Grower feed or Layer feed?

[Wil781]

I have 4 Golden Comet hens and one Bantam BB Red rooster. My hens are coming up on 16 weeks of age and I'm wondering if I should start layer feed when the first egg appears or should I continue feeding grower feed and offer oyster shell on the side?

 

[Spartan22]

Grower feed until they’re 18-20 wks old and just offer oyster shell on the side if any lays first egg.

 

[chicknmania]

If they were mine, I would continue with grower for a while. We have roosters and a mixed flock including peafowl. We alternate Flock Raiser and Layer. We feed a bag of layer, which lasts about a month or a little more, then when it's gone, we'll feed a bag of Flock Raiser, with Oyster Shell free choice, then when THAT's gone, we switch back to a bag of Flock Raiser again, and so forth. In the off seasons...fall and winter...we don't usually feed Layer at all. The roosters don't need a lot of calcium, and the peafowl do need the extra protein in the Flock Raiser, so it seems to balance out ok, we've been doing it that way for a few years.

 

[Wil781]

So the extra calcium in the layer won't hurt the rooster during the month or so that you feed layer?

 

[GC-Raptor]

I have Golden Comets and mine started to lay at 16 1/2 weeks, all were laying by 19 weeks.
I switched to a 18% layers pellets by mixing it 50/50 with the Starter Grower feed at 16 weeks for 2 weeks, then straight layers pellets.
I also mixed the pellets with scratch and scattered on dry ground, to get them used to pellets.
I have since switched to a Non-Medicated Start & Grow 18%, because I can get a 25# bag. I only have 3 hens, lost 2 earlier this year. A 40# bag of feed went bad before they finished it.
I provide Oyster Shells in a separate container.
I switched to a 16% layers pellet last year and they started feather picking. So I switched back to 18%, and within a month they stopped that behavior.
I recommend a feed with 18/20% Protein. GC

 

[Wil781]

Thanks for the info, my girls should start producing eggs I would say over next 2 to 3 weeks, there combs are getting nice and red!

 

[chicknmania]

So the extra calcium in the layer won't hurt the rooster during the month or so that you feed layer?

No. Usually what we do is mix it with cracked corn or scratch. They get a little of both. I know a lot of people would gasp at this, but really, ours eat equal amounts of crumbles and grain, so they're still getting lots of nutrition.

 

[adstowe]

I feed grower/starter or something similar (feather fixer. Meat bird etc. depending on where I get it. Just something with at least 18% protein, non medicated and without the added calcium of layer) and put out oyster shell for them. They do good with that and I can feed it to everyone. Babies, roosters and hens all get the same feed.

 

[Wil781]

I feed grower/starter or something similar (feather fixer. Meat bird etc. depending on where I get it. Just something with at least 18% protein, non medicated and without the added calcium of layer) and put out oyster shell for them. They do good with that and I can feed it to everyone. Babies, roosters and hens all get the same feed.

. That is what I'm going to do, they haven't started laying but could be about any time so will start giving oyster shell on the side when I see first egg.....thank you!

 

[adstowe]

. That is what I'm going to do, they haven't started laying but could be about any time so will start giving oyster shell on the side when I see first egg.....thank you!

You can put the oyster shell out now. They'll eat it when they need it, but pretty much ignore it when they don't.