Can adult chickens eat chick food?

[MissSilkie]

It's totally fine if they eat chick food, and I'd recommend just mixing it with your regular feed, just make sure there's more regular food then chick food.

 

[Jacqdiva]

Amprolium works in the system by blocking Thiamine uptake, thus starving the coccidiosis organism.  Unfortunately, it also blocks Thiamine uptake in your chick.  I prefer to let my chicks get all the vitamins they can absorb, and even give them extra in addition to their feed to give them a head start in life.  I absolutely refuse to give them Amprolium, and have never had issues with coccidiosis.  I have had long heated discussions with the uneducated staff at the feed store.  They buy the company line, and don't know how to think outside of the box.

Your lifestock store is lying to you or they are woefully understocked with feed options.  Ask them to give you Multi-flock Starter/grower crumble (not pellets).  The brand I buy has 22% protein, 3.5% fat, compared to chick starter (medicated) which is 20% Prot., and 3% fat.  If the crumble seems a bit too big, you can buzz it in your blender for the first week, or feed it moist.  My chicks grow like weeds, and have always started laying at least 2 weeks before neighbors and friends chicks which have come from the same supplier on the same day.  If you want to give them even more of a boost, turn that Multiflock into fermented feed.

I have come to the conclusion...woefully uninformed, and I find it very frustrating. I will keep trying to find an unmedicated grower, as I feed shell anyway. Thank goodness for all of you on BYC, because there are no intelligent life forms out there it seems. I prefer that they keep looking at me like I'm from Mars at the feed store!

 

[lazy gardener]

I have come to the conclusion...woefully uninformed, and I find it very frustrating. I will keep trying to find an unmedicated grower, as I feed shell anyway. Thank goodness for all of you on BYC, because there are no intelligent life forms out there it seems. I prefer that they keep looking at me like I'm from Mars at the feed store!

I'm actually getting to the point of amusement when I go to the feed store. It's fun to see what kind of mumbo jumbo they spout. Buying grass seed? The gal tried to up sell me to a more expensive bag of seed because it would sprout faster. So, I looked at her and said, "You mean, it has a lot of annual rye grass in it?" Sure enough... it did. So, I asked her to please explain why I'd pay extra for grass seed that would sprout this fall, and freeze long before spring, leaving me with a much more sparse lawn. Funny, when I ask those kinds of questions, they just give me the dumb look. Often, I get a "What ever!"

 

[Jacqdiva]

I'm actually getting to the point of amusement when I go to the feed store.  It's fun to see what kind of mumbo jumbo they spout.  Buying grass seed?  The gal tried to up sell me to a more expensive bag of seed because it would sprout faster.  So, I looked at her and said, "You mean, it has a lot of annual rye grass in it?"  Sure enough... it did.  So, I asked her to please explain why I'd pay extra for grass seed that would sprout this fall, and freeze long before spring, leaving me with a much more sparse lawn.  Funny, when I ask those kinds of questions, they just give me the dumb look.  Often, I get a "What ever!"  

Hehehe!

 

[hedz82]

You have a good point there crazytalk about chickens being different from their ancestors. I think I have to agree. Their generation times are fast enough to allow evolution/selection to act on relatively short timescales..
A good indication of this I have seen happening with my pet hen.. a bantam orpington.. she free ranges with the wild guinea fowl and spurfowl on our 2 acre property during the day. And even though I hardly feed her ANYTHING in addition she is hopelessly obese.. I actually have to put her in a pen so she doesn't have so much time to forage. so much for natural being healthy!

 

[poultry bro]

It better be ok to feed because I have a rescued black rosecomb bantam hen that was so afraid of every chicken at the ranch so the chicks this year were raised with her and they have been on the same chick feed for about 20 weeks I will introduce her to the rest of the flock soon but she has friends now so I hope she wont be so intimidated by the other birds.

 

[lazy gardener]

If she's laying, just give her crushed egg shell, or oyster shell, and she'll be fine. Glad you found a workable solution for her. Pics of her and "her chicks???"?

 

[Chicks lover]

I need your help.
My hen just has 2 chicks and I separate from the other Hens, when will be good time to separate from mama . I am afraid that she is eating the medicated chicks food.
Thank You all.

 

[NanaKat]

@Chicks lover You can provide a feeder with her layer pellet. A little chick starter is not going to hurt your hen. Mine eat it when teaching the chicks what to eat. The chicks will eat their crumble easier than the layer pellets and will do fine.

 

[lazy gardener]

Your hen will most likely choose to eat the chick starter b/c it is higher protein. After she's spent the last 3 weeks brooding, the extra protein will help her regain lost condition faster. "they say" that the amprolium in the chick starter is ok for adult birds to eat, and there is no egg withdrawal time. I personally don't use medicated feed, ever, but you should be fine to let Mama eat the baby's food.