We have 9 birds, 4 are 5 weeks old (Red Sex Link/Welsummer), 2 are 4 weeks(EE) and 3 are 3 weeks(Minorca/Brahma). As they are all together and eat the same food, should I just continue to feed the older birds the starter longer or switch the younger birds to developer earlier? And when can they move to a more veggie scrap based diet and what kind of protein supplements will the layers need? Thanks in advance
You can switch to developer when it's convenient; no need to waste part of a bag of feed. When they start laying, most people switch to a layer feed. Some feed a different feed like a flock raiser or a developer after laying starts, because they prefer the higher protein, but many feed layer with no protein supplement, or only a little in the form of treats. It is generally recommended that treats like veggie scraps be less than 10% of the diet, in order to ensure they receive a sufficient amount of the various vitamins, minerals and other diet components they need. You can actually start this any time, in modest quantities. Most offer oyster shell separately, as an additional calcium source, when laying starts. If another feed besides layer is chosen at this time, the oyster shell (calcium source) becomes more significant, to ensure they will have enough calcium to make good egg shells. Grit is generally also be offered if they are finding some of their own food foraging or if you offer treats. Some feel chickens get enough grit while foraging. If you want to supplement protein, a higher protein feed as a snack or treat is sometimes used, BOSS is usually a favorite, and table scraps or canned mackerel or a similar inexpensive meat are also used. They usually love grated cheese but it is rather high in sodium; I give it but not often. Some use cat food, but this may not be so healthy for chickens, especially in more than small quantities. See the note near the end of the BYC treats chart about this.
I feed all of my birds Purina Flock Raiser. Newly hatched chicks I will feed one bag of medicated starter but after that it's the Flock Raiser I offer oyster shell if they want it.
