My 6 girls (and one roo) are about 17 weeks old and have been eating grower feed for a while now. I have 2 silver laced wyandotte, one red sex link, two easter eggers, and two rhode island reds (one of them is the roo). They are not laying yet (though my roo is crowing). I don't get into town too often and try to pick up feed when I'm there. I'm currently running low and will be picking up feed later this week. I'm wondering how much grower feed I should pick up vs switching to layer feed. The coop is ready for laying - I got the nesting boxes prepared for them today. But I know that the shorter days and cold weather (nighttime temps in the teens to 30s where I am, but expecting colder this week) can impact the laying. Their combs and wattles have been growing and brightening recently so I wanted to make sure I was prepared! The biggest mystery to me is choosing the amount of grower vs layer feed I pick up this week to last the next month!
Get more grower. You could easily go another 2 months before they start. A 50# bag will last about a month. When they do start just buy a bag of layer and mix the 2 up until the grower is gone.
X2 They're not likely to begin laying any time soon this time of year. Probably late January or February unless you are adding a few hours of light. Your best bet would be to stay with grower and give a separate container of oyster shell. That, and roosters shouldn't eat layer feed anyway.
I agree with ChickenCanoe, stay with a grower feed. They probably won't lay eggs until the weather gets warmer. If you keep the rooster in the same pen then you should stick with grower feed with oysters shells on the side. Otherwise February is a great time to switch to layer feed. Hope this helps, if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.
