Do I have this right?

[FirewifeJess]

I want to get things right and only feed my girls the best! Right now (since I have more than a typical "backyard" flock with my 11 girls) I decided to use Purina Medicated Chick Starter. I mix chick grit in with their food daily and they're healthy and thriving with no pasting since day 1. We have decided to switch to organic, non-GMO, corn-free feed for both the grower and layer stages. I found THIS awesome feed locally so I'm pretty excited that it's so readily available, sustainable, and has a small footprint, and that my chickens will only be receiving feed with the highest nutrition content around. So, I guess what I want to know is right when they turn 8 weeks old (or whenever I run out of chick starter that is closest to that time period), I switch to grower from 8-20 weeks (and give them layer grit plus some occasional treats like scratch and worms), then from 20 weeks OR the first egg I switch to layer feed? Does all that sound accurate and if so how does one make the switch? Cold turkey? Start mixing feeds for a couple days/week? I don't know how to go about that with the least impact on the girls. Thanks!

 

[Judy]

I've read it's best to mix the feeds for a few days or so; I don't know that it matters, but it might very well cause them to accept the change more readily. Your schedule is that feed manufacturers usually recommend. The only thing I do differently is not mixing grit (or oyster shell) in with feed, but offering it separately, so they can choose.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Oh ok! How do you offer it separately? Just provide a separate bowl next to the food?

 

[Den in Penn]

Separate bowls will work. They only need so much grit to grind their food, so mixing it in their food may be giving them to much. They will eat what they need. The same with the calcium supplement oyster shell.