New member here!!

[thu2train]

hello everyone!! I am new to this group and I'm really excited! I have dreamed about having chickens for as long as I could remember and we finally got a house with a large enough yard for chickens!! I got my pullets roughly two weeks ago. I was given a 50 lb bag of starter feed. The hens are roughly 5 months old. Do I have to go buy layer feed or can I just feed them starter feed and still produce eggs?

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, thu2train, and

. Thank you for joining our community! I usually wait til the first egg before switching them over to layer feed, but at 5 months and depending on breed, they should be laying very soon. Best wishes and enjoy those fresh eggs!!

 

[QueenMisha]

Starter or grower? Grower wouldn't hurt them at all, I like to see birds stay on grower until about 18 weeks. Starter shouldn't hurt them either, but it is medicated with a thiamine blocker known as "Amprolium" (for coccidiosis) which, at this age, is unnecessary. You might consider purchasing a bag of layer feed and mixing it with the starter, which will allow you to feed out the starter while reducing the levels of now unnecessary Amprolium (and building up a bit of calcium while they get ready to lay).

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Starter or grower? Grower wouldn't hurt them at all, I like to see birds stay on grower until about 18 weeks. Starter shouldn't hurt them either, but it is medicated with a thiamine blocker known as "Amprolium" (for coccidiosis) which, at this age, is unnecessary. You might consider purchasing a bag of layer feed and mixing it with the starter, which will allow you to feed out the starter while reducing the levels of now unnecessary Amprolium (and building up a bit of calcium while they get ready to lay).

While mostly true - not all starter is medicated so it is important to differentiate between medicated and unmedicated starters when making such statements.

 

[CuzChickens]

Welcome to Backyard chickens!! I hope you enjoy it and the camaraderie here and everybody that goes nuts over chickens (me being one of them....) Have fun! And ask questions!

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC - you have some great advice already so I'll just say hello!

All the best
CT

 

[drumstick diva]

If you feed them starter till it runs out, once they start laying, put out a separate container for crushed oyster shell. Your layers will be able to eat it free choice as needed.

 

[thu2train]

Thanks for all the input!! The starter feed does have amprolium. Would this still be okay to feed until the first egg?

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[QueenMisha]

While mostly true - not all starter is medicated so it is important to differentiate between medicated and unmedicated starters when making such statements.

This is correct. I should have clarified. Some starters are nonmedicated, usually the organic ones.