different feed for old and young?

[aitchbe]

my chicks are now 12 weeks old and I've been doing small introductions to my two adult hens through the fencing, and switching out in the coop. right now i have the chicks on starter, non-medicated. if I move them in with the older girls, how to do manage two different kinds of feed? do i let the old ones eat starter? or are the chicks old enough for regular crumbles?

thanks for any info you can share!

- adults are Rhode Island Red
- chicks are Wyandottes and Rhode Island Red
- all are outdoors (garage and coop)
- adults free range in backyard during day, in coop at night

 

[CoyoteMagic]

I feed Purina Flock Raiser to everybody. I may give 1 bag of Starter to the chicks but from then on out it's Flock Raiser. I also offer crushed oyster shell for them if they want it.

 

[gryeyes]

General purpose feed, or Flock Raiser, with free choice oyster shell for the layers, is the best way to go. All my chicks have gone to all purpose feed (equivalent to Flock Raiser) between 8 and 12 weeks, depending on when I ran out of starter feed. Some got all purpose feed a week early, too, because I didn't want to buy another 50# bag of it.

Of course, now I know I can buy chick start in 5# bags, but it IS more expensive that way.

Just don't put Layena or other layer food out if you can't keep the youngsters out of it. The layers will do fine on all purpose feed, as long as you have free choice oyster shell for them. (I put oyster shell in an empty tuna can, nailed to the inside coop wall. The layers help themselves - they know when they need it. Much smarter than me, because I know I should be eating things much better for me.... but I don't!)

 

[aitchbe]

Thanks for the info. I just bought the big bag of unmedicated chick starter. I don't remember if Layena is the brand that I have my older girls on or not. Can I mix the two together? I assume the Layena won't provide enough nutrition for the young ones. What does starter do for the older girls?

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Started wont hurt the bigger girls but layer may hurt your younger ones. I think most of us use Flock Raiser these days because we have such a mix of flocks.