meat chicks mixed with layers

ovosdegalinhas

Hatching
Jun 5, 2017
1
0
7
my husband purchased 12 meat chicks and 6 layers this past weekend. Currently they are all together in the same brooder. How long can I keep them together? Do they meat chickens have a different feed than the layers? How soon can I bring them outside to the coop?

Thanks everyone! Any information is greatly appreciated. First time raising chicks of any kind.
 
Welcome to BYC! :woot
Glad you're here!

As for diet... There are commercial feeds designed for raising meat chicks and different ones for egg layers. Some people have different methods or preferences on feed that work well. However, here are the typical feeding basics:

For meat chicks: feed them Broiler Starter for the first 0-6 weeks and Broiler Finisher until slaughter. :)

For layer chicks: feed them chick starter until they are about 6 weeks, then switch to Pullet Grower until around week 20. Then switch to layer Pellets/Crumble. :)

These values are for commercial feeds. Some people use other feeds with great results but balanced nutrition is important. Optimum nutrition is more vital for birds that will reach adulthood and lay eggs than birds that will be eaten before they are around that long. However, the meat quality and taste of the chickens that will be slaughtered depends largely on what they are fed. :p

There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding chickens healthy table scraps either. However, steer away from unhealthy (highly processed or packaged foods and etc...) and gear towards produce/fruits/veggies/seeds when feeding chickens table scraps.
 
As for how soon you can move them to the coop, that depends on the environment of the outside. If the temperature is fairly neutral [not below 60F (approximately) at night and not above 90F during the day], they can be outside as soon as their feathers are in.

Hope this helps! :)
 
Welcome! I feed everyone Flock Raiser, which is an all flock feed that's (almost) always fresh at the local feed stores. Some people limit feed to their Cornishx meat chicks (they are the white ones) so they grow slightly slower, and hopefully fewer die of heart failure, and collapse with joint problems, before they go in the freezer at six to eight weeks.
Your 'normal' layer type chicks will be running around and be much smaller than the meat birds, and generally do better.
My chicks go outside to their separate area in the coop, with their heat lamp, at two to three weeks of age. They are seen but not integrated with the adults until feathered out, at five weeks of age or so.
Meat chicks get huge fast, and will need less heat for a shorter time than your little layers, so make sure and allow for that.
I never try to raise normal chicks with meat bird chicks, even the slower growing red ranger type that I prefer. They are really very different. Mary
 
The important thing when brooding a mixed bag of layer/meat chicks is that you have PLENTY of room in the brooder. They must be able to warm themselves, while the opposite end of the brooder is much cooler. You will need to see that they have a foot print of heated space under the lamp that is big enough for them all to rest comfortably without pig piling to get warm. Avoid having the heat lamp foot print in a corner. I like to see the other end down to 70* or what ever the ambient temp is if you are using a heat lamp. If you are using a heat pad brooder, this is not such an issue. You also need much more space with the mixed bag of chicks. When they are all the same size, if one chick lays down on top of an other, it's not such a big deal. But when those CXR decide to use a layer for a pillow, it means a dead layer chick.

Provide adequate heat, and predator proof shelter, and they can be brooded outside at any time.
 
Here is an actual depiction of how much broiler-frying chickens have progressed in the previous 60 years.

chickens then and now.jpe


They have vastly different food and housing requirements from laying hens.
Keep this in mind.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom