When can chicks eat LAYER CRUMBLES ???

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Chicken Rustler

Chicken Rustler

Grabs em n runs
10 Years
Feb 17, 2009
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Ethel, Washington
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This may have already been asked but I looked through several pages and didn't find it.
I have 14 chicks that are 5 weks today. At what age is it OK to start feeding them the same layer crumbles that my hens eat.
 
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When they are ready to lay. No earlier than 16 weeks but it is best to wait until 20 weeks or you see your first egg from them. The layer crumbles has excess calcium in it which is not good for growing chicks.
 
Ridge is right. Do you have some bags laying around? If you bought layer crumbles by accident, you could probably mix it 50-50 with regular chick food. Or maybe 1:3. I don't know if it would spoil if you waited 11 weeks.
 
I would go from starter to a grower or all in one about 16 weeks old then to layer when they begin laying.

There is too much calcium in the layer for the chicks.
 
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Thank you all sooo much for your help. I was asking because I am getting low on Chick food and thought since I have 3 laying hens maybe I could just buy 1 type of feed rather than 2.
Thanks Rob
bow.gif
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you all sooo much for your help. I was asking because I am getting low on Chick food and thought since I have 3 laying hens maybe I could just buy 1 type of feed rather than 2.

You can do that, just can't feed layer food to chicks that young. But you can certainly feed non-medicated chick food to your hens. Just put a small feeder with oyster shell out. You can probably feed medicated chick feed for that matter, but I don't know if that would effect the eggs.​
 

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