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do i have to use starter feed

post #1 of 3
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hen started sitting and i have a bag of crumbles but they are not starter feed will this work?

 

Old English Game Bantam
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Old English Game Bantam
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post #2 of 3

You won't want to feed layer feed to the chicks.  The calcium content is too high for them and can cause damage.  You could use flock raiser and put calcium on the side for the hen, I believe. 

Owned by two old dogs (yellow lab and a big, red, fuzzy mutt) and four chickens (Buff Orpington, Barred Rock, and two Easter Eggers)
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Owned by two old dogs (yellow lab and a big, red, fuzzy mutt) and four chickens (Buff Orpington, Barred Rock, and two Easter Eggers)
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post #3 of 3

Agreed. If it is any sort of layer feed, do not use it. Get a small bag of chick crumbles (unmedicated if they're with mom) for them. Partly, good chick crumbles are very small for tiny chicks to eat; partially it has a balance of nutrients that the chicks need to grow quickly and healthily. Mom will be OK on starter feed if you give calcium on the side.

 

If you give the baby chicks layer feed, calcium deposits will form in their bodies, making kidney stones and abnormal formations on the bones. They will not thrive and you may lose them quickly, or they may suffer along for months.

~Meg~
The remaining 6 of my original 7 barred rocks are 3yrs old and happily divided between a friend and my mom.
Laying: 2 Partridge Rocks, 1 Columbian Wyandotte and 2 Black Australorps. 14 weeks: 3 bantam Araucana.
Cowed to chicken math and sharing my bedroom with 8 BBS Ameraucana mixes.

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~Meg~
The remaining 6 of my original 7 barred rocks are 3yrs old and happily divided between a friend and my mom.
Laying: 2 Partridge Rocks, 1 Columbian Wyandotte and 2 Black Australorps. 14 weeks: 3 bantam Araucana.
Cowed to chicken math and sharing my bedroom with 8 BBS Ameraucana mixes.

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