At what age do you switch from chick starter to grower mash?

my chicks are 3 wks old..and i am wondering at what point you change them over to a grower mash..or do you?
what is the process?...is it a bit at a time or just change?

When I run out of starter!

I agree with Sue on this, but sometimes I switch when I need the starter for the next hatch.

I switch from chick starter to pelleted feed when I think they are big enough to swallow pellets without choking. I do not buy feed in mash form after chick starter. For me it's about swallowing ability.

I tried to find this out, too. Sometimes it says on the actual bag of feed. If you remember to save the tag before you toss it.

Online, I read anywhere from 8 weeks old to 12 weeks old.

I have no personal experience in this regard.

Eight weeks. I've switched at 6 weeks and 10 weeks because they were of different ages but ideally, 8 weeks.

I switch when they are fully feathered because thats when they head out to the coop!

Yup. That's what I do too.

I usually have a whole bunch of ages together. I switch, like Uno, when the youngest can handle the grower pellets. I like to get them on pellets as soon as I can too. The first 3 hatches should be switching in the next week or two. Oldest are 6 weeks now, youngest are 3.

That's interesting Coopy - how early can you put chicks in with older chicks? I worry that the newly hatched are not quite steady on their legs to go in with week old monsters....

I have never found pullet grower in anything but crumbles -- and as of late, cant even find layer ration in pellets. They waste -so- much feed in crumble form.

heda gobbler wrote:That's interesting Coopy - how early can you put chicks in with older chicks? I worry that the newly hatched are not quite steady on their legs to go in with week old monsters....

I made a mistake above, the youngest are 4 weeks, oops.

I keep them in the house in a brooder until they are a week old. Then they know how to find food, water and heat and are strong. I then move them to the outdoor brooder. The biggest difference I can get away with is 2 weeks, any older than that and the oldest are TOOOOO big.

So my outdoor brooder will have 3 week old, 2 week olds and 1 week olds in it. They need LOTS of room if you are going to do this. The younger ones learn to be tough and actually get to go into the outdoor pen earlier than normal, but it seems to work and everyone grows well.

I switch from starter to grower around 6-8 weeks. Often I'll mix the two together for a few weeks as well.

Sweetened wrote:I have never found pullet grower in anything but crumbles -- and as of late, cant even find layer ration in pellets. They waste -so- much feed in crumble form.

Same here. I'd love to be able to get layer in pellets again. And starter medicated with amprol. I'm using unmedicated because that's all the Co-op here can get besides stuff medicated with monensin. Not sure what that is so won't be using...

Thanks Coopy - useful info. I have a solitary turkey poult just hatched and wondering who to put her with... maybe on her own for a week until she is steadier.

What a pain not to have pellets! Our feedstore in Williams Lake has a huge selection and seems to be getting more every week... it is almost overwhelming!