What to feed my 19 week old chicks

[NatJ]

Would it be better to keep the chick feed then put the layer feed in a seperate feeder? Or should I mix it?

I’ll check the layer feed to see more about that protein.

Also never knew about oyster shells! Does anyone know the best place to buy them??

Chick feed and layer feed: you could leave them separate, or you could mix them. Either is fine.

Yes, reading the bag is the best way to know the protein level of the specific feeds you have.

Oyster shells: you can typically get them from the same places that sell chicken feed. That might be Amazon, or Tractor Supply, or Walmart, or quite a few other places.

Eggshells can also be used as a source of calcium, but that only really works if you have the shells from more eggs than your chickens lay. If hens just eat the shells from the eggs they laid, that is not enough calcium for them. So there is nothing wrong with offering eggshells, it just is not enough in most cases. When you have to buy something, oyster shell is usually easier & cheaper to buy than eggshells.

 

[Cutiepiebaby]

Shell strength. It will not increase quantity.

when my eggs stopped coming ,farmer said maybe you need better layers pellets,higher calcium

 

[NatJ]

when my eggs stopped coming ,farmer said maybe you need better layers pellets,higher calcium

Higher calcium can certainly make a difference in how many eggs you collect each day. But it may not actually make the hens lay more eggs.

When hens have too little calcium, they will often lay softshell eggs, which break easily and get eaten by the chickens. So the person never sees the eggs, and assumes the hens are not laying.

I do not know whether calcium can make a difference in how many eggs the hen's body actually produces per week. But just fixing the shells can make a big difference in how many eggs are available for the person to collect.