egg song from young pullet

[sharol]

I have 7 14 week old pullets. This morning I heard the egg song while they were all hanging out in the flower garden outside my door. I have heard the recording from gryeyes, and I recognized it immediately. I hurried over to the door to see who was singing, and I think it was one of the two Delawares because her tail went down and up in time to the bocking.

OK. I know they are way too young to lay yet. Is it common for pullets to "practice" the egg song?

Sharol

 

[Mahonri]

They are just juvies, trying to get ready to do their thing.

 

[harewizard]

Are they; or this particular one pullet squatting when you approach?

14 weeks is pretty young. I had a RIR lay at 17 weeks.

 

[sharol]

No squatting. I suspect that Mahonri is right -- just practicing. I really don't want them to start laying too young. I understand that is pretty hard on them.

When should I be shifting from starter/growth food to flock raiser?

I'm such a newbie.

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

Quote:
I was fortunate enough to have an experienced dairy and egg farmer over on another website guide me through this process with my first batch of girls two years ago.


She recommended that I begin to change the pullets food from starter food to layer feed at 16 weeks of age. Earlier than that, and their little bodies cannot handle the excess calcium in the layer feed. She suggested that I mix some layer feed into their starter food -- just a little bit to start -- and gradually increase the amount of layer feed they get in their feed mix over the next two weeks. The goal, she said, is to have them completely off starter food and onto layer feed by the time they are 18 weeks old, BUT to do it gradually, rather than all of a sudden.


I tried that method, and it worked great. So I have been using it with every group of new pullets since.

 

[sharol]

Thanks Barry. That is exactly the sort of info I was looking for. That sounds perfectly logical to me.

Do you also provide oyster shell in addition to the layer pellets?

sharol