When do I change the chick feed?

[Suburban chick farmer 09]

My egg layers are about 4 weeks old and I was wondering when to switch their feed and what kind to switch to.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[freddy22]

what are you feeding them right now?

 

[Suburban chick farmer 09]

Quote:
Medicated starter.

 

[briteday]

Of the people with chickens that I know, some switch at 16-20 weeks to layer pellets. And some people wait until they see an egg and then switch the flock to layer pellets.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

I feed all mine Purina Flock raiser from egg to freezer and have hand no problems. Just nice healthy birds. I'm feeding quail, chicks, layers, and a roo. I bag of feed for all of them.

 

[Sissy]

From hatch to 16 weeks chickstarter,
then Purina layena.
this is my first time using( medicated )
chick starter and bought it by mistake
and noticed it did have a more pleasant odor
then the other chick starter.

 

[cmom]

I use medicated Starter up to 8 weeks.
Grower Crumbles or pellets from 8 weeks until you get your first egg.
Layer from first egg on.

If I use medicated Starter/Grower I feed it to the birds until I get my first egg then I switch over to Layer. If I have any Starter/Grower or Grower left over when I get my first egg I mix in the leftover Grower feed with the Layer feed. I have never had any problems. The medication in the Starter/Grower feed is sulfa based. It inhibits the growth of cocci so the cocci can't reproduce. Amprolium, is the medication in feed. Only a problem if you have allergies to sulfa or are super sensitive to sulfa drugs.

 

[cmom]

Oops......... A duplicate

 

[Marlinchaser]

check the side of the bag, it should have a chart on it.

 

[Wynette]

Listen to cmom on this one - if you start feeding layer feed before they begin laying, you're increasing your chances that they will begin laying too soon, which could result in laying issues such as prolapse and internal laying. I know it's hard, because if you're like me, you can't WAIT fro those eggies. However, if they grow up too soon/quickly, you could be setting yourself up for problems later.

I feed stater until I see the first egg from that batch, then I switch to layer.