pellets... they are not eating it as much as they ate the crumble... we do free range them but I feel like I have not been filling up the feeders enough. Frickin' birds!

 

[Choco Maran]

4x4runner if the chickens do not like the pellets get layer crumbles for them. It is just as good. Do not let the feed store personal push you into buying anything you do not want to. If you do not feel right about don't do it. They don't all ways know what is right for your chickens, they only know what they have been told. Good luck

 

[lazy gardener]

Of course one of my chickens started laying and they hate the layer pellets... they are not eating it as much as they ate the crumble... we do free range them but I feel like I have not been filling up the feeders enough. Frickin' birds!

They don't like the layer pellets b/c they are not as in high protein. They often resist change, also. You might consider switching to fermented feed. I agree with CM. Feed store employees often are pretty clueless.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I recently changed over to layer pellets from grower crumble. A couple of days before I switched over I tossed layer pellets on the ground instead of scratch grains. They looked at it for a couple of seconds and gobbled it down. I did this for 3 days. Now they're eating pellets from the feeder. GC