Chick feed question!

[willowbranchfarm]

My chicks are going to be 2 weeks old tomorrow!

I wanted to know if there is any thing extra I should feed them? They are eating medicated feed rite know and when that is gone I'm gonna swich to regular chick feed. Or should I stay with the medicated? Should I be giving them chick grit also? Thanks for all the help.

 

[sparrker]

Please stay with the medicated. I switched after three weeks and then had to deal with cocci. Its much easier to feed medicated, till I believe 18 weeks. You don't want to loose any to cocci, you don't see it usaully until its too late.
Patti

 

[sherylreno]

I would keep them on the medicated until it's time for them to lay eggs and then change them to flock raiser instead of layer's feed. Most layer's feed has a 16% protein and flock raiser has a 20% protein which seems to be better for them and offer oyster shell on the side. I didn't give them grit until they started eating other stuff besides feed, the feed already has grit in it and it can clog their crops if they get too much grit. If they are free ranging already then you should add grit in their diet but have it in another container and let them eat it if they need it. The only thing I would add to their needs is the poly vi sol vitamins because thiamine deficiency can happen to them because the medicated chick feed blocks it.

 

[Arielle]

I was advised to keep my chicks on medicated until they had been well exposed to the local soil for 6 weeks.

Do introduce them to grit as they sometimes eat the bedding like shavings and need it to digest it; also you may want to feed a treat now and then; grit takes out the worry as some treats require grit and others do not.

Congrats on the babies milestone!

 

[ronniewayne]

congratulations on the 2 week old chicks....i have a group that turn 3 weeks tomorrow....what to feed is preference ...i dont use any medicated feed from start to even my laying feed..i free range my flock and offer free choice layer pellets non medicated with free choice oyster shells....for treats they get some scraps and a little bit of whole corn once in a while....which i am in tx so the group i have going was in the in house brooder for 2 weeks then i moved them to the hoop house outside on the ground with a wooden box brooder and a light still for a week now without the brooder just on the ground and this group gets 22% non-medicated chick starter/grower.....the last batch i raised on organic starter then grower .....and out of 200 chicks this yr i have yet to lose one...that has some luck in it too as chickens can and will die sometimes..... so i know there are good reasons for useing the medicated and if anyone has success and it fits your goals by all means keep it up....but i am saying there are alternatives to the "model feed plan" that will give your chickens a healthy life ( healthier in my opinion) and make the eggs and meat you get a lot healthier for you and your family.....for example one study i read said that all the fast food chicken you buy and over 90% of what you buy in the store contains traces of arsenic ...and the antibotics are causing probems with strains of bacteria that become resistant to the antibotics when humans get sick and take them....now i am not saying your chickens are grown in the condtions the commerical operations but what they eat is what you get....happy hatching

and good luck with your chicks...i just love to watch them and raise them....

 

[willowbranchfarm]

Thanks every one for the reply. vI'm gonna stay with the medicated.