Switching from grower to layer feed...

[molly d]

Hello! My three girls (1 BO, 1 BSL, and 1 RSL) are approximately 20 weeks old. None of them have started laying yet but I'm hoping they are fairly close. The BSL has a very red comb and wattles so I think she will probably the first to lay, but she's not doing the "egg squat" yet. Anyway, I'm nearing the end of a 50lb bag of grower feed. At the rate they go through food, there's probably another week's worth left in the bucket at most. I'm wondering, is it safe to switch them to layer feed when their grower runs out, even though they're not laying quite yet? I'm hoping they will be within the next few weeks, and am trying to avoid buying another 50lb bag of feed if at all possible. Murphy's Law dictates that if I buy another bag of grower feed, they'll start laying immediately afterwards, and that if I buy the layer feed, they won't lay for weeks.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance, everybody!

 

[ekemily]

I would probably just buy another grower feed and offer free-choice oyster shell. They'll probably be fine either way, though, because they should be very close to laying.
Maybe someone with more nutritional expertise will give you a better idea. At least I'll give you a *bump*

 

[Ridgerunner]

You can do as Ekemily suggested but I'd just go ahead and switch to layer just for simplicity's sake. They have finished their serious growth so they can handle the calcium in the layer OK at 20 weeks and it probably won't be that long before they start to lay anyway. But the grower with oyster shell on the side works too, even after they have started laying.

 

[33yardbirds]

Mine are 17 wks. I just stated 50/50 mix of grower/finisher with layer. Lable on bag suggested layer at 18 wks. They have been getting a 12 oz can of scratch and BOSS in the morning for a couple of weeks now and have been ranging since the middle of may. All their combs are on fire.

 

[molly d]

Thanks for the feedback, everybody. I'll probably just switch them to layer feed, since the majority of their growth is over with. I appreciate the help!