when to transition from starter/grower feed?

[iPeanut1990]

I have 3 RIRs that will be 6 weeks old on Wednesday. They are being fed Dumor starter/grower right now and have been on it since day 1. This bag is just about gone but I'm hoping it will last another couple of weeks. I accidentally just doused their feeder with the hose trying to cool their run off so i had to completely dump everything in it and refill it otherwise I'm pretty sure it would have made it to 10 weeks old. (oops

). Do I really need to buy another starter/grower bag or can I start transitioning them onto the grower/finisher when I go to Tractor Supply for more feed? Also, can I go ahead and buy them some normal poultry grit instead of the chick grit now?

 

[CityFarmer202]

I'm no expert, but i had 4 chicks that were about 3 weeks behind all my other chickens, and when their food ran our, i just gave them the grower/finisher without any problems...they were 8 weeks old. Also, if you want to get another bag, and feed it until its gone, even if they are older than 10 weeks, you can skip the grower/finisher. I had 4 ducklings that were adults before their starter feed ran out. Good luck!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Usually by 10 weeks a 15% finisher is fine. Be ready to supplement some protein if you get feather picking or cannibalism though.

Damp/wet feed will mold but you needn't throw it away. If you just completely cover it with water and allow it to ferment it will keep. You can jump start the ferment with some plain yogurt or kefir with live cultures.

Just wait till they're all laying to switch to layer, or continue the grower and offer oyster shell in a separate container.

 

[iPeanut1990]

So is the consensus to keep feeding them the starter/grower until they lay...? I'm still confused. HELP! lol

 

[Den in Penn]

The consensus on this form is to feed starter, grower or some other non layer feed until they reach POL (Point Of Lay) or till just after the flock has started to lay.

 

[evemfoster]

So is the consensus to keep feeding them the starter/grower until they lay...? I'm still confused. HELP! lol

The Starter/Grower is two feeds in one. Its meant to replace to two different feeds 'Starter' and 'Grower' with the one blended food. You wont have to change feeds until they start laying. Then your next bag should be layer. If you still have a lot of Starter/Grower you can just supplement with oyster or crushed egg shells to bring the calcium levels up.

I have been saving up my egg shells for months just so i would have a readily available calcium supplement on hand if its needed.

I'm not sure but i have all ways thought finisher was for birds raised for meat. I have always raised layers so have never needed finisher.

 

[iPeanut1990]

The Starter/Grower is two feeds in one.  Its meant to replace to two different feeds 'Starter' and 'Grower' with the one blended food.  You wont have to change feeds until they start laying.  Then your next bag should be layer.  If you still have a lot of Starter/Grower you can just supplement with oyster or crushed egg shells to bring the calcium levels up.  

I have been saving up my egg shells for months just so i would have a readily available calcium supplement on hand if its needed.

I'm not sure but i have all ways thought finisher was for birds raised for meat.   I have always raised layers so have never needed finisher. 

Thank you so much!! That makes sense!!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

So is the consensus to keep feeding them the starter/grower until they lay...? I'm still confused. HELP! lol

Sorry to confuse you.
Try not to complicate it.
Other than protein and calcium, most chicken feeds have the same levels of other nutrients. A hundred years of research in optimal nutrition has shown how much of each vitamin, mineral, amino acid, fat, etc. is needed by a chicken.
So the 2 things to keep in mind are protein and calcium. Actively laying birds need more calcium. Growing bodies need protein, mature birds not so much.

A chicken that is not laying eggs (i.e. building shells) needs very little calcium. That would be chicks, growing birds, roosters, molting hens and setting hens.
Excess calcium is processed by the kidneys and can overload resulting in kidney stones, visceral gout and other problems.

Throughout a chickens life, just like with humans and all other animals, protein needs change.
Young chicks need more protein to build their growing bodies. For that reason, starter feed is higher in protein. Usually anywhere from 18-24%. As they mature, and their organs and tissues aren't growing as much, the protein needs are less. Grower feeds are usually from 16-18% protein. Grown birds not yet laying and roosters can get a finisher, about 15%. When birds molt, they're building a new winter coat. Feathers are about 90% protein so molting season is when a grown bird can use higher protein.
Excess protein isn't as bad as excess calcium but still has to be processed by the liver and kidneys and if it goes on too long could cause problems like articular gout.

