Hi Ann, switching to feeding with whole wheat flour will tend to give you a starter with a thicker consistency, because wholegrain flours absorb more liquid than white flours. If you're measuring by weight then the key is to do equal parts by weight of starter:water:flour, which will be slightly thicker with whole wheat flour, but should still work fine. However, if you're measuring by cups, it's easy to inadvertently add extra flour simply because measuring flour by cups is inherently imprecise. For our recipes and flours we recommend this method of measuring flour by cups. A "scant" cup just means a cup that is not completely full, or just under a cup of flour. In terms of weight we're only talking about 1/

As to a thicker consistency starter causing issues with rising: there are all kinds of starters out there that come in different consistencies (liquid, stiff) or are fed with different types of flour (all-purpose, whole wheat, rye). Each type of starter can contribute slightly different properties to your bread baking in terms of flavor and rise, but I wouldn't say that a stiffer starter is necessarily going to result in less rise. The most important thing is to be sure that your starter is active and healthy (doubling in size 6-8 hours after being fed, with a pleasant aroma) and that you add it to your recipe when it's ripe (at its highest point of rising, or just beginning to fall after having been fed at room temperature). 

Also, keep in mind that whenever you change the type of flour you feed your starter it takes time for the starter organisms to regroup. This is because different types of flour introduce new organisms and variables into the starter environment, and the starter organisms need time to adjust to these changes before they can function at their best. So, while switching to whole wheat flour will provide additional nourishment to your starter, you may also note some sluggishness as the starter organisms strive to adjust. If you decide to return to feeding with unbleached all-purpose flour I would recommend making the transition gradually, over the course of several feedings. 

I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes. 

Barb

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