What food?mamas will break up the food she find for the chicks. like how they would do in the natural world, before they became domestic birds. my mother hen did all that herself for her baby. and yes i know that they can provide the heat and such themselves. i've had hens raise chicks before. either way, like they did before humans kept them, they find and break up the food for the chicks, therefore, chick food specifically isn't as neccessary when a hen is raising them. infact, when i offered it myself for mine, the momma preffered to go for the bigger food that was out of the chick's reach, and then i watched her break it in her beak for the baby.
Never give layer feed to chicks. It contains too much calcium for chicks and causes kidney problems. And is not balanced in other ways for chicks for a healthy start.