Feeding Flock Raiser?

[Blue_Myst]

Hi! I have several young chickens who I would like to introduce to the older flock preferably by four months of age, depending on their size by then. I know I'm not supposed to feed layer mash until they have started laying eggs or are five months old.

So, my question is, should I move my hens on to flock raiser (instead of layer), and when the chicks are mature enough, put them on flock raiser, too, so they will be all ready to merge?

There will be oyster shell available free choice at all times, of course.

All advice is appreciated

 

[orchidchick]

That's what I ended up doing when I discovered I had a roo in my my new bunch (four) of "pullets" that i bought to add to my current group of three (now two) hens. I had always put out some oyster shell free choice, but was amazed at how much more was consumed by the older girls after I switched to the flock raiser. I like the fact that the protein is a little higher for when you are introducing the youngsters (I added a little game bird too at the time of intro) and I think that helped with the fact that no blood was drawn.

Orchidchick