Chicks eating both layer and chick starter

[logansmommy7]

I have four, five week old baby chicks in with all the big chickens. They are doing totally fine and are tended by their mother. However, I have read in other posts that chicks eating too much layer food could be bad for them. Is this true? I have been making a mixture each morning of layer food, chick starter, and oyster shells/crushed egg shells for all of them to nibble on. They also get lots of garden stuff like weeds, and table scraps. Will they be okay? They (the babies) are growing like weeds...no pun intended!

 

[logansmommy7]

Any advice on this??

 

[Mahlzeit]

Personally I like to keep chicks seperate. I keep the momma and babies alone and just on starter and then grower feed. The hich amount of calcium in layer pellets is not good for their development.

 

[logansmommy7]

I totally get that. Thanks for the info. However, I just started my flock and the chicks have been with their mother free range from day 1. They are not that tame and I don't think I could separate them. Do you think they will be ok? They are growing fine and have doubled in size in a week!

 

[Mahlzeit]

They could turn out ok. Or if you do have the space to keep them seperate you could go in and get them at night when they are under momma.

 

[ging3rhoffman]

I have the same question...sorta. I have 12 week old and 1 week old chicks. Can they all stay on the chick starter until the 1 week olds start to lay? Basically, can they older chicks, when they start laying stay on the starter until they are all laying?

Another thought that just went through my newbie chicken head. How would i keep the younger chicks out of the oyster shell offerend for the girls that are needing it.

Sounds like seperate pens until my younger girls start to lay. I wanted to add my new chicks here in a few weeks with the older ones because their run is so much safer than the empty meat pen which is made out of chicken wire.


What to do????

 

[dlhunicorn]

using a larger pellet (instead of mash or crumbles) for the layer feed will usually solve the problem (offer the chick starter and the layer feed in separate areas > you will find the adults raiding the chick starter more of a problem than vice versa

 

[needtohatch]

Quote:
I currently have 3 pullets about 11 weeks in with my main flock. I have grower/finisher out for all plus free choice oyster shells. I never see the pullets in the oyster shells. I have been told that they wont eat it unless they need it. So far so good.

 

[kamuelamom]

using a larger pellet (instead of mash or crumbles) for the layer feed will usually solve the problem (offer the chick starter and the layer feed in separate areas > you will find the adults raiding the chick starter more of a problem than vice versa

I have a problem with my older girls loving the chick starter! I cannot stop them from eating it, they seem to prefer it to their laying pellets.

As for the younger birds (16 weeks - are they called pullets?) eating the layer pellets, that seems like less of a problem. What to do?

I have separate cages which they use at night, but during the day they are all released into the same yard area...

 

[Egghead_Jr]

We've not been able to keep feed separate, it's a losing battle unless your animals are caged separately and that's not what we do rather allow free range. To solve the problem we only feed starter when chicks are outside for summer. The hens get the calcium they need by offering egg shells to the side free choice (or oyster shells, we use free egg shells).