Each retail feed manufacturer has a line of feeds for various life stages. They're trying to put out an acceptable product at a competitive cost. Protein is expensive and all protein isn't created equal. Chickens have even more amino acids they can't assimilate and are essential than humans. So the feed ingredients have to complement one another.
Most feeds have grains and legumes as the primary ingredients. The amino acids missing in grains are found in legumes and vice versa. Animal protein is superior as it isn't missing any amino acids but it's hard to find a commercial feed that has animal protein.
Commercial operations (egg and broiler producers) make their own feed but what you can buy at the store is based on the same research. They start a flock of thousands of birds at the same time and it's easier to tailor their feeds to meet the birds needs since they're all the same age. They don't mix ages. They have their replacement pullets on a lighting regimen that keeps them on about 8 hours of light until about 16 weeks of age when they start increasing light until they get to 14-16 hours of light. This way they stimulate the birds to all commence laying at the same time. Usually when they get 5% egg production they switch to a high calcium layer feed. If they lose some to urolithiasis, they don't care because that flock has 20,000 birds in it.

The Starter/Grower is two feeds in one. Its meant to replace to two different feeds 'Starter' and 'Grower' with the one blended food. You wont have to change feeds until they start laying. Then your next bag should be layer. If you still have a lot of Starter/Grower you can just supplement with oyster or crushed egg shells to bring the calcium levels up.

I have been saving up my egg shells for months just so i would have a readily available calcium supplement on hand if its needed.

I'm not sure but i have all ways thought finisher was for birds raised for meat. I have always raised layers so have never needed finisher.

Basically, you're right. As an example, Purina Start-n-grow is 18% protein and has a crumble size that is appropriate for chicks and growing birds.

Finisher is usually for meat birds the last couple weeks but can be used for pullets prior to onset of lay when their protein needs lessen. Roosters are better off with about 15% protein as well.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Very nice post.

The normal recommendations are based on research for the commercial egg laying operations that use hybrid hens especially bred for egg laying. The hens are smaller than dual purpose hens so they can be much more efficient in converting food to eggs. They don’t need to use much feed on supporting a big body. In commercial operations it’s about efficiency, which means getting the healthiest most productive egg layer at the least cost. They have a system with feed and lights worked out where they feed a high-protein feed the first four weeks or so to get the chicks feathered out and off to a good start. Then they cut back to a lower protein Grower, say 16% protein, until they are 12 to 13 weeks old and hit puberty. Then they switch to an even lower protein feed, 15% Finisher, to slow their development and try to keep them from starting to lay too early. They want the pullets’ bodies’ growth to slow down and allow skeletal structure and internal organs to develop enough to support laying fairly large eggs. Since these hybrid pullets are laying machines, they are more susceptible to laying problems than dual purpose chickens. They find their hens are more productive and healthier if they don’t overfeed them. It costs less too.

They don’t get much for those tiny pullet eggs, they want Grade A Large eggs. High protein feeds tend to get them to lay more and bigger eggs earlier. All this time they are manipulating the lights to match the rate of growth and feed. Longer days means they will eat more so young chickens have long days, shorter days means they eat less so in puberty they are kept more in the dark. It also keeps them from starting to lay. Then when they are the right age to lay larger eggs, they up the protein (normally to around 16%) and calcium in the feed and increase the length of days to start them laying those nice big eggs.

We are not commercial operations and generally don’t have those special hybrid pullets. We don’t need to be nearly as rigid in what we do. We often provide treats or allow them to forage for at least part of their food. We don’t need to have nearly as much control as the commercial operations.

One reason all this sounds confusing is that so many different things work for us. You can follow something close to what the commercial operations do. You can feed that Starter/Grower (probably around 20% protein) until they start to lay and then switch to Layer. You can keep feeding that Starter/Grower forever and offer oyster shell or some calcium supplement, never switching to Layer. A 20% Flock Raiser or All-Flock can be used like that too. You can start them off on a 16% Grower and feed nothing but that until they start to lay, then supplement with oyster shell or switch to Layer. I don’t recommend that since I think they are better off with a higher protein the first few weeks but your chickens will still do OK. They will live and grow but won’t grow as fast and probably won’t wind up as big as they would otherwise on a higher protein starter. Still they will grow and be healthy.

Normally you keep feeding what you have until it runs out, then switch if you are going to. If that means you feed a higher protein Starter for 12 weeks, fine, that’s what you do. When they start laying offer calcium on the side with whatever feed you are using. But in your special case, take that warning about wet feed getting moldy very seriously. Mold can sicken or even kill your chicks. I suggest you either ferment it, dry it out, or get rid of it.

 

[ChicksN Coffee]

You all have been very helpful in an answering my questions as well. I will try to remember all this information. Thank you!