How much feed do 3 chicks eat???

[noxanima]

I got my three chicks today, finally!
A Rhode Island Red, a light brahma, and a ameraucana. The rir is a little older than the other two and the brahma is the youngest. I got them a three lb bag of chick feed scratch and put it into this feeder I made using a to go pie tin lid and a Gatorade bottle.
I've only had them for a few hours now and ll they do is eat!!!

Am I in danger of over feeding them? Or because they're babies, they literally eat, sleep, and poop?

 

[Fred's Hens]

You cannot over feed them. They should eat as much as they can.

 

[azelgin]

Or because they're babies, they literally eat, sleep, and poop?

Yup, that and run around like little idiots. They won't overeat.

 

[Tumbleweed Farm]

Chicken Feed Scratch? Do you mean chick starter feed? They should not be fed scratch--I'm probably reading this wrong!

 

[Tumbleweed Farm]

I would suspect the 3 lb bag would last a couple weeks.

 

[noxanima]

Okay cool! I was about to panic cuz they've been eating literally nonstop since I brought them home. And I meant the chick starter feed. Lol sorry!

 

[Fred's Hens]

Next trip? Buy a 20lb bag of chick starter. Much more economical and you'll need it. LOL

 

[Egghead_Jr]

You might as well purchase a 50lb bag of starter/grower, They'll eat it eventually and can be fed that until they start laying then switch over to layer pellets.

A full grown bird eats between 1/4 to 1/3 pound each per day depending on other forage. So a bag of feed then will last nearly 2 months. They wont eat that much until about 4 months old.

 

[noxanima]

So I just picked them up and their little bellies feel super full and are bulging out of their chests. Should I take the feed away?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Nope. They'll stop that gorging. Sometimes, having the feed, then not having the feed, then having the feed actually encourages this gorging. Just let the feed always be there. They'll settle into a relaxed mode about it.