Medicated Blue Seal chick starter for everyone???

[dftkarin]

I am trying to let my 7 two week old chicks intermingle with the adults as much as is safe and even though I've hung the layer feed feeders up to high for the chicks to reach - the laying hens all seem much more interred in eating (messily!!) the chick starter mash I have in a feeder only 2" off the ground! I know that chick starter lacks calcium and that laying hens don;t need as much protein, but if I offer free choice oyster shell up high away from the chicks - is there any danger to my laying hens eating huge amounts of medicated chick starter? Its almost twice the price, but other than that - is it unhealthy?

 

[Judy]

I think they'll do fine on it.

 

[ZooMummzy]

I had this same question this morning so I've been searching threads. Almost all of them say it is fine for hens to eat chick starter. There was also something about all of them eating flock raiser, but I've never heard of that. They said it's not so good for the babies to eat layer food in large amounts but I don't think my little ones can get the pellets down and it would take forever pecking at them to get a lot. I think they would get bored before they ate enough to harm them. I'm going to raise my layer pellets higher so the little ones have less access but nothing I can do about the chick starter. I don't have a way to isolate it from the hens and I have to mix them together as I need the space for new chicks.

 

[RendonRoo]

Can you put a wire barrier around the chick feeder. It could have openings big enough for the smaller chicks to get thru but too small for the grown birds to get thru? I've read that this is a simple solution but i've not had a need to try it. Good Luck

 

[ZooMummzy]

I'm thinking about it but I'm not really sure it is worth the effort since it is ok for the hens to eat the chick food and not the other way around. The chicks are banties and can fly and get it anything and will! I think I'm just going to have to suck it up and spend the extra money on chick starter for a month till I can have them all on layer food. I was more concerned about the medicated starter and the eggs but apparently that is not a problem.