You’ll get a lot of different opinions on how and what to feed chickens. A big part of that problem is that most of the studies are either on broilers that are butchered at about 2 months or less of age or on hybrid layers in commercial conditions where feed, light and breeding are tightly controlled so they know when they will start to lay. Our backyard chickens are not hybrid layers raised in those conditions and the broiler stuff obviously doesn’t apply to a flock that will be layers.
There are plenty of studies that show that feeding excess calcium, such as found in Layer, can be harmful to a growing chick. It’s pretty normal in the commercial industry to start feeding the excess calcium they’ll need for shells at 18 weeks to prepare them to start laying in the near future. Ours are not necessarily going to be laying soon after 18 weeks, for some it can be a lot longer. There is a lot of debate on this forum about whether feeding the amount of calcium in Layer to non-laying adults (like when they are molting) or roosters is harmful. Different people have different opinions on that.
Different feeds come in different percent protein. Where I get it Layer is 16%, but others elsewhere can buy 18% Layer. The Grower I can get is 15%, which is what I normally feed. But many places Grower can be 16%. It depends on the brand. Some people feed other things, like Flock Raiser, that can be 20% protein. Calling something Layer or Grower tells me about calcium level but does not tell me anything about percent protein other than a rough range. How much they forage for themselves and the quality of that forage or the quality of treats you give them can make a difference too. We all feed them differently.
I practically always have a mixed age flock. I never feed Layer. Depending on the age of the chicks I might feed all of them a 20% Starter/Grower or I might feed a 15% Developer/Finisher. 16% Grower is not available. In fall/winter I often have older hens molting and not laying while the pullets might lay through the winter. I have roosters that don’t lay eggs. With them foraging and what else they get I’m OK with that, my results are good as far as my goals go. I offer oyster shell on the side. The ones that need it for the egg shells normally eat enough. The ones that don’t need the excess calcium for egg shells don’t eat enough to harm themselves. This way I don’t have to stress about which ones need Layer but which ones don’t. I let them take care of that. I do not have feather pecking issues and I don’t have egg eating issues.
One reason people may really like Layer is that around here, because of the volume produced, 16% protein Layer is typically a little less expensive than the other types of feed, even the 15% protein Developer/Finisher let alone the 20% protein feeds.
There are plenty of studies that show that feeding excess calcium, such as found in Layer, can be harmful to a growing chick. It’s pretty normal in the commercial industry to start feeding the excess calcium they’ll need for shells at 18 weeks to prepare them to start laying in the near future. Ours are not necessarily going to be laying soon after 18 weeks, for some it can be a lot longer. There is a lot of debate on this forum about whether feeding the amount of calcium in Layer to non-laying adults (like when they are molting) or roosters is harmful. Different people have different opinions on that.
Different feeds come in different percent protein. Where I get it Layer is 16%, but others elsewhere can buy 18% Layer. The Grower I can get is 15%, which is what I normally feed. But many places Grower can be 16%. It depends on the brand. Some people feed other things, like Flock Raiser, that can be 20% protein. Calling something Layer or Grower tells me about calcium level but does not tell me anything about percent protein other than a rough range. How much they forage for themselves and the quality of that forage or the quality of treats you give them can make a difference too. We all feed them differently.
I practically always have a mixed age flock. I never feed Layer. Depending on the age of the chicks I might feed all of them a 20% Starter/Grower or I might feed a 15% Developer/Finisher. 16% Grower is not available. In fall/winter I often have older hens molting and not laying while the pullets might lay through the winter. I have roosters that don’t lay eggs. With them foraging and what else they get I’m OK with that, my results are good as far as my goals go. I offer oyster shell on the side. The ones that need it for the egg shells normally eat enough. The ones that don’t need the excess calcium for egg shells don’t eat enough to harm themselves. This way I don’t have to stress about which ones need Layer but which ones don’t. I let them take care of that. I do not have feather pecking issues and I don’t have egg eating issues.
One reason people may really like Layer is that around here, because of the volume produced, 16% protein Layer is typically a little less expensive than the other types of feed, even the 15% protein Developer/Finisher let alone the 20% protein feeds.
