13w won’t stay out of the Hen feed.

[CoastChick]

I am currently integrating my 13 week olds in with my two-year old hens. While the two groups have their own coops, when they are free ranging during the daytime the little girls seem to have a fascination with getting into the big girl feed in the big girl run, which is a layer feed of course. The pullets are on grower feed. My big girls require more calcium right now so I don’t want to move them to “all flock” - is it really bad the young girls are eating the layer feed? I have read conflicting articles on how damaging it is and ultimately the little girls are going to be moved into the big coop with the big girls anyway - so I don’t really want to chase them out every time and teach them that they shouldn’t be in there… Because eventually they will need to be in there and I plan to move them to layer feed in seven weeks anyway.
So, how bad is it that the babies won’t leave the big food alone?

 

[nuthatched]

Mix the feeds. Provide oyster shell for the gals.

 

[FrostRanger]

The big girls will be just fine on an all flock feed, just give them oyster shells on the side, aside from keeping them physically separated, there's no good way to keep them from eating each other's food

 

[aart]

I've never fed anything but flock feed, oyster shell in a separate container.

 

[tlcmurphy]

Same here, I feed All Flock with oyster shell on the side. They could also all have grower feed, but that might be expensive (I feed mine grower when they molt).

 

[21hens-incharge]

I also feed all flock/flock raiser with oyster shell on the side.

I have hens that are from 8 months to 8+ years and a rooster. Only a few of mine are done with laying. I have seen no thin shells even from my old ladies.

 

[aart]

They could also all have grower feed, but that might be expensive (I feed mine grower when they molt).

Cost depends on the amount of protein, grower usually has less protein(15-16%) than all flock (18-20%).
Tho those labels can be deceiving, best to specify protein levels.

 

[Ridgerunner]

is it really bad the young girls are eating the layer feed?

There have been studies that show chicks fed feed with the same amount of calcium in it as Layer feed can harm the internal organs of the chicks, specifically the kidneys and liver. One bite doesn't kill them. The damage is accumulated over time. All chicks are not affected. Very few fall over and die eventually, but some do. But they cut those chicks open to look for internal damage. They find that many of those chicks have damage but it is not enough to immediately kill them or even make them look sick. But they carry that damage with them for the rest of their lives. If they become stressed over something it can seriously affect them. They may not be as productive as they would have otherwise. But remember, some will not be affectd at all.

If all they eat is that feed they are much more likely to have a problem. The more they eat of other low-calcium stuff the less likely it is to harm them. I don't know what other things your girls are eating. But this is not something that is an absolute "yes" or an absolute "no". The more calcium they eat the more the risk is.

I consider it "best practice" to not feed Layer feed to chicks or other non-laying chickens like roosters, molting hens, or broody hens. It's not that you are guaranteed to cause harm but the possibility is there. I feed a low-calcium feed to all of them and offer oyster shell on the side. The vast majority eat as much calcium as they need. All chickens need some calcium for body maintenance or growth so they may still eat some oyster shell but your laying hens need a lot for egg shells.

I never feed Layer as I have a rooster and raise several different batches of chicks every year. Mine do fine.

 

[lildoggy]

I just removed my layer feed from the coop run since my chicks couldn't resist it. There's a big feeder with flock raiser with crushed oyster shell on the side available to them. My smallest Bantam, a Mottled Cochin (I have 2) has started crowing at 10 weeks and I saw him eat oyster shell the other day. We'll see...