Ok, I'll pick up some grower this weekend. BTW ... what about my rooster? Do I need to somehow feed him differently once I switch back to layer?
There are two camps on that - the yeses and the nos. I am a "yes" person myself.
The excess calcium in layer feed is not healthy for any non-laying bird - males, young females, molting females or older females who are past production, etc. It does build up in the body and contribute to things such as kidney damage. For this reason, a mixed flock is most easily managed in the healthiest way possible for ALL birds by feeding a non-calcium enriched feed (ie grower, all flock, etc) and providing calcium for the taking by laying birds in the form of free choice oyster shell. The argument of the "no" camp is that they feed roosters and other non laying birds layer all the time and never see any problem -- well, the damage to the birds is internal and the visible sign of such damage only comes when the bird dies. You would only see that excess calcium may have played a part in that death if a necropsy were performed. *Most* folks just assume the bird died because it was time for it to die and don't realize that while the bird did live, say, three years it may have lived years longer were it not suffering from underlying health issues caused by an improper diet.