Teenage chicks and adult food - question?

[ORChick]

I picked up 3 little chicks on Friday, and they are (happily?) ensconced in the new brooder in the garage. And I have 3 two year old hens in the big coop. So, in 5 or 6 weeks the little ones will need to be integrated with the bigger ones - any ideas on how to do that easily will be greatly appreciated . But my main question today is about their food. I cannot keep them separated until the wee ones are at laying age; will they be OK eating the big girls laying pellets? (At the moment, and for the next weeks, they are, of course, on chick starter) One of the babies is a cockerel, if that makes any difference. I know this is early to be asking, but it was a thought that came to mind in the middle of the night, and my mind won't rest till it is answered.

 

[bibliophile birds]

layer feed is much too high in calcium for chicks and roos. they can develop nasty leg and organ problems from it. it seems that they know they don't need the calcium though, so they don't eat oyster shell even if it's available. i feed a "broiler blend" feed that is good for the entire flock (even chicks can eat it after 2 weeks or so- it's the same formula as the chick starter i buy, but not as finely ground) with no added calcium. i then have a big bowl of oyster shell also available for my laying girls and they just take what they need. that way they can all be together and i don't have to worry about calcium poisoning.

eta: if this sounds like something that would work for you, i would start transitioning the layers over to the new flock feed now. you want to start with 75% old feed and 25% new feed. once they get used to that (hopefully a week or so) go 50/50. keep this up till you are at 100% new feed. don't forget the oyster shell! you can set that out when you start the transition, as they will only take what they need.

 

[patandchickens]

Food may not be your big problem... 6 or 8 weeks is awfully early to be trying to integrate chicks and grown hens. There is a pretty good chance of someone(s) ending up injured or dead that way. Surely there must be *some* way to cobble together accommodations to keep them separate til 12 or 14 weeks?

Anyhow, regarding food, the simplest thing BY FAR would be to simply feed them all grower (not layer) food and give them a little container of free-choice oystershell for the layers to pick at. Once they are all of laying age you can go back to feeding layer if that's what you prefer.

Good luck, have fun, be careful with those little ones,

Pat

 

[bibliophile birds]

to introduce the chicks, and make sure they are safe and have access to food, you can use something like this:

you put the chicks feeder and waterer in there so that they have a place they can get to eat/drink in peace or escape the hens. ideally, you would keep them closed in there for 2 days, so they know it's homey and safe, and then let them out.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Since your food question has been answered well, I'll just share what I do to integrate young and old. I have a chain link dog kennel right beside the barn. When they are old enough to go outside, I put themm in there. By that time, they are too big to get through the chain link. this gives them and the big ones a chance to see each other and get used to each other. After a few days, I start letting them out but only opening the kennel door a bit, so that they can get back in for safety, but so that the big hens cannot get in. After a while, they all go into the barn.

 

[FarmerDenise]

In our area the feed is called meat builder. Just so you know there are different names for it. It is what I use as well. My hens free range, so they get their calcium from the field and I just don't worry about it. I also compost all the eggshells and they end up in the field. If I were worrid about their calcium, I would offer them oystershell seperately as others have suggested.

I also recommend coming up with something to seperate the little ones from the old hens. There is nothing sadder than finding a chick that has been beaked to death. That is if you find it at all. Chickens can be really mean.

 

[ORChick]

Thanks for the feedback. I had forgot that there is another option other than chick starter and layer feed; thanks for reminding me. The big girls have free choice oyster shell already, and free range for part of the day, so it shouldn't be too hard switching them over; I'll start that soon.
As for integrating the flock, I remember the older girls being already pretty big by the time they were 6-7 weeks old, but no doubt my memory is faulty. Anyway, the littlies are in their nifty brooder in the garage at present - http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5105 - and can probably stay in that for quite awhile. Once the weather is nicer I'll take advantage of the wheels, and have them outside. I was thinking that if they are in the lower part of the brooder the big girls can investigate without doing any harm. I might even be able to move the whole thing into the big girls' run, so they can be together, but separate. They aren't yet even a week old, so I have some time to think about this.