How to feed 10 week old chicks with the laying hens?

[ochochicas]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I couldn't find an answer in old posts.

We have 8 laying hens and 7 youngsters that are 10 weeks old. For the last 3 weeks the chicks have been free ranging but have been separated from the hens at night so they can eat starter crumbles and not get picked on while they are roosting. Everyone is getting along better than expected. Starting today, all 15 of them will be together - free range during the day and in the big coop at night. Of course the hens have been eating the grower crumbles and the chicks are eating the layer pellets. What is the best way to feed them so the birds are getting the correct food? The chicks get lots of veggies and rolled oats. When I fill their feeder they act like they are really hungry, although they have access to food 24 hours a day. They are already fairly big - the smallest one is 2 pounds and the largest one is 3 1/2 pounds.

Thanks!

 

[Judy]

Feed everyone what the young ones need. Or feed the whole flock a flock raiser formula routinely. You can even eat eggs laid by hens who are on medicated (if with amprolium) chick feed. If you do this long term, you will want to have a calcium source in another container.

 

[ochochicas]

Thanks Judy. They have oyster shell available if they want it. Everyone had Corid about a month ago so they are not on medicated feed. I'm not worried about the eggs, I just want to make sure everyone is getting the nutrition they need. The hens gobble down the chicks' food when they can get to it, then when the chicks are hungry their feeder is empty. The eight hens are going through a 50 pound bag of layer pellets in two months; they are hardly eating any of it. Everyone seems fat and happy though. They are free range all day so they eat a lot of different things, plus they get veggies in the morning and the LOVE rolled oats and the horses' grain. Maybe they just aren't very hungry for chicken feed.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Yes, they should all eat the chick feed until the chicks reach about 18 weeks.