My hens started acting weird after I changed their feed to a 'premium' brand

About two months ago, I switched their layer pellets to a fancy organic mix from the feed store. Within a week, egg production dropped by half and their feathers looked dull. I finally put it together when my Rhode Island Red, Mabel, stopped eating altogether and just stood around puffed up. The vet said the new feed was missing a key mineral for our local soil. Has anyone else had a bad reaction to a specific feed brand?

3 comments

3 Comments

kelly_henderson832mo ago

My neighbor in Vermont lost three of her older hens last fall after switching to a popular grain-free mix. Her vet found the calcium levels were way too low for laying birds, something like half of what her old feed had. She had to hand-feed them crushed oyster shell for weeks to get them back on track.

the_noah3mo ago

Makes sense... feed's gotta match the local dirt. I'd be checking the bag's ingredient list against the old stuff, line by line.

anderson.sandra3mo ago

Exactly, it's not just about the main ingredients either. Those tiny mineral mixes and vitamin packs can be totally different based on where they source stuff. I've seen bags that look the same but have way less zinc or selenium from one region to another. It can really throw off an animal's health if you don't catch it. Always worth that extra minute to read the fine print on the tag.