when to switch from starter feed?

[myhenhouse]

Our babies are going to be 5 weeks old Sat and after 2 huge bags of medicated chick feed we went to 1 and 1 medicated and non going tonight for more feed.... they don't have all their feathers so more chick feed half med. and half reg. in two weeks they will go out to their new coop and will get reg feed. They get hard boiled eggs for a treat and Kelp and spinach...... watermelon rind and when they go out to the coop they will start getting more fresh vegies and fruits along with their feed. 30 babies and being spoiled
2 weeks ago

 

[Gifa]

Feed them Starter until they are 16 weeks. Switch to Layer. If you have slower maturing breeds that don't typically start laying around 18-20 weeks, it doesn't hurt to keep them on starter until they are 20-22 weeks before switching.

I would also recommend sprinkling oyster shell in their feeder can/tray between 16 and 18 weeks through week 20... After that, offer it primarily free choice only**. I feel this gives them an extra calcium boost right as or before they start laying, and doing this also introduces them to Oyster Shell as something they can/should consume regularly for the calcium.


You might also consider switching from crumble to pellets anytime after 12 weeks... It helps cut down on waste, because pellets don't disintegrate into dust as fast as the crumbles do in outdoor humidity, plus switching at 12 weeks doesn't give them time to develop any bad habits... like billing through crumble dust for in tact crumbles and throwing perfectly good feed all over the ground, which can attract mice and other freeloading vermin.



**I have only had one shell-less egg incident... it was one of my hens' 11th egg. She was 26 weeks old at the time. When that happened, I maintained a sprinkle of oyster shell in the feed can again for 2 weeks. I also throw a handful of OS into the feed can if I feel like the shells are getting too thin in order to avoid shell-less egg problems.

 

[jhammett]

I understand how that is, several of mine are many weeks apart

HOW DO YOU DO THAT WONT BOTH GROUPS EAT WHAT EVER IS AVAILABLE. DO YOU HAVE TO HAVE A SECOND COOP OR RUN TO FEED THEM IN WHICH WOULD MEAN KEEPING THEM SEPERATED? THEN HOW AND WHEN DO Y OU COMBINE THE FLOCK?

 

[TATTOOJOSH]

i have raised a few flocks so far in my life and the one thing i have noticed about feeding your chickens is they are kinda like goats and will eat more different kinds of things than you think. my chickens eat lettuce, weeds, grass, tomatoes cucumbers, raddishes, apples and all sorts of veggies. heck one time my baby gave them chicken nuggets and they ate that like it was a treat. i let my ladies forage around the backyard for several hours a day, picking at all the weeds and grass and bugs. this new flock is only 5 weeks old but have been going out in the yard for 3 or 4 weeks now. i bought a 50lb sack of chick starter for13 hens and they have full time access to it all day and i think i have went through maybe 25 lbs or so of it, and part of that is because i changed their food when they pooped in it. i love my ladies but when it comes to food...their dumb...they eat whatever and they lay eggs just as good as a chicken on a monitered diet. the only thing i make sure i give them is oyster shells when their around 14 -18 weeks. i say let them eat it if they want to eat it...saves me from buying so much feed. do you think that generations ago they have scientifically made feed for chickens....nope they ate whatever thay could find...dont have to be so precise unless maybe this is a bussines for you...

 

[Beth K.]

I switched mine when they were 3 months old. They did just fine.

 

[RedneckRebel]

i have raised a few flocks so far in my life and the one thing i have noticed about feeding your chickens is they are kinda like goats and will eat more different kinds of things than you think. my chickens eat lettuce, weeds, grass, tomatoes cucumbers, raddishes, apples and all sorts of veggies. heck one time my baby gave them chicken nuggets and they ate that like it was a treat. i let my ladies forage around the backyard for several hours a day, picking at all the weeds and grass and bugs. this new flock is only 5 weeks old but have been going out in the yard for 3 or 4 weeks now. i bought a 50lb sack of chick starter for13 hens and they have full time access to it all day and i think i have went through maybe 25 lbs or so of it, and part of that is because i changed their food when they pooped in it. i love my ladies but when it comes to food...their dumb...they eat whatever and they lay eggs just as good as a chicken on a monitered diet. the only thing i make sure i give them is oyster shells when their around 14 -18 weeks. i say let them eat it if they want to eat it...saves me from buying so much feed. do you think that generations ago they have scientifically made feed for chickens....nope they ate whatever thay could find...dont have to be so precise unless maybe this is a bussines for you...

In the coops when they get older

I agree that they will eat almost anything, I know that if there is a use in a coop they will kill it and more than likely devour it if given the opportunity

 

[Catfish267]

at 10 weeks switch to grower and then start feeding layer mash at 18 weeks

 

[kynewbchickie]

Or it's like a lot of other stuff that "old timers" say...like about turkeys looking up in the rain and drowning and such...who knows...I'm happy with any hen that lays 5 or 6 eggs a week and you aren't going to increase that.

Really? My grandmother raised turkeys and peafowl and never said anything like that, and she also had hens that laid an egg every day of the week for nearly 4 years.

 

[kynewbchickie]

at 10 weeks switch to grower and then start feeding layer mash at 18 weeks

That's what we're planning on doing with our flock - the girls at least. The roos will be on broiler at 18 weeks. Also was told by my chicken mentor here in town that different areas/regions/climates tend to require different nutritional needs - I've not read any research to support that though. Would be interesting to see if there is any research out there on that topic!

 

[themadchicken]

I have broody's and they teach the chicks to eat everything they eat. This includes the normal feed. Cracked corn, cracked wheat, and cracked barley. I also mix in other stuff to the feed. (etc. scratch, oyster shell, lime stone, DE, whole flock feed, and dried duckweed when in season) They also get the same left over food from dinner. most people call this treats but i call it scrap's. NO STARCH, FAT, or ACIDS. I mix the chick starter 50/50 with the feed from day 1. Since the hen and chicks have no access to dirt for the first month i also add chick grit to the mix. The first month they are in a brooder or enclosed coop of some kind. I try to give them things they would normally find in the yard. They love new grass and bugs. Last night they got big fat night crawlers. The moma broke the worms into pieces then called the chicks to come eat. It was great fun.