Calcium: Mixed Flocks vs. Mixed Feeds

By Leigh

As chicken keepers, many of us worry if our flock is getting enough of the necessary minerals, vitamins and nutrients. Modern, pre-mixed feeds tend to lessen that concern for many, yet if you have a mixed flock, these premixed feeds may present another danger.

For those that have a flock comprised only of laying hens, Layer Feed may work just perfectly. For those who have roosters and younger birds that are not yet laying mixed in with laying hens, premixed Layer Feed may not be the best thing for your whole flock.

The reason behind this conundrum is the calcium content of commercial Layer Feeds.

The calcium content in chick starter / grower feeds and general flock feeds usually falls between 0.5% and 1.5%.

The average calcium content of Layer Feed ranges from 3.25% to 4.8%. If a bird is laying regularly, these calcium levels are fine as the calcium is used to create the shell of the egg… but for any bird that is not laying, these levels may be too high, and might actually cause harm to some birds.

If a chicken is not laying and using excess calcium to produce egg shell, the kidney must filter out the excess calcium. Over time this can cause kidney failure.

Too much calcium, or Hypercalcaemia, can also result in calcification of the soft tissues and organs (including the liver and heart), pancreatitis, egg binding, dry skin, appetite loss, lethargy, confusion, depression, slowed growth in pullets and cockerels, dehydration, diarrhea or constipation,and even death.

So how do you feed a mixed flock of chickens without causing calcium deficiencies in laying hens, yet not overdosing young birds and roosters?

Many long-time chicken keepers who use commercial feed use “Grower” or “Flock Raiser” products designed for non-laying birds aged 10 to 18 weeks, and then offer free-choice oyster shell. Chickens won’t overdose themselves on calcium when it is fed free-choice. You will almost never see a rooster picking through oyster shell unless he just saw a bug jump into the dish.

It should also be noted that vitamin D3 is absolutely essential to the proper absorption of calcium. Most living critters obtain the bulk of their D3 through sunlight – so make sure your flock is getting plenty of rays! Not enough sun can cause laying hens to be unable to absorb the calcium in their diet. This can be just as dangerous to laying hens as too much calcium in the food would be to non-laying birds.

I will also note that other long-time chicken keepers report no ill effects from feeding layer feed to their entire flocks for many years.

Every bird is different and every breed of chicken is different. Some may be more sensitive to higher calcium levels, and others may be just fine with it. Those that get tons of natural sunlight may properly absorb much higher levels of calcium than those that stay inside for long periods.

My personal philosophy is that if I can do something that may help avoid long-term health issues in my flock without additional expense, it’s worth doing. I have always offered free choice oyster shell anyway, so switching feeds to the lower calcium feed made sense in my case. You be the judge and do what will be best for you and your flock.

Cheers

Leigh

And special congratulations to the winner of the Nest Box Blend Giveaway: Marianne Cowan. Please email us at shabbychicken@hotmail.com, Marianne!

*

Ask Bee - Why You Shouldn't Light Your Coop in the Winter

Dear Bee,

My hens’ are not laying very much right now and I read somewhere that lighting the coop (so they have as many hours of light as they do during the summer) will make them lay more through the winter. How do you feel about lighting the coop?

Bee's Answer:

Winter lighting brings up another health subject....melatonin uptake.  Melatonin is only released by the pineal gland in the darkness and will not be stimulate to release if there is any light present...even low lighting.  Many light the coops to stimulate laying throughout the winter and I will give you my take on that as not being a such great idea if you want your chickens to be healthy and have laying longevity. 

A natural slow down for all creatures is needed in the winter months and the all natural approach to animal husbandry takes this into account. The nutrients needed as fuel to stay warm should not necessarily be funneled into forced laying. 

Melatonin is important in preventing reproductive cancers, for increased reproductive health and in good immune system function. 

If you just have production layers that will be replaced in 2 short years, then lighting is the way to go as you have these birds for one reason and do not expect them to last you past the 2 year mark anyway.  At 2 years they can all be culled and you can start a new flock.

But, if you are like me and keep a rolling flock of dual purpose breeds that make their own replacements and are going to be around until they just cannot lay enough to earn their feed, then lighting is probably not a good idea.  You'll want those birds to be as healthy and to lay as long as they possibly can in all the years that you have them.  If so, lighting the winter coop is probably not the best idea.  I've never lit a coop and have always had eggs enough for the family through the winter months... and birds that lay like gangbusters clear up into their senior years. 

If you want eggs through the winter, a good idea is to keep a high production type in the flocks that will go ahead and lay you some eggs for the family during winter slow down.... Rhode Island Reds, Leghorns, New Hampshires and even Black Australorps and White Rocks can do the trick and without anything more than natural light from the winter sun.

