I Have Some Questions

[PlantzDadz]

Hello wonderful BYC community! I’m totally new to chicken keeping and I have a few questions regarding feeding and watering my small flock. I currently have 5 (hopefully pullets) who are just a little over 5 weeks old. I’m brooding them in their coop/run combo in my garage until the weather is a little warmer. They started out restricted to the coop/house but now have access to the full coop and run. I do not have an automatic door, so I manually close and open it each morning and night. Up until about a week ago I kept their food and water in the coop but I recently moved both down to the run area. That means they only have access to the food and water from the time I let them out in the morning to the time that I close the door at night. I usually let them out around 7:30am and close the door after sunset. Is it ok to restrict their access to food and water at a relatively young age? I imagine they are up with the sunrise, so they are just waiting around to be let out.

Along those same lines, I believe some people only feed their flock what they can eat at one time, in an effort to keep down on excess food that will attract pests. What are the opinions on that and what are the logistics of that? Should I feed them once in the morning and once at night? I live on a small-ish suburban lot so free ranging will be limited and mostly supervised to prevent any altercations with neighborhood pets/predators.

Lastly, I have maybe a 3 week supply of their chick starter left. Should I go straight to a regular feed after that or is there something in the middle that I should feed until they lay? And regarding an adult feed, what is your opinion on a feed from Costco? I know it might vary by region but in general, do you think that would be an ok choice? I do like to support my local feed shop and will buy my treats and supplies from there but if I can save a few bucks and have the added convenience of getting it from Costco it would be nice.

Thank you so much for any advice!

 

[Battlepants]

In nature, they would be safely tucked under momma at night for safety, so food and water would not be accessible. I see no issues with this.

For the subject of cutting down excess food, I like to have food freely available at all times during waking hours and currently do have quite a bit of waste. I plan on putting together some better feeders in the future that will restrict waste while giving them free feeding. Something like this maybe:

https://imgur.com/Hcr3NpY

As for feed type, I would stick with the chick starter until that fully runs out, then switch to flockraiser until they start laying, then layer feed going forward.

As for Costco, I can't really offer any opinion on this as I never used it. I personally use Orshelin "Country Lane" feed https://www.orschelnfarmhome.com/li...16-poultry-layer-pellets-40-lb-101238231.html if this helps. Seems to be a really good balance in price and quality.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Is it ok to restrict their access to food and water at a relatively young age?

Welcome to BYC!

All chicks that are raised naturally (under a mum) will NOT be eating in the dark at night. To me if you have the light on then it isn't okay to restrict feed as they may access the bedding instead or peck each other from boredom. But if the light is out, then ALL is well. They can sense the sun rising about 2 hours before us. But they are fine until the door is opened, they will establish a routine that YOU set.

some people only feed their flock what they can eat at one time, in an effort to keep down on excess food that will attract pests. What are the opinions on that and what are the logistics of that?

Feed is left free choice all day long here, and removed at night to keep rat activity down. Daytime freeloaders like song birds are not excessive for ME. I have had day time rat visitors previously, My barn cats help with population control. You should feed them at YOUR convenience and what works well for YOUR set up.

I have maybe a 3 week supply of their chick starter left. Should I go straight to a regular feed after that or is there something in the middle that I should feed until they lay?

Keep them on starter or use a flock raiser or grower feed with at least 18% protein. Protein and calcium content are the main differences with all these feeds regardless of what they call it. It can be VERY confusing to an average consumer.

I've only seen (organic) "layer" feed at my local Costco. That would be a completely inappropriate feed for chicks being diminished in protein content (usually around 16%) and having excess calcium (4-5%). Both issues can stunt growth and delay the onset of lay with excess calcium fed long term to birds not in lay *CAN* cause gout, kidney failure, and even death.. though most likely in birds already genetically predisposed somehow. Once all your birds are laying, (not usually before 16 weeks) the Costco feed is fine. Some of my birds have laid as late as 9 months.. for that reason I prefer 20% protein (Purina) flock raiser, with oyster shell free choice on the side for active layers.

Supporting local feed shops is fine. Costco and other large stores like TSC, ARE providing jobs for lots of folks within the community as well.

