Feed

[Countryman101]

What does everyone use for starter feed for your baby chicks?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Look for a fresh feed, at a price you can afford, with not more than 1.5% average calcium (closer to 1% average is better) with at least 0.5% phosphorus (0.6% is highest you will likely see), and the highest Methionine and Lysine numbers available to you. Preferably 0.4% and 0.9% respectively, or higher.

Unless you have a feed available to you with more than 24% crude protein. It will have higher Met and Lysine numbers still, but its more than their bodies can use effectively - meaning the extra money you spent will be coming out their butts and stinking of ammonia. So you can skip the 28% and 30% game bird feeds.

 

[Barbours]

What does everyone use for starter feed for your baby chicks?

It's good when they're chicks. They need the high protein it helps them stay strong and grow good.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What is the purpose of your flock; for show, eggs, meat, dual purpose, or just to be pretty? That could influence my opinion.

My flock is a dual purpose flock with full-sized fowl. My goals are for meat, eggs, bug patrol, to go broody and raise chicks, and to play with genetics. I'm not interested in growing them as large as I can to the point that they are in danger of injuring themselves hopping down from the roosts. Mine can forage for a decent part of their diet and can handle weather extremes pretty well. It's only me and my wife, I can get two meals out of a fairly small bird so I don't have a lot of reason to grow a bird as big as I possibly can.

I feed my chicks in the brooder an 18% Starter with low calcium that has been formulated for growing chicks for the first few weeks. Then I switch to a 16% Grower. By then they are out foraging for a lot of their food anyway so I don't have control over every bite they eat.

 

[Countryman101]

What is the purpose of your flock; for show, eggs, meat, dual purpose, or just to be pretty? That could influence my opinion.

My flock is a dual purpose flock with full-sized fowl. My goals are for meat, eggs, bug patrol, to go broody and raise chicks, and to play with genetics. I'm not interested in growing them as large as I can to the point that they are in danger of injuring themselves hopping down from the roosts. Mine can forage for a decent part of their diet and can handle weather extremes pretty well. It's only me and my wife, I can get two meals out of a fairly small bird so I don't have a lot of reason to grow a bird as big as I possibly can.

I feed my chicks in the brooder an 18% Starter with low calcium that has been formulated for growing chicks for the first few weeks. Then I switch to a 16% Grower. By then they are out foraging for a lot of their food anyway so I don't have control over every bite they eat.

I'm mainly using them for eggs. I'm not interested in a big flock. Just more for a hobby.

 

[AGeese]

I'm mainly using them for eggs. I'm not interested in a big flock. Just more for a hobby.

What do you have access to?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm mainly using them for eggs. I'm not interested in a big flock. Just more for a hobby.

Then I'd look for an 18% or 20% protein content feed. It could have a marketing name of Starter, Flock Raiser, All-Flock, or something else. To me the other hugely important value is calcium, closer to 1% than 4%. Reread Stormcrow's post about the other values and do the best you can. We have no idea where in the world you are located or what is available to you. In the USA most feed bags have labels that show the analysis for certain critical nutrients.

 

[Countryman101]

Then I'd look for an 18% or 20% protein content feed. It could have a marketing name of Starter, Flock Raiser, All-Flock, or something else. To me the other hugely important value is calcium, closer to 1% than 4%. Reread Stormcrow's post about the other values and do the best you can. We have no idea where in the world you are located or what is available to you. In the USA most feed bags have labels that show the analysis for certain critical nutrients.

I live in Pennsylvania

 

[FrostRanger]

I just use dumor nonmedicated feed. It's cheap, easy to find and comes in a small bag so I don't have a huge bag of crumbles to use up

That said, I have adjusted how I feed my flock since I last got chicks and now just feed all flock + oyster shell so in the future I might just crush up some of the all flock pellets that I already feed since it does have a better nutritional profile than dumor chick starter. I don't plan on getting more chicks until my current girls are like 4 so it'll be a while before that comes up again

 

[Debbie292d]

What does everyone use for starter feed for your baby chicks?

We use Kalmbach's Flock Maker (20%) crumbles for baby chicks, and also use that for the adults (silkies). We give the layers a side dish of oyster shell.

For scratch, we use Kalmbach's Henhouse Reserve, which is a layer feed, but they think it's a treat. In the long run, it's cheaper than buying scratch and WAY healthier.