when to switch from starter feed?

[RedneckRebel]

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?

I don't think it matters either way, it's going to be all mixed up and such

 

[JulyBlizzard]

At about the age of twenty weeks you should switch feeds depending upon the breed. If they are hybrid layers you would want to switch sooner but I am unsure of the time as I have no interest in hybrid layer breeds. Traditional/heritage breeds is usually about twenty weeks.

Sources Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens

 

[katetolentino]

My starter feed (Nutena) says to feed chicks starter until 22 weeks.

 

[lividoll]

the woman at concord feed told me to give them the start and grow for 4 months, then switch to adult feed with oyster shell. But, it seems almost every post disagrees with that. I have 8, we have gone through about 10lbs of feed, they are 6 weeks old today. I can't give you any advice, just sharing what I was told.

 

[RedneckRebel]

I think 50 pounds for 10 chickens is good

 

[lacasapollo2013]

if you breed them together later then you can get black sex link...they are great layers an hardy in cold weather an hot

 

[sagicraw]

at what age do you put them in your coop?

Can you put them in the coop along with full grown chickens already in the coop?

 

[missnu01]

Once chicks are fully feathered they go to the coop. For the first week in the coop with the big chickens I put up a partition so everyone can see each other but not get to one another, after a week or so I turn everyone loose together. I find that adding a single bird is way harder than adding a small group. A small group will stick together and assimilate into the main flock faster, where I find singly introduced birds have a longer period of upset and distrust with and from the flock. I find in my coop that the chicks stick to themselves and avoid the larger chickens and the adult chickens do the same.
In September I added 5 fully feathered chicks and their mom. The chicks all stuck together as their own tiny chicken flock until just recently. The chicks mom fit right in with the original flock as soon as she stopped brooding the chicks (@12 weeks) A month ago you could look in they yard, or coop and see a flock of adult chickens in one spot, and a flock of adolescents in another spot, but once the pullets have started to lay they are all one happy flock...there wasn't any pecking, I have a rooster that won't let anyone fight, but everyone knows their place with just a look from a higher up chicken most of the time. Jeez that was a super long answer for no reason...anyway my chicks move to the adult flock as soon as they no longer need heat.

 

[just a few]

so what is considered a adult chicken?

 

[missnu01]

Well when I said adult chickens I have 1 5-6 year old big White Rock rooster, a 9 month old buff Orpington, a 2-3 year old leghorn x white rock, and a 1 year old silkie. To which I added a barnyard bantam mix and her brood... So I had adult large fowl and I added bantam chicks... I'm not sure when a chicken is considered an adult, but I consider them an adult when they start laying.