Am I doing this wrong.....

[edster951]

I'm on another board, and someone asked about baby chicks.

I siad this is what I do..

I use "started mash" and make it into a runny paste for them, just chuck it in the run and mum will show the chick where it and what to do. After the first week or so I slowly add layer mash at 75% starter / 25% layer. then the next week I mix it 50/50, then the week after that I mix 25% starter/75% layer.

They get this twice a day. Warm water mixed in the morning and evenings. They love this "porridge"

In the coup I put a small tray of dry starter mash, with a bowl of water next to it with stones in so the chicks don't drown.

When I say coup, I mean the seperate hutch they are in.

I was then told not to give layer mash to chicks as it's too high in calcium, mine get this after a week, see my mixes.

Also not to add water to it as it stick thier beaks shut....

So am I doing it wrong?​

 

[Katy]

You shouldn't feed them layer until they're old enough to start laying.

 

[hypnofrogstevie]

how old are thses chicks? Start and grow from purina is a good brand or any chick starter

 

[edster951]

all my chooks get layer mash and pellets.

I have 5 old girls, and 12 who are 4 months old. They have all been on layer mash for ages.

So I have been doing it wrong. They appear fit and healthy so far.

Do I need to segregate the old from the new when feeding?

 

[hypnofrogstevie]

well from 3 days old to 20 something weeks its starter feed or grower basically the same thing

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Layer has too much calcium to be feeding chicks...will damage their kidneys....starter/grower of any brand til they are 17 weeks old ....

 

[Katy]

I use Purina flock raiser which is an all purpose feed. I feed that to my layers and the chicks from the time they go in with the "big girls"...usually about 4 months of age. I put oyster shell out and the hens who are laying take it as they need it. I don't like my roosters to get a steady diet of layer either since they don't need that much calcium. They're (the chicks) on chick starter until they're 3-4 months old.

 

[edster951]

well all my chooks will have kidney problems then. They have been integrated from 4 weeks, and they all get the same feed.

They all free range and get pellets and mash 2-3 times a day.

 

[allen wranch]

Eddie,
One thing you might try is to feed everyone the starter and have oyster shell available for the laying hens. They will eat it if they need it. Once the chicks get to laying age, swith everyone to the layer feed.

It doesn't sound like you have harmed your birds at all if they are fat an healthy. It is just better if the chicks not have too much calcium.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

This is a quote in the Tractor Supply Magazine by Christine Heinrich who is the author of How to Raise Chickens: Everything You Need to Know..Chicks, because they are babies, need different kinds of food from the adult birds...Commercial feed companies formulate chick starter feed with more of the protein that these babies need.....16 to 22 percent...They can transition to adult feed at about 16 weeks.....Never give chicks adult feed.....The minerals in it, especially calcium, which is important for laying hens, can severly damage a chick's kidneys....