Chick supplies at tractor supply

[SilkieNewbee]

Hi folks I am getting my first 6 chicks soon. I was going to stop in tractor supply to get some supplies. Do you have a specific chick feeder and waterer you would recommend I get? Also, how many pounds of food would they eat in a given time? Wondering how many pounds bag to get. I’d like to get a non medicated feed that is non gmo.
Thanks!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I get the base waterer and the long trough feeders for chicks. I also get the 50 pound bags since they last about 3 weeks with 50ish chicks when accounting for waste, but I don't think something like you're looking for cones in more than a 10 pound

 

[MissE]

Get one 50 lbs bag of chick starter. You will want one feeder and two waterers to start. Just get the cheap quart size ones for now. When your chicks get a little bigger, you may want to look at hanging waterers and feeders or you may decide to build your own or use nipples. Keep it simple to start. Don't forget a heat lamp or brooder plate and some grit. I use wood shavings for bedding.

 

[clickchicks]

I only had 3 chicks so I started with the 5lb bag of non-medicated Purina chick starter. That lasted about 3 weeks, so I switched to the bigger 15lb bag once that was used up. With 6 chicks I imagine the 15 is a better deal without having to invest in a huge bag. I didn't get the 50lber because it would take ages for such a small number of chicks to go through it.

 

[riss]

Get one 50 lbs bag of chick starter.

Just bought that the other day

 

[SilkieNewbee]

Get one 50 lbs bag of chick starter. You will want one feeder and two waterers to start. Just get the cheap quart size ones for now. When your chicks get a little bigger, you may want to look at hanging waterers and feeders or you may decide to build your own or use nipples. Keep it simple to start. Don't forget a heat lamp or brooder plate and some grit. I use wood shavings for bedding.

Thank you! Do you keep both waterers in there with them or rotate them out? Also, do you start giving them grit right away or wait till they are a couple weeks old?

 

[MissE]

Thank you! Do you keep both waterers in there with them or rotate them out? Also, do you start giving them grit right away or wait till they are a couple weeks old?

I put grit in right away. If they eat it, great, if not, oh well. One less worry for me if they eat wood shavings. I do use a puppy pad over the shavings for the first couple days until they figure out where their food it.

I use two waterers. For the first couple days, one is plain water, the other has NutriDrench. Then both have plain water. This way, if one gets dirty or tipped over, there is back up. I brood in the barn, so I'm not able to watch them all day.

Because I brood in the barn, I use a large brooder. Yesterday afternoon it was 78 degrees. Wednesday morning it was 16 degrees. That's a big temp swing and I want them to be able to more from cool to hot sections as needed. That again is because I can't watch them all day. I had 12 hatch yesterday and it was 38 degrees last night. All did well.

Have fun with your new chicks!