 

[PlantzDadz]

In nature, they would be safely tucked under momma at night for safety, so food and water would not be accessible. I see no issues with this.

For the subject of cutting down excess food, I like to have food freely available at all times during waking hours and currently do have quite a bit of waste. I plan on putting together some better feeders in the future that will restrict waste while giving them free feeding. Something like this maybe:

https://imgur.com/Hcr3NpY

As for feed type, I would stick with the chick starter until that fully runs out, then switch to flockraiser until they start laying, then layer feed going forward.

As for Costco, I can't really offer any opinion on this as I never used it. I personally use Orshelin "Country Lane" feed https://www.orschelnfarmhome.com/li...16-poultry-layer-pellets-40-lb-101238231.html if this helps. Seems to be a really good balance in price and quality.

Welcome to BYC!

All chicks that are raised naturally (under a mum) will NOT be eating in the dark at night. To me if you have the light on then it isn't okay to restrict feed as they may access the bedding instead or peck each other from boredom. But if the light is out, then ALL is well. They can sense the sun rising about 2 hours before us. But they are fine until the door is opened, they will establish a routine that YOU set.


Feed is left free choice all day long here, and removed at night to keep rat activity down. Daytime freeloaders like song birds are not excessive for ME. I have had day time rat visitors previously, My barn cats help with population control. You should feed them at YOUR convenience and what works well for YOUR set up.

Keep them on starter or use a flock raiser or grower feed with at least 18% protein. Protein and calcium content are the main differences with all these feeds regardless of what they call it. It can be VERY confusing to an average consumer.

I've only seen (organic) "layer" feed at my local Costco. That would be a completely inappropriate feed for chicks being diminished in protein content (usually around 16%) and having excess calcium (4-5%). Both issues can stunt growth and delay the onset of lay with excess calcium fed long term to birds not in lay *CAN* cause gout, kidney failure, and even death.. though most likely in birds already genetically predisposed somehow. Once all your birds are laying, (not usually before 16 weeks) the Costco feed is fine. Some of my birds have laid as late as 9 months.. for that reason I prefer 20% protein (Purina) flock raiser, with oyster shell free choice on the side for active layers.

Supporting local feed shops is fine. Costco and other large stores like TSC, ARE providing jobs for lots of folks within the community as well.

Thank you so much for your response!

 

[PlantzDadz]

In nature, they would be safely tucked under momma at night for safety, so food and water would not be accessible. I see no issues with this.

For the subject of cutting down excess food, I like to have food freely available at all times during waking hours and currently do have quite a bit of waste. I plan on putting together some better feeders in the future that will restrict waste while giving them free feeding. Something like this maybe:

https://imgur.com/Hcr3NpY

As for feed type, I would stick with the chick starter until that fully runs out, then switch to flockraiser until they start laying, then layer feed going forward.

As for Costco, I can't really offer any opinion on this as I never used it. I personally use Orshelin "Country Lane" feed https://www.orschelnfarmhome.com/li...16-poultry-layer-pellets-40-lb-101238231.html if this helps. Seems to be a really good balance in price and quality.

Thank you for your response!

 

[rosemarythyme]

That means they only have access to the food and water from the time I let them out in the morning to the time that I close the door at night. I usually let them out around 7:30am and close the door after sunset. Is it ok to restrict their access to food and water at a relatively young age? I imagine they are up with the sunrise, so they are just waiting around to be let out.

My last 2 groups of chicks moved into the coop at 4 and 5.5 weeks respectively. From that point on, they did not get food or water access from sunset until 7:45 AM. I don't put food out until closer to 9 AM. The birds did just fine on that schedule.

Along those same lines, I believe some people only feed their flock what they can eat at one time, in an effort to keep down on excess food that will attract pests. What are the opinions on that and what are the logistics of that? Should I feed them once in the morning and once at night? I live on a small-ish suburban lot so free ranging will be limited and mostly supervised to prevent any altercations with neighborhood pets/predators.

