12 week pullets snacking on layer feed

[the-bird-man]

so i keep seeing my young pullets snacking on layer pellets that i have out for the older girls. the young girls have their own feeder full of grower and they eat it but they still snack on the layer. is this okay? i know the logical thing to do is to take out the layer and feed them all grower but i want my girls who are laying to use up this bag of layer because i got it when i stocked up 2 or so months ago so i want it used up before it gets to old. thanks for the help

 

[JodyJo]

the younger ones shouldn't be eating it...is there any way to segregate the older from the younger while you feed? Then lift the food up so they can all be together?
I have this same issue, and finally resolved it, Grower for all with oyster shell on the side.

 

[GoChick]

I did the same - grower feed to both layers and youngsters, and plenty of oyster shell separate so the layer can get it when needed.

I'm getting good, hard shells, and never saw the young ones eating any of the oyster shell.

 

[the-bird-man]

i guess i just do not want the layer feed to go to wast. how long can feed last if kept right? i want to do whats best for the girls at the same time. they do not eat much of the layer, 5 to 10% of what they eat in a day so not much. i want to do whats best for the girls but in this economy i do not want to wast feed if i can help it. thank you all for the help

 

[duckinnut]

Can you raise up the layer feeder so the youngsters cant get to it? You can also switch to flock raiser and free choice oyster shell. The feed will be fine as long as you keep it dry,rodent and bug free. I store mine in a big Rubbermaid container.

 

[sharol]

I'm having a similar problem. My 12 week olds are starting to free range with the year olds. So far, I just shut the door to the little girls' coop while they are out, and they haven't ventured into the big coop yet, but that may happen at some point. They are as big as the "big" girls for the most part, so they can get to any feed that the big girls can get to.

To complicate matters, I have one hen laying soft shelled eggs occasionally. I hate to take her off layer feed because I don't think she is eating any of the shell supplement.

Is it safe to put chicks on layer feed at 16 weeks? That will be in a month, and I want to move everyone into the same coop at that point. There are 4 EE's and a Buff Orp if that makes any difference.

 

[the-bird-man]

yeah mine are big too so it would not work to raise the feeder. i started the older girls on layer at 16 weeks. i do not think i can stop them from snacking on the layer so i just hope the little bit of small pellets they eat will not hurt them too bad