Introducing a new brood to my existing flock, what to feed?

[meowzer182]

I have raised chickens for many years. I always have the one flock and waited till they passed to start another.
This spring I got some chicks and have them on medicated chick starter. I usually keep them on some sort of chick starter till about 16 weeks or when they lay their first egg (like instructed on the bag). This time around, I can't do that. My adult hens go bonkers when they see the babies food.
Is it okay to have the babies eat the layer food at that young of an age (less protein and more calcium I've heard can be harmful to growing chicks). I'm not going to put them outside just yet (they're 7 weeks but still too small and not feathered enough, they're silkies) probably going to wait another week or two. And they're still cheeping like chicks, too.

 

[Freeloading slacker]

What I did is I got a bin and made a hole just big enough for the chicks to go through but not the hens and put the chick food in there.

 

[meowzer182]

Wow! That is really smart! I'm going to do that. Thank you for the input!

What I did is I got a bin and made a hole just big enough for the chicks to go through but not the hens and put the chick food in there.

 

[rosemarythyme]

A chick only feeder will only work until chicks get too big to fit themselves.

Switch your thinking - put hens on what the chicks are eating, instead of chicks on what hens are eating. No harm in hens eating chick feed, but layer feed has too much calcium for chicks.