Hi all, we recently added some new chicks to our little flock. We had two girls, two years old that free range, have their food in the coop as needed. We just introduced the 'babies' now 9 weeks old to the big girls. They all seem to be getting along great for the most part. My dilemma is that the babies should still be on their grower feed and the big girls the layer. So I replaced the food inside the coop with the grower feed. I thought I remembered that it would be okay for older hens to eat that... may not produce as much, but not a big deal. So when I let them all out of the coop in the morning, I like to give my big girls a chance to have 'their' food. However, the babies seem to find it as well. How bad is it if the little ones eat a bit of the layer feed this early? How bad is it if my big girls just don't get any layer feed for a few more weeks. Which is better or worse?
They are all out pecking the bugs and grass for the better part of the day too.
Also, just as a note. We cannot separate them too much anymore 'on the range' as our girls used to be free rangers and are now into a limited range area as we are trying to sustain our garden this year instead of giving it up to the hens. They still have a decent sized area, but again, not given the full yard.
Thanks for any information. Just want to make sure they all get a proper diet.
They are all out pecking the bugs and grass for the better part of the day too.
Also, just as a note. We cannot separate them too much anymore 'on the range' as our girls used to be free rangers and are now into a limited range area as we are trying to sustain our garden this year instead of giving it up to the hens. They still have a decent sized area, but again, not given the full yard.
Thanks for any information. Just want to make sure they all get a proper diet.