10-16 week olds integrated with flock - Now on layer crumble

[BlossomSilkies]

I have some babies, between 10 and 16 weeks that have been in with the rest of the flock for about 1 month. They are eating what everyone else eats, including layer crumble, sometimes some dark leafy greens, and scratch. They sure seem fine, but now I'm reading they shouldn't be on layer crumble at this age? Why not? And if I'm to feed them something special, how do I do that when they are in the coop and run with all the other older chickens?

 

[Gallusfarm]

I'm sure you'll get a lot of different opinions on this. When they are young, they still need the extra protein of the starter, and the extra calcium in the layer might cause bone development problems.

What we do is give a grower finisher to everyone, but keep oyster shell available for the hens. They will know when they need it, and the younger ones will not take it.

It's great that everyone is getting along and feeding one type of food makes life a lot easier!

 

[Fred's Hens]

You could have fed them all the same thing, but that same thing isn't Layer. It's high calcium content isn't indicated for younger, pre-laying birds.

You can/could feed them all a grower or flock raiser type feed. No added calcium.

 

[BlossomSilkies]

Sounds good. I will get some grower for all of them for the time being and some oyster shell. Thank you for the replies! Hopefully no harm done with what I've fed them the past month.