wheat / pellets

[haydon]

Hello

When do you all start to get your poults onto wheat from pellets.

I ask because I would like to get mine on wheat as soon as poss as my wheat is free and pellets are not, my birds are 8 weeks and very healthy, I know not yet but when do you all think 12/14/16 weeks ?

I would appreciate your opinions.

[ezi bez]

Start to wean them off pellets at 14 wks by mixing wheat in with pellets over a couple of weeks until they're on just wheat .

 

Hope this helps atb ezi

[Paul223]

I'd say 12 to 14 weeks old minimum, but it's not all about age

 

Personally I look for changes in the birds plumage and look for sings of excess protein in their droppings, these will occur around week 12-13 in good dry easy growing years, and may be as late as week 16-17 in horrendously wet years, this also takes into account good worming practices, birds which are burdened with parasites will require more for longer, all based on MHO and wanting to start shoot days early with 22 week old birds.

[haydon]

Thanks Guys, they are doing really well at the moment ! so fingers crossed.

[Cockerman59]

So normally delivered at 6,7 weeks on to wheat at 14 weeks as above so that's 8 weeks of pellets, ??

[raphael262]

what the shoot i go on did this year was all feeders near pens were pelets all the time and the rest were wheat

[MattSoanes]

12-13 weeks is about right, I wouldn't bother mixing the wheat with the pellets as they will only throw it out to get to the pellet, fill up say 25% of your feeders with pure wheat leaving the rest with pellet in, gradually as the pellet feeders get low tip one into another filling the empty one with wheat and so on, it won't take long for them to make the switch.

[Tollerman]

We get our birds at 8 to 10 weeks .have enough pellets for about a month or so.Closest feeders to the pens contain pellets farthest away wheat.Medicated pellets go in about 3 weeks after poults arrival as advised by our supplier.Have been doing like this for several years and it seems to work ok for us.Good luck.

[reggiegun]

We change over at about 12 weeks, pain in the **** it is because the birds flick the wheat out of the top hat feeders looking for pellets. We get ours at 6/7 week old, do two tonne of pellets then 10 bags of flubenvet pellets (wormer) then as soon as they are on wheat ok, we lift the pen wires.

Edited August 20, 2014 by reggiegun

[tiny tim]

We change over at about 12 weeks, pain in the **** it is because the birds flick the wheat out of the top hat feeders looking for pellets. We get ours at 6/7 week old, do two tonne of pellets then 10 bags of flubenvet pellets (wormer) then as soon as they are on wheat ok, we lift the pen wires.

how many birds is this for?

[reggiegun]

how many birds is this for?

1200

[Cockerman59]

I get poults at 6 weeks, feed 1 week pellets, 1 week flubenvet pellets

3 weeks pellets, 1 week flubenvet pellets, during the last 2 weeks i start to introduce

wheat but don`t mix it. I empty 1 pellet feeder into another and the fill with wheat

If i mix it they will throw the wheat all over looking for pellets

Dave

[hesstondriver]

they arrive at 8 weeks , we buy 15 bags of pellets but wheat is available to them straight away (not that the touch much of it ) then when the pellets run out they run out . we feed trails throught the wood and mix wheat with pellets but slowly reduce the pellets so they have to eat the wheat . like said mixing in feeders dosnt work !!