buying layer feed but still have one hen on grower. what do i do?

[narwhal master]

three of my chickens need to start eating layer feed but one young hen is only on grower feed and they all are in the same coop. how can i get her just to eat her grower feed and not the layer stuff, or can she eat both?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You can't and you are correct to be concerned. The best method is to continue all on grower until all are laying and provide crushed oyster shell in a separate container for those that are laying to choose the amount they need/want.

 

[narwhal master]

so it would be bad for her to eat layer food at 2 months?

 

[Kelsie2290]

You don't want to feed Layer feed to young birds because it is bad for their kidneys. As ChickenCanoe said, what most people with mixed flocks do is feed some sort of All-Ages, or Starter/Grower food to everybody and have oyster shell available separately for the layers, the layers will eat what they need and the others will leave it alone.
http://www.roudybush.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=birdBrain.articlesRead&article_id=10

 

[GreenMountainEric]

It is bad for the kidneys also, however, the major concern is skeletal development. Feeding layer feed to young birds will give them rickets, and would be fatal in most cases.

 

[narwhal master]

could I get oyster shells on e-bay or kijiji?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Yes you can but I imagine shipping may make it pricey.

I can't imagine anywhere, let alone a rural area, that doesn't have a feed store that doesn't carry crushed oyster shell or an equivalent calcium source.

Another option is to crush egg shells and feed them in a container.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Most places that sell chicken feed would sell oyster shell, feed stores etc. You can get it online, but usually shipping is a killer.

 

[narwhal master]

ok I am going to my feed store anyways so I could see what they have. but would egg shells be cheaper