So I work to minimize pests a little differently, maybe this will give you some other ideas. I feed fermented feed in the morning in multiple bowls around the run. The flock will finish those bowls some time in the morning and neatly clean up around them as well. The rest of the day, they have a dry pellet feeder inside the coop. Any spillage from that feeder happens in the coop so there's never feed out in the run overnight to attract rats. By the next day, the chickens will have cleaned up the spillage inside the coop as well, so never anything for me to worry about cleaning up after.

Lastly, I have maybe a 3 week supply of their chick starter left. Should I go straight to a regular feed after that or is there something in the middle that I should feed until they lay?

I would use up the starter, then transition to either an all flock or grower feed. You can feed those for the rest of their lives, or if you'd prefer to use a layer feed, I personally wouldn't switch over until half the birds are actively laying.

 

[EliteTempleton]

If your run isn't covered and you see migratory birds you should be aware of the risks for bird flu. Carried by water fowl it doesn't affect them but kills chickens. Until migration is over feed and water should be kept in the coop or in a covered area wild birds can't get to or defecate into (I used to have sparrows fly in and eat my old flocks feed until I added tighter wire.) Very few areas are not visited by migratory waterfowl but there are maps of their patterns if you're not sure.

I used to hang mine once they were grown enough it would have been tough for a mouse to jump that high. I never saw one but they hide fast. My new setup is elevated on a trailer and I have a cat now.

 

[TNchickenlady]

Hello wonderful BYC community! I’m totally new to chicken keeping and I have a few questions regarding feeding and watering my small flock. I currently have 5 (hopefully pullets) who are just a little over 5 weeks old. I’m brooding them in their coop/run combo in my garage until the weather is a little warmer. They started out restricted to the coop/house but now have access to the full coop and run. I do not have an automatic door, so I manually close and open it each morning and night. Up until about a week ago I kept their food and water in the coop but I recently moved both down to the run area. That means they only have access to the food and water from the time I let them out in the morning to the time that I close the door at night. I usually let them out around 7:30am and close the door after sunset. Is it ok to restrict their access to food and water at a relatively young age? I imagine they are up with the sunrise, so they are just waiting around to be let out.

Along those same lines, I believe some people only feed their flock what they can eat at one time, in an effort to keep down on excess food that will attract pests. What are the opinions on that and what are the logistics of that? Should I feed them once in the morning and once at night? I live on a small-ish suburban lot so free ranging will be limited and mostly supervised to prevent any altercations with neighborhood pets/predators.

Lastly, I have maybe a 3 week supply of their chick starter left. Should I go straight to a regular feed after that or is there something in the middle that I should feed until they lay? And regarding an adult feed, what is your opinion on a feed from Costco? I know it might vary by region but in general, do you think that would be an ok choice? I do like to support my local feed shop and will buy my treats and supplies from there but if I can save a few bucks and have the added convenience of getting it from Costco it would be nice.

Thank you so much for any advice!

Food to your chicks/chickens should never be restricted. Chickens are foragers and peck and eat small amounts all day long, so I suggest keeping feed and water available 24/7, unless you have a rodent problem, than take the food out of the coop at night and return it in the morning. Chickens don't eat at night when it's dark anyway.

I have found in my 21 years raising chickens, that crumble feed is less wasteful than the pellet feed. Chickens will pick out the large pellet pieces on to the ground in search of smaller pellets that are more easily swallowed. Crumble feed is consistently small pieces and easier to eat.
You can continue feeding the pullets the chick feed until it's gone, so it doesn't go to waste. You can even mix the chick feed in with the layer feed. It will not hurt them at all.

So long as the feed Costco carries is well balanced and 16% or better it should be fine. Make sure if your chickens are not free ranging, that you provide oyster shell for Calicum that builds strong egg shells and grit...small rocks...to aid in digestion and also greens, like spinach, lettuce, turnip greens, cabbage, etc. Plus they love watermelon I hot days, and almost any friut, except citrus, so apples, bananas, pears, etc. They will love. Also, remember chickens are omnivore and need a bit of meat in their diet for protien. Limited, you can feed table scrapes they will love it! You can also purchase dehydrated mealworm, fishing worms, or crickets for added protien.
Good luck and enjoy your chickens. I hope they are all females.