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I've gotten this link via email and comments at least a half dozen times today, and here's my reply:
I feed my 5 laying birds DuMoore scratch (mentioned in another article) and Producer's Pride layer feed, both from Tractor Supply, and am getting 3-4 eggs a day which is right at normal for their breed. Matter of fact, I just got back from town where I bought another bag of each.
If it is true and it's caused by a lack of protein, it's easy enough to boost that by throwing them some shredded meat scraps, diced hardboiled eggs or dried meal worms.
I actually stumbled across the article in another publication a few days ago and shined it on because I had just walked in with 4 eggs from 5 birds in my hands.
The Daisys have been fed Producer's Pride from Day 1, first the crumbles, then the starter, and now the mini pellet layer feed and I haven't seen a single issue because of it. They're cranking out eggs full speed.
My two older hens quit laying in late November as they've always done in the past, and I figure they'll start laying again in about another month.
I suspect the content in this article is nothing but internet bullshit. I may be wrong and trust me, if my hens suddenly quit laying, I'll let you know.
Can't verify the validity of the article, but my hens pretty much rejected the PP and DuMor feeds on their own. It could be due to the amount of free ranging they do since we relocated from the city, or any number of other factors. Chewy sells Kalmbach brand, as does the local wally-world, so they have been eating that for the past few months and they do seem to like it better.. I supplement their protein in the colder months with some cheap canned cat food every few days.
ReplyDeleteI have decided to transition from TSC to Southern States cooperative. SS is closer and they offer a few more options for me,
My two older hens free range, but I still put out a dogfood bowl full of the pellets and grains in question for them, and they eat the hell out of it.
DeleteIt's winter.
ReplyDeleteSteve in KY
Exactly. I was actually kinda surprised that the Daisys started laying right after Christmas. I figured they wouldn't start until late winter, early spring.
DeleteWhat about black soldier fly larvae for protein?
ReplyDeleteShits easy as hell to grow, self harvesting w/the right set up, and turns inedible food scraps to chicken feed.
Good stuff. They're high in protein as well. I've seen them dried and for sale as chicken treats. My birds prefer regular dried mealworms as a treat, but they'll eat soldier fly larvae too.
Deletehttps://www.theresistancegarden.com/maggot-bucket-for-chicken-feed/
DeleteWiscoDave
The analysis will be on the bag. From the TS website :"For an accurate list of ingredients and guaranteed analysis in your region, please refer to the label affixed to the feed product." In other words, THERE IS A SPEC ON THE PRODUCT PACKAGE. Real easy to see if it has changed, at least in terms of protein/fat/mineral. Source may have changed; taste -to the extent a devolved dinosaur cares- may have changed. But if it was X protein, and is now Y, that's pretty obvious. Assuming you can read.
ReplyDeleteAssuming you have an old bag to compare it to. I don't, I throw my empties in the burn barrel as soon as I empty it into the feed bin which is about 10 seconds after I get it home.
ReplyDeleteNext suggestion?
Same same. My feed goes into a bin that is sealed. I don't feed out of the bag. On another note, do you also give them oyster shell? I like a good strong shell.
DeleteI do occasionally throw a handful in with the scratch for the two older birds. I haven't started the Daisys on it yet, but they already lay the hardest shelled eggs I've ever seen.
DeleteMy coop is out by my shed and I know with the birds, there's going to be rodents so all my feed goes into those old skool tin trash cans, the kind we used to use before we got the black roller buns.
Rural King brand here, normal WINTER laying pattern. Starting to pickup this eeek, actually, with the extra sunshine we've been getting.
ReplyDeleteClimate alarmists wrote the article I'd wager.....
Chickens are omnivorous monsters, 1 step away from being dinosaurs.
ReplyDeleteNothing they like more than rippin up the compost heap.
I fed mine from TSC before I got rid of the flock.
Housing circumstances have changed and I can once again raise them, but this time they get whatever is cheapest at the co-op.
"Nothing they like more than rippin' up the compost heap."
DeleteI've noticed my fleet of wild turkeys does the same thing.
The fleet currently consists of 10 Toms and about 12 to 15 hens. They come running when they hear the back door open.
It's probably illegal for me to feed them but my bride gets such a kick out of them I'm not going to stop. What makes her happy makes me happy.
Ken- I read the article and all the comments and I've got to say I'm skeptical. Please keep us posted with any further developments on this story. Thanks.
Just wondering but... Where do they source their chicken feed? I remember the Melamine in the Dog Food scandal in 2007 where a Chinese manufacturer put melamine powder in dog food.
ReplyDeleteTo test for actual protein is a bit involved but protein has a lot of Nitrogen and there is a very quick and easy "proxy" test that looks at the total Nitrogen content. Melamine is also very high in Nitrogen so it made the dog food appear to have more protein than it actually did.
Wonder if some unscrupulous manufacturer is pulling the same shit.
You mean that something posted on the internet might not be true?
ReplyDeleteInteresting times, eh? Last year my 3 older hens quit laying at THANKSGIVING. Not one egg since. Lucky for us, the pullets I ordered in July started laying the day after Christmas. It IS winter, and getting 9-10 eggs per day from 15 pullets is way cool with me. That is a normal rate for us during winter.
ReplyDeleteOur feed comes from the elevator and is ground to order. Have had no feed issues, and just yesterday one of the three old girls was spotted in the nest box, so maybe they are coming back in season.?
Can't hardly believe Tractor Supply would mess up their layer mix, on purpose, but this is Clown World and these are interesting times.
Thanks for your continued good work.
Milton
I'm not expecting much from my older hens. The oldest one got really sick last summer and while she recovered, she's laid less than 5 eggs since. The surviving Naked Neck, she never has been a prolific layer anyway. Anything I get from her is a bonus egg.
DeleteI quit feeding dumor and cheaper feeds years ago when I started getting eggs with such thin shells that picking them up would break them.
ReplyDeleteand yes, they have 24/7 access to oyster shells and free range.
not sure how long this has been circulating, but I spoke to a couple in the tsc the other day about this. their hens quit completely this summer and haven't restarted.
forages in the Mid-Atlantic and Eastern states are notoriously short of selenium.
I give my beef calves supplemental vit E pre and post weaning.
maybe it's a nutritional deficiency of the grains the feed is composed of...
Like I said earlier, my Daisys have eaten DuMoore and Producer's Pride since I got them and they lay the hardest shelled eggs I've ever seen. I have to rap them hard against the stove and then it's still a hassle to get them open.
DeleteMy hens don't like something about the Producer's Pride, but eat the heck out of the DuMor. When I use the PP, much of it ends up on the floor around the feeder and that does not happen with the DuMor. Even at a higher price per bag, the daily cost (averaged over the lifetime of a bag of food) is consistently lower than that of the PP. I feed them out of a food bin, but we keep the bags (my wife is cheap as crap) because they work well as trash bags for yard debris.
ReplyDelete