Lighting and heat.  Don't do it, never did.  Flock lays supremely in peak season, slows down in the winter and I never needed so many eggs that I had to goose them up to make a little more.  I sell eggs when there are plenty, save them for my family and a few preferred customers when there are few.

Nature is always the best teacher.... if a bird doesn't lay as much in the winter it is because they just shouldn't be doing it then.  Some do, some don't, some will, some can't.

To defray costs when egg money isn't coming in as regularly, I buy whole grains to cut my layer rations.  Goes further, keeps the flock well in the winter but isn't designed for peak laying season nutritional needs.

Heat is provided by God and all His incredible handiwork.... warm, fluffy feathering.  I also use deep litter for the added benefit of floor warmth.  My big coop windows are covered with plastic but the pop door is always open.

 

Bee -

Leigh Says:

A wonderful question was brought up in our comments section about brooding chicks without light. Of course the best method of all is to allow a broody hen to care for them, but unfortunately that is not always possible.

For those of us who need to brood chicks without a hen, I personally have had wonderful luck using a ceramic heat element like this one :

It fits in the same brooder clamp light as the bulb, but sheds zero light but still keeps chicks toasty warm!

Don't miss our key chain giveaway! See it HERE!

*

Gnarly Bunch - Chapter 8 - 9/25/12

9/25/12

Today's update on the Raggedy Flock:  I'm glad to report that the flock is slowly warming up to my presence.  Not as warm as they used to be but still walking towards me now instead of running away.  They are consuming the fermented feeds well and I'm noticing more red combs and wattles with a slow color change coming back to beaks and legs. 

I've noticed the rooster and the largest hen, Moby Dick II, are still occasionally digging at the lice and mites at their back end.  I am currently cooking down a fresh batch of wood ashes to give them a deeper and better application for this.  The rest of the flock are not showing any signs of this and are showing noticeable improvement in feather growth...and this only after a week since their arrival. 

They have consumed 2 suet cakes and will receive a third one next week.  When we kill some deer this fall, all the fat will be carefully trimmed and saved for feeding to chickens and dog this winter.  Any meat scraps unfit for our consumption will be ground later and rationed out this winter.  I’, not usually this careful about flock nutrition but, then, I've never had a flock in this poor of condition before. 

Water with ACV and a sprinkle of epsom salts is still being offered.  Only time will tell if the epsoms has helped with the gleet.  The next examination of the flock will include combing vent feathers with a large toothed comb and clipping out any gleet clumps.  Then a reapplication of NuStock will be applied. 

Side Note:  The last roost I placed in the coop was a 2x4 with the 4 in. side as the roosting surface.  The chickens do not prefer this flat roost at all!  They all want to crowd onto the round roosts on either side and only use the flat one for a bridge between the two.  My birds have always had round roosts made from large saplings and I think they are spoiled at the comfort of these types of roosts.  They definitely conform to the natural curl of the foot more than the square/flat roost.  I'll have to put a round roost in its place soon.
 

Evening update on the Raggedy Bunch:  Daily I am seeing a slow return to the peace and calm that used to be a trait of this entire flock.  They don't scatter like rats when I approach and they are even moving towards me a little.  I think they are remembering, "Oh!  The Food Bringer!  I remember her....!"  They seem to be taking an active interest in the things I do in the coop to make it more comfy and homey for them... now they stand outside and watch the things I do. 

I miss my old timey coop and the comfortable old components it had...it also had more space.  But one works with what one has and this one can be made into something nice too. 

They are consuming the FF well and are very enthusiastic when it is dished out.  Still only getting one egg a day, but in light of what these birds have gone through and the ongoing gleet infection they all seem to carry, it doesn't surprise me that they are not well enough to be laying properly.  The egg that I am getting seems to come from one Barred Rock and the yolk has changed in the past few days into a deep orange and the yolk isn't as runny looking, with the shell getting more firm also. 

I see definite changes in the feathering...more gloss, more smoothness and more feather regrowth already.  Their eyes are no longer listless and the pale skin around their eyes, wattles and the pale beaks and legs are starting to change into a more healthy color.  Even the combs are getting redder as the days progress.  I'm amazed at the change that has happened in just one week. 

With this kind of multi-directional approach to restoring good health to this flock, it is very hard to know just which component of this health regimen is doing the most good...or if it's just the combination of them all.  I think the sunlight, fresh air and forage has the biggest benefit of all. 

I can't stress this enough to anyone wishing to get into raising chickens.... they are an outside animal and a big part of their dietary needs lie out on pasture and under the leaf cover of the forest floor.  If you cannot free range, at least try to set up a paddock system, even if you have a small yard.  Moving them to fresh habitat often will benefit your yard and the health of the bird...and it's really worth the effort when you consider the health of the flock and the food that they will produce from this simple maneuver.  Yeah..it takes more work than a simple run system, but raising livestock is work, make no mistake.  At least....doing it right is work. 

Gnarly Bunch - Chapter 9 - 9/26/12