help with feeding

[abooot99]

So, now I am really confused.
I have a flock of chicks that I thought for some reason were 18 weeks old. The grain store guy said just buy layer since they are close to laying and skip another bag of grower for this purpose. They have been on this for about 1.5 weeks.
I was looking at my calender today to estimate when I'd expect eggs only to find out they are only around 15-16 weeks old. I messed up. So Im feeding my 7 girls and roo layer so young.

What to do? Oh I also have 3 guineas that are 4 weeks old and 1 polish pullet that is 2-3 months old. I just purchased game bird starter 26% protein for them.

Do I use the game bird feed for all of them or continue the layer for the older flock?

So confused. I am worried I am not feeding correctly.

 

[SeralTaooke]

Definitely put your older birds back on grower until they reach 18 weeks, or 20 weeks if they are a very large dual-purpose breed. The issue here is that the high calcium given before the point of lay can cause kidney and bone issues. I suppose the game bird might be okay, but it is usually used for chickens in a breeder flock and sounds awfully high protein. Something recommended in Storey's guide which I have not tried, is mixing oats into the grower, up to 50%, then gradually trading out for layer just as the hens reach the point of lay. I think part of the rationale behind that is so that pullets do not begin to lay before their bodies are ready.

I hope this helps a bit- the protein content thing still gives me some issues.