tell me how bad I've messed up

[tigger65]

ok we have 3 hens (laying)
2 pullets (22 weeks)
2 pullets (8 weeks)
15 chicks (brooding pen 2 weeks old)
problem is they are all eating the same food! Layena
I have a small feeder inside the run with starter grower for the younger pullets and a large feeder with Layena for the hens and rooster,but they all flock to the large feeder. we are unable to keep them seperated due to run size (10x10) .
will this be ok ?? or am I going to need a seperate run for the pullets?

 

[equine chick]

The chicks under 18 weeks really need chick starter. Any way you can separate them at feeding time?

 

[tigger65]

well they all have free access to their respective foods all day long

 

[dacjohns]

I've been learning a lot as I bumble along.

Chick starter has a higher protein content than layer food. They need it becuse of their rapid growth.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

The young chicks don't need access to a layer feed, it has too much calicum for their growing bodies......I keep mine separated til they are at point of lay and can handle layer feeds....

Only other thing to do is feed everyone the chick starter/grower and put a dish of oyster shell out for the hens and pullets...

 

[Katy]

Once mine are put in together they get Purina FLock Raiser and I put out oyster shell for the hens.

 

[tigger65]

local supplier has Flock Raiser in stock so I guess I'll go with that and oyster shells for the Hens

 

[Yanna]

I have 3 4-week-old and 2 6-week-olds chicks whose diet I supplement with live crickets, fresh fruits, greens and mealworms.

I've been to two suburban feed stores and neither one has chick food - my choices were either a homemade mix that one feed store claimed has everything needed for chicks and chickens at every life stage or questionably wholesome Layena. I ran out of the dubious homemade stuff today and just brought home 50# of Layena (I'm not a huge fan of Purina, although I know they use it at zoos).

Is it really a big life-or-death issue? Maybe I'm a really bad chicken mom but as long as they're eating a varied diet and looking & acting healthy, I don't see how there's really an issue (unless you have a large number of birds and can't individually monitor their health very easily).

Okay, and I'm cheap and don't want to pay for shipping.

What would you do?

 

[Katy]

I wouldn't feed the Layena. They're way too young to be on a laying ration. They can't process the extra calcium that's in for hens that are laying. I'd go with the good for all ages mix.

 

[digitS']

A laying hen has an extremely high need for calcium because she is "building" eggshells. Her requirements are about 5 times higher than chickens not kicking out an egg a day.

Here's what poultry scientists and professors at Auburn University have to say: ". . . if an immature chicken is fed a layer diet, the calcium level is so high that the young bird will experience improper bone formation, kidney failure, and possibly death."

It isn't instantaneous and this note is not to scare you but . . . . there are better things to feed chicks than layer feed.

Steve