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eating too much??

post #1 of 5
4/1/12 at 5:02am
Thread Starter 

I have eight chicks that are 3 weeks old tomorrow.  They are all hens (2 RIR's, 2 BR, and 1 Black sexlink).  I bought five pounds of chick starter only two days ago and they are almost through the whole thing.  It seems like their appetites have almost doubled in the past week (along with their size!).  The feeder holds three pounds, but up til now, I haven't been filling it the whole way.  How much should they be eating at this stage?  I just wondered if I'm giving them too much, or too little...

 

Thanks everyone, and happy Easter to you all.

 

PS.  I'm sure many of you may remember the days when they sold live "Easter Peeps" that were colored different colors.  My mother (68 years old) remembers getting them as a little girl for Easter.  They'd take them home and raise them in a brooder until they were too big to stay in the house.  Then they'd give them to the local farmer.  Too funny!

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post #2 of 5
4/1/12 at 8:32am

Since these are not meat birds I would leave feed available to the 24 x 7.  They will eat when they need it.  Yes their appetite will increase significently as they get older.  I don't keep track of how much feed mine eat.  I buy the feed in a 50 lb bag.  It is much more economical than small bags.  With 8 chicks you probably will go through at least 50 lbs of it before they start laying.  I currently have one bag sitting next to my empty brooder (getting chicks on Friday).  I expect to use this and at least one more bag before the 20 chicks reach laying age.  I probably should have bought 2 bags when it was on sale recently. 

1 Silver Laced Wyandotte, 2 Gold Laced Wyandotte, 1 BLRW, 1 Columbian Wyandotte, 4 Rhode Island Red, 6 Easter Eggers, 3 Barred Rock, 3 Welsummer, 2 Buff Orpington, 2 White Leghorn, 2 Brown Leghorn, 3 Gold Sex Links, 2 Delaware, 1 Mixed Maran.    And a partridge in a pear tree... (just kidding on the partridge).
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1 Silver Laced Wyandotte, 2 Gold Laced Wyandotte, 1 BLRW, 1 Columbian Wyandotte, 4 Rhode Island Red, 6 Easter Eggers, 3 Barred Rock, 3 Welsummer, 2 Buff Orpington, 2 White Leghorn, 2 Brown Leghorn, 3 Gold Sex Links, 2 Delaware, 1 Mixed Maran.    And a partridge in a pear tree... (just kidding on the partridge).
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post #3 of 5
4/1/12 at 9:21am

It sounds fine. You should leave food available all the time. They will self-regulate. An adult standard laying hen will eat about 1/4 pound of feed per day.

2 Buff Orpingtons, 2 Black Stars

 

Chicken Behavior Article

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2 Buff Orpingtons, 2 Black Stars

 

Chicken Behavior Article

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post #4 of 5
4/1/12 at 9:31am

our chicks  9 BR (11 weeks old)  and 12 production reds (7weeks old)  are eating 50lbs of medicated purina feed and 5 lbs of bird grit every two weeks,  it's been this way since we got them 7 weeks ago.

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post #5 of 5
4/2/12 at 5:12am
Thread Starter 

Thanks everyone for the information.  Very helpful!

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