Chick Starter

[Darlene30683]

You’d be surprised how much feed they can eat, but I like to feed medicated for the first few weeks, then once they’ve had a chance to build up some immunity to coccidiosis switch them to non medicated. Last time I had 10 chicks a 25 lb bag lasted a few weeks.

Thank you for responding to my question. It's taking me a little time to learn how this works. I thought I would receive an email when a reply came in, but that didn't happen. Anyway, I was able to find a 5- pound bag of medicated chick starter. Now just waiting for them to arrive.

 

[Darlene30683]

I feed Purina Start & Grow Medicated for 10 weeks, then when bag is empty I switch to Nutrena Naturewise Starter Grower Non-medicated.
Both are available in 50 lb bags at TSC. View attachment 2364431
50 lbs goes quickly with 5 chicks.
I just raised 5 ISA Browns. View attachment 2364432
They are 23 weeks old nowView attachment 2364433
and lay beautiful eggsView attachment 2364434
along with my 2 years old Barred Rocks.View attachment 2364435
GC

Beautiful hens! I had no idea they would go through so much feed! Would it be possible to supplement the chick starter with something like persimmons? We have an abundance of them this year. Or would that not be a good idea with young chicks?

 

[poultryprofessor]

Thank you so much! I'll definitely get the medicated feed. Now if I can just find something smaller than a 50-pound bag. I'm just placing the minimum order of 10 chicks. I'm sure that's way more feed than I need!

As cute and tiny as they are when you first get them, chicks can eat a surprising amount of feed. With 10 ISA Brown pullets, I would expect to be through your first 50 lb bag of feed within about 6 weeks. Definitely by 8 weeks. I wouldn't be surprised if your birds have gone through nearly 200 lbs of feed when you get your first egg. It sounds like a lot, but you have to remember these are growing animals.

Rule of thumb I use is 60 grams of feed/bird/day for the first 20 weeks of life for layer-type or dual purpose pullets. It will be less early on and more as they get bigger. The typical mature laying hen eats about 100 grams of feed per day (more for larger breeds).

Here is a good extension publication that details what you can expect for feed consumption by bird type: http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/ASC/ASC191/ASC191.pdf

 

[Folly's place]

It's about average for birds to eat three pounds of feed per pound of weight gain, so ten birds will go through a lot of feed! Your pullets at five pounds each will have eaten easily 150 pounds of feed! Extras are treats, the chicks need mostly their chick feed, and chick sized grit in a separate container if they are fed ANYTHING else!
Mary

 

[drinkoj]

Beautiful hens! I had no idea they would go through so much feed! Would it be possible to supplement the chick starter with something like persimmons? We have an abundance of them this year. Or would that not be a good idea with young chicks?

You need to be careful how much "treats" you give young chickens and the persimmons are treats. If you decide to do so, you will need to buy Fine chicken grit for them. As I mentioned in my reply earlier, chickens need something to help digest food that has a need from some type of "chewing", and treats require chewing.
And my chickens LOVE persimmons as do my dogs, there is a tree right above my chicken run and when I clean off the tarp and spill them into the run, they go crazy for them.

 

[Darlene30683]

I wrote this about "medicated feed" a few years back. It might help you understand what medicated feed does or doesn't do. For example, medicated feed does not give them immunity to Coccidiosis. If that bug is present it can help keep the numbers under control so they can develop immunity but if that bug is not present medicated feed does not give them any immunity.

First you need to know what the "medicated" is in the medicated feed. It should be on the label. Usually it is Amprolium, Amprol, some such product, but until you read the label, you really don't know. Most "medicated' feed from major brands for chicks that will be layers uses Amprolium, but there are a few out there mostly for broilers that use other medicines. I'll assume yours is an Amprolium product, but if it is not, then realize everything I say about it may not apply. And it is possible that the "medicated" is Amprolium AND something else.

Amprol is not an antibiotic. It does not kill anything. It inhibits the protozoa that cause coccidiosis (often called Cocci on this forum) from multiplying in the chicken's system. It does not prevent the protozoa from multiplying; it just slows that multiplication down. There are several different strains of protozoa that can cause Cocci, some more severe than others. Chickens can develop immunity to a specific strain of the protozoa, but that does not give them immunity to all protozoa that cause Cocci. Little bitty tiny baby chicks can develop that immunity easier than older chickens.

