grower feed is out of stock

[zenstarling]

my pullets will be 15 weeks on Monday. I’m at the bottom of my current bag of grower feed. I went to my local feed store today to pick up another bag of grower I had ordered and found out they had sent me turkey grower (whoops) and the feed I do want is out of stock and would take a month to get in. by then the ladies would be 19 weeks old.

I know it is early now to make the switch to layer. the reason it’s a conundrum is that they are on organic soy free feed. I’ve been excited to raise chickens to be able to give eggs to my parents, as my dad is finding out some of his medical issues are triggered when he eats soy. so I really want to keep the girls on soy free feed as they have been all this time.

my feed store DOES carry the same brand of organic soy free layer. so is it too early to transition to layer that is available…. or is this worth one more bag of expensively-obtained grower via exorbitantly priced online shipping? (if I can’t find it locally which may be the case?)

I know opinions vary. thank you!

 

[KelseyBoxer]

You don't ever have to start feeding layer food. Just offer some crushed oyster shell in a side dish. Every flock member can eat this way.

Those beautiful pullets still look to be weeks away from laying. Good luck with your flock.

 

[Tonyroo]

They'll be fine on 23% protein feed even if it's for turkeys.

 

[nuthatched]

good point, they do have a chick starter which they were on the first 6 weeks. it’s 21% protein and the grower is 19. does it make a difference?


@nuthatched the turkey grower was 23% which I thought would be too much! they don’t have NCO feed on Chewy unfortunately.

The starter or turkey feed will be perfectly fine, they won't get sick or explode.:]

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

If they are free-range or eating treats, go for higher protein food.

Even if you aren't letting them eat other things, don't put them on the layer, it is too low in protein at that age.

Don't worry too much about the names on the bags. I used to make myself (and store clerks) really anxious about getting the 'right' food, until I started just looking at the nutritional info box instead.

I sat down with all the labels and a scrap of paper and made a table of them, only to discover a lot of the labels are just marketing.

I realized I just need to check protein and calcium levels as most of the rest didn't change from one to the other.

So if they aren't laying, they don't need extra calcium and even if they are, if they have snacks & free-range they should have more than 16% protein.

Calcium also comes from bowls of calcium, some treats and egg shells, so don't make yourself crazy there either.

Thanks for mentioning the soy info, I will try to see if that might not be the issue with people around me who say they are "allergic" to some eggs, but are not allergic to mine. Might be the feed ... I do not see soy in ingredients on my feed bags, maybe that is the difference.

Oh, and feel free to show us pics of these babies we are discussing we are all here for the pics

 

[Iluveggers]

I leave a gallon jug of water next to my feed bag. Every few days I bring it into the house to refill it, saves me from needing the hose near the feed! I also keep paper towels there, and can usually get poo off the bowl with a wet paper towel, there is never any food left in the wet mash to have to clean out. It is seriously bare when I pick it up at night!

 

[nuthatched]

Have you tried chewy.com? Other stores, even walmart carry chicken feed
Is the turkey feed soy free for your needs? They can eat it. Or they can go to layer.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

this is so informative — thank you! they get range time daily in a chicken tractor, and they are my garden companions, so they eat lots of fresh greens, grass and weeds at the moment. of course also tons of bugs. and they’re getting a bit of cold veggie scraps and watermelon on these hot days.

is there one better choice between the chick starter and the turkey grower or either is ok?

also, when DO I switch to layer?View attachment 3211584

Gosh they are pretty

Only switch to layer once they are laying, and even then, layer is often just minimum protein (it assumes 100% of their diet is the feed) so you can feed them a little of the higher protein as a mash or a treat (this is nice if you have another who eats that type and you want to finish a bag or just get through the BIG bag while it is fresh. I had just one Tom, so he took a while to eat a 25kg/50lb bag, the chickens helped me have a reasonable turn over in bags)

Just make sure there is free access calcium on hand.

Take a look at the labels of both your Turkey food and the starter, likely the only difference is a small amount of protein, which is fine either way since they eat lots of fresh foods in your garden. Pick the one that you can find most often and has a good price. As much as chickens love treats, for some reason they like consistency in their daily food... They dislike when you start a new brand

If I have to switch brand or type, they will go on hunger strike on me. But if they get a treat of something off the supper table, they climb over each other to get at it. I don't get it... But since they are females, sometimes best to just understand that I don't need to understand, just respect it.

 

[zenstarling]

I felt bad the other four ladies got left out of that first photo and one good shot of the Australorp gleaming greens.

 

[Weeg]

Do they have a starter or all flock? I wouldn’t feed layer to non laying birds. I do g even feed it to my adult birds since it contains too much calcium long term.