Chick feed, egg layer feed. Which one??

[ArraAchicksMama]

Question:
At 9 weeks old, my chicks will be integrated with the adult hens (original flock). The hens are currently on egg layer feed. How do I feed everyone according to age in the integration ?

What do ya'll do? What is the best way to do this? Thanks

 

[SheaLoner]

I have created a creepe feeder that restricted the large hens from the chick feed, works better when there is an obvious size difference. I have fed in seperate coops, housing the chicks in their own area and feeding am and pm with chick then letting them out to mingle during the day. But what works best is either switching to an all flock 18% or mixing the layer with the chick 50/50 for a few weeks.
You may see a bump in egg production by upping your layers protein.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Question:
At 9 weeks old, my chicks will be integrated with the adult hens (original flock). The hens are currently on egg layer feed. How do I feed everyone according to age in the integration ?

What do ya'll do? What is the best way to do this? Thanks

I feed all of them the same low calcium feed and offer oyster shell on the side. The ones that need the oyster shell for their eggshells typically eat enough. The ones that don't need as much typically don't eat enough to harm themselves.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

What my feed store offers is a 20% protein all-flock crumble that I switch my chicks to when they're almost ready to integrate. We do this gradually, mixing it with their chick feed in a 75/25 ratio (75% chick feed, 25% all-flock) for a week, then 50/50 for a week, then 25/75, then they get just straight all-flock. At that point I remove any barriers between the two groups and they're fully integrated. Like Ridgerunner, we supply oyster shell in a separate vessel for those who need it. We have a rooster and at least 5 "retirees" that are not laying, who do not need the calcium.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Simple answer is always feed the entire group whatever the youngest ones are eating.

I've never felt the need to do gradual changes of feed as I use the same 2 brands of feed, so it's just switching to different variations of the same feed.