It is not a big deal for the chicken’s intestines to contain some of the protozoa that cause Cocci. The problem comes in when the number of those protozoa gets huge. The protozoa can multiply in the chicken’s intestines but also in wet manure. Different protozoa strains have different strengths, but for almost all cases, if you keep the brooder dry, you will not have a problem.

To develop immunity to a specific strain, that protozoa needs to be in the chicks intestines for two or three weeks. The normal sequence is that a chick has the protozoa. It poops and some of the cysts that develop the protozoa come out in the poop. If the poop is slightly damp, those cysts develop and will then develop in the chick's intestines when the chicks eat that poop. This cycle needs go on for a few weeks so all chicks are exposed and they are exposed long enough to develop immunity. A couple of important points here. You do need to watch them to see if they are getting sick. And the key is to keep the brooder dry yet allow some of the poop to stay damp. Not soaking wet, just barely damp. Wet poop can lead to serious problems.

What sometimes happens is that people keep chicks in a brooder and feed them medicated feed while they are in the brooder. Those chicks are never exposed to the Cocci protozoa that lives in the dirt in their run, so they never develop the immunity to it. Then, they are switched to non-medicated feed and put on the ground where they are for the first time exposed to the protozoa. They do not have immunity, they do not have the protection of the medicated feed, so they get sick. Feeding medicated feed while in the brooder was a complete waste.

I do not feed medicated feed. I keep the brooder dry to not allow the protozoa to breed uncontrollably. The third day that they are in the brooder, I take a scoop of dirt from the run and feed it to them so I can introduce the protozoa and they can develop the immunity they need to the strain they need to develop an immunity to. To provide a place for that slightly damp poop, I keep a square of plywood in the dry brooder and let the poop build up on that. I don't lose chicks to Cocci when they hit the ground.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding medicated feed to chicks, whether the protozoa are present or not. It will not hurt them. They can still develop the immunity they need. But unless the protozoa are present, it also does no good.

If you get your chicks vaccinated for Cocci, do not feed medicated feed. It can negate the vaccinations.

Thank you for such detailed information about the medicated feed. That is very helpful. I have a lot to learn!

 

[poultryprofessor]

Beautiful hens! I had no idea they would go through so much feed! Would it be possible to supplement the chick starter with something like persimmons? We have an abundance of them this year. Or would that not be a good idea with young chicks?

No, it is generally not a good idea to supplement chick starter with anything.

Chick starter is like baby formula in that it is produced to meet the nutritional needs of the growing chicken. Remember, your little chicks will start out at about 35 grams (0.08 lbs) and will grow to 2000+ grams (4.5+ lbs) in 6 months. This requires a lot of protein and specific amounts of vitamins/minerals. Most of the items you may have in abundance (like persimmons, corn, grass) are low in protein and/or have poor nutrient availability. Commercial chicken feeds are designed to meet all of the needs of your chickens including macronutrients (protean, carbs, fat) as well as vitamins and minerals.

Chickens can eat persimmons, but I would only feed them as a treat to adult laying hens. Even then, feed sparingly or you may find your birds are losing weight and not producing eggs.

 

[Darlene30683]

You need to be careful how much "treats" you give young chickens and the persimmons are treats. If you decide to do so, you will need to buy Fine chicken grit for them. As I mentioned in my reply earlier, chickens need something to help digest food that has a need from some type of "chewing", and treats require chewing.
And my chickens LOVE persimmons as do my dogs, there is a tree right above my chicken run and when I clean off the tarp and spill them into the run, they go crazy for them.

If I don't give them anything except chick starter, at what point should I begin giving them grit?

 

[GC-Raptor]

Beautiful hens! I had no idea they would go through so much feed! Would it be possible to supplement the chick starter with something like persimmons? We have an abundance of them this year. Or would that not be a good idea with young chicks?

I only feed Medicated Start & Grow for 10 weeks before adding extra foods.
I do offer Chick Grit and Poultry Grit. GC

 

[mcdze]

lol .. 1 bag of chick start should grow 5-6 chicks out to the coop then you can switch to regualr or layers crumbles until theyre fully matured then go to pellets .. in the meantime after theyre in the coop you can 'cut' the expensive layers or otherwise feed by 50% with a bag of regular scratch ... on the starter, medicated or non dont matter alot of places wont have many options anyway .. yeah just grab a closed handful of dirt and toss it in the feeder when you add feed you'll be golden lol .. imo after theyre mature and you dont range them you might at that point want to supplement things with prepared grit and other things, if theyre ranged you dont got to worry about it .. ..