Which feed and/or supplement brands do you all recommend?

[DavidMontes]

Hi! I have 9 girls that will start laying very soon and I was wondering if anyone could make some suggestions about feed, grit and other products... Im a little bit overwhelmed with choices and would really appreciate the opinion of someone more experienced. My girls free range all day on 3 acres and are currently on Purina (only because it was recommended to me by the person who sold them to me). When they start laying in the next couple of weeks I'm not really sure about how to do the switch to layer feed and to which kind or brand. I would really appreciate any brand suggestions for feed and calcium supplements and how to introduce them to it. Thanks!

 

[Den in Penn]

Being at the point of lay you can switch anytime either when their current feed runs out or when they really do begin to lay. Look for a feed that has sixteen to twenty percent protein. I generally use a sixteen percent in the spring and summer when they can find more bugs and such and switch to a twenty percent in the fall and winter when they are molting and can't find so much protein on the range. As to the brand of feed I can't tell you. There are proponents of almost any brand and there are many regional brands that may not be available to you. With the three acres that they have to range over they should do well on most.
Unless you like on very loamy soil they should also be able to find their own grit. That said putting our a dish of stone grit and another of oyster shell will not hurt.

 

[redsoxs]

I like Layena but it's a little pricey. I normally go with a brand called Country Lane.