When to feed layer pellets

[NatJ]

That's what I was thinking i don't want them to become overweight from the grower feed by feeding it too long.

Grower feed should be fine for chickens of any age. Just make sure they have a calcium source (like a dish of oyster shell). No, the grower feed should not make them overweight.

 

[rosemarythyme]

You really can do it a number of ways, depending on how you want to manage your flock. For a pet flock that includes non layers, using some sort of grower or all flock to keep calcium levels lower is ideal. Oyster shell on the side would provide calcium. Conversely if you have all production hens, or plan on cycling birds out with regular frequency, layer might be an acceptable option as it would help the layers keep up their calcium levels.

If you would like to use layer feed, switching now is probably okay... personally I wait until a get a few layers in the group, however I also feed a mixed diet (grower + layer) so that's just another way to manage their nutritional intake.