Food confusion

[nessanoodle]

Hi, I have 2 pullets, one is a 30 week old plymouth barred rock and the other is a 28 week old coronation sussex. neither of them are laying yet and are currently still on a grower crumble. when I went to buy them new feed the guy in the shop said I should have them on a layers pellet and I'm just a bit confused and worried about whether I should switch them as they are not laying yet. Also should I be worried that they are not laying yet? I live in New Zealand where we are just heading into late Autumn/Winter now. They are also free range

 

[subhanalah]

I would just provide additional crushed oyster she'll on the side, if they need it, they'll eat it. If they don't need it, they'll leave it alone.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Put you pullets on a good 16-18% layer ration with Vitamin D3 added. A 30 week old pullet at this time of the year is already 2 to 3 months behind in her laying so something is amiss. Supplement the layer ration with free choice crushed oyster shell and a little canned dog food every day or two.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

In the last 24 hours another poster complained about her hens developing issues with laying after the poster transition her hens from a Layer ration to a Starter/Grower ration. It may just be me but I am beginning to see a trend developing.

 

[annelions]

I've fed my laying hens Purina Start and Grow for the past several months that they've been laying, haven't noticed any issues. They have an entire backyard to free range in, so they're getting plenty of bugs and things. I've also been feeding them plenty of grit and oyster/egg shells. I only JUST switched them over to Layena recently. I'm not sure they like it very much, but they're still eating it.