Thoughts on feeding starter only until layer age?

[gregblackburn]

I have heard some people say they go with a grower feed from 10 weeks until 18/19 weeks or when the hens start laying. Is it okay to feed starter the whole way though or should I transition the birds to a different feed at 10 weeks? Right now they are 6 weeks old still on the starter. 20% protein if I recall.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

You can just put them on an all flock, grower, or keep them on starter. You never have to put them on layer. I have some hens approaching two years old that have never had layer in the lives. I feed all mine from ~3 weeks old until the day they die 20% meat bird pellets, with oyster shell on the side. I was feeding flock raiser but the meat bird is cheaper, there's less waste since it's pellets, and its from local mills.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

IMHO 20% is excessive after 8 or 10 weeks.
An adolescent does just fine on 15-16% protein. The only time I give hens over 17% protein is when they're molting and building feathers.
Excessive protein has to be processed by the liver and can cause articular gout. It also is converted to ammonia in the bedding creating ventilation issues.

You can feed starter till POL but I'd cut back to 18%.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I used a medicated Start & Grow 18% protein from day one to 16 weeks, back of tag says (Feed continuously from day old until onset of production). Then I mixed it with layers pellets, 50/50 for 2 weeks. Then straight layers pellets at 18 weeks. I have a sex-links type of chicken and they were showing sighs of point of lay, swollen red combs and squatting at 15 weeks. They started to lay between 16 1/2 weeks to 19 weeks. GC

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Good and simple plan.
Following instructions on the bag is the best approach.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

We fed starter until the girls started showing signs they were going to start laying, bright, red combs, squatting & investigating the nest boxes. We then switched to layer. Oyster shell was also made available.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The instructions on the bag assume these are commercial hybrid layers where onset of lay is controlled by breeding, feed, and lighting. We don't have those flocks and don't manage them that way. They want to delay onset of lay a bit. With those small-bodied commercial hybrids if they start to lay too early you can get medical problems plus there just isn't a strong market for those tiny pullet eggs. They've found they get better overall productivity and profitability over the life of the flock if they delay onset of lay until maybe 22 to 23 weeks of age. The eggs are bigger and the pullet's bodies have matured a bit more to handle it.

Their sequence is to feed a flock that will be layers a high protein feed, 20 to 22% protein, the first month or so to get them off to a good start and feathered out. Then they drop back to a lower protein Grower, maybe 16%, until they are around 11 weeks old when they switch to a 15% Developer/Finisher. Their hybrids don't need that much protein at that stage. Then around 18 weeks they switch to a layer, probably about 16% protein with more calcium to get hem ready to lay in about a month. The vast majority will be laying then because of the lighting, breeding, and the small bump in protein.

Our flocks are not that finely tuned for profitability and not by breeding. In general we can feed a lower or higher protein and it's not a big issue. If our flocks forage for some of their food or we give them treats we mess up that nutritional balance anyway. It's not what is in one bite, it's what overall nutrients they eat over the course of an entire day. it's not just by day either but sort of an average over several days.

You'll find that some of us feed a lot of treats or allow them to forage a lot, some don't. Some try to micro-mange every bite they eat and some of us are a lot more relaxed about that. We might feed a fairly high protein feed like 20% forever, we might feed something a lot closer to 16% regardless of how many treats they get or how much they forage. There is no one way to do any of this, we are all over the board.

You can feed them a Starter or Flock Raiser or whatever they call that at your feed store, probably 20% protein, from now until they die of old age, just offer oyster shell on the side when they hit laying age to up the calcium. You can switch to a Grower, probably 16% protein, from now until they die of old age, again with the oyster shell. You can keep them on that 20% protein or 16% protein until you switch to Layer. We are not as rigidly tied in to a method where everything is tightly controlled to maximize profit to stay in business and feed out families. Our flocks can handle it.