Chick Starter Question

[jody78]

My Buff Orps are 4 weeks old already, and on Chick Starter. How long should they stay on it, and when do we switch to a new feed?

 

[mikecnorthwest]

I keep mine on it until they start laying or reach about 20 weeks of age. If I run out of chick starter and they're around 20 weeks then I start them on layer feed because it wouldn't make sense to buy a large bag of starter feed when they're so close to laying age. If they start laying and I still have starter feed, I switch them to layer and then use the remaining starter feed as scratch.

 

[jody78]

Thanks, Mike.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Everyone has their own way of doing things, here's how I do it. My chicks get 1 5lb bag of medicated chick started, that's it. I also provide them with dirt from my coop from day 1. After that bag is gone, they are switched to gamebird crumbles. I've never given home hatched chicks medicated feed, just chicks I've brought in from outside sources. Never had a problem with cocci. Good luck.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You will get a lot of different answers because so many different things work. You might check out my post in this thread. Mine is post #11.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/635486/chick-grower-flock-raiser-all-flock/10