Baby Chicks Feed

[jaymack]

I have baby chicks that are 5 days old. I originally bought started food, but have decided that I want to raise them without medicated food. The chicks where hatched by their mom, who remains with them. I feed the mother a combination of scratch and layer feed. Do I have to do anything special for the chicks, or can I rely on nature to take care of it.

 

[sunflour]

glad you have joined us.

Sorry, I have raised only hatchery chicks and cannot give you specific advice. But I do know that layer feed has too much calcium for baby chicks and should not be given to them until they are 17-18 weeks old to avoid real medical issues. The definitely need their own starter feed, you can get it without medication.

I would suggest you post the question under raising baby chicks to get experienced opinions on how to manage separate feeds for them.

Scratch is like candy and not the nutrition they need and even for older chickens should be considered a treat and limited in amounts.

Good luck with all.

 

[nj2wv]

Welcome to BYC !!

 

[drumstick diva]

Welcome to Backyard chickens.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

If the mother is a good one, you won't have to worry. But I would recommend feeding the chicks along with her the same feed. Do NOT feed the chicks layer feed because their bodies can't handle all the calcium it contains. So feed them all the chick feed. Mama will be fine on chick feed for a while.