Conventional non-GMO Whole Grain/Seed Recipe for Layers

[GreenLove]

I am so very grateful to you for posting this thread. I feel I may be running out of time to find a good starter chick recipe, so I will probably have to start my first batch of Rhode Island Red chicks on non-medicated Purina starter/grower mix (the only locally available non-medicated feed).

This is probably too late for you, but may help someone in the future....If your looking for a good organic, non-medicated chick starter/grower, Manna Pro sells one at Tractor Supply Co. Just go to their website and search for chick feed. It's in a green and white bag. There is also a place to enter your zip code to see if your local store has it in stock before driving there.

 

[beginnergirl]

How old do chickens need to be to eat uncooked millet, oats and sunflower seeds in the shell? Mine are about 6 weeks old. They eat some soaked or cooked oatmeal, kale, meal worms, broccoli and cooked sweet potatoes for treats. Right now they have an organic chick crumble but love almost any vegetable.

 

[GreenLove]

How old do chickens need to be to eat uncooked millet, oats and sunflower seeds in the shell? Mine are about 6 weeks old. They eat some soaked or cooked oatmeal, kale, meal worms, broccoli and cooked sweet potatoes for treats. Right now they have an organic chick crumble but love almost any vegetable.

Sorry, I'm not sure about sunflower seeds in shell, but I started giving mine HULLED (no shell) sunflower seeds, millet (the small yellow cereal grain one, not the big, red and white kind), and oat groats (no hulls), at around 7-8 weeks. They loved it. Just make sure they have access to grit

Good luck!

 

[Dandelioness]

How old do chickens need to be to eat uncooked millet, oats and sunflower seeds in the shell? Mine are about 6 weeks old. They eat some soaked or cooked oatmeal, kale, meal worms, broccoli and cooked sweet potatoes for treats. Right now they have an organic chick crumble but love almost any vegetable.

I've given soaked millet with other soft/small ingredients to day-olds. I had a hatch this spring with only two chicks surviving, not enough to warrant buying/storing a bag of feed. I mixed a little of this & a little of that and they thrived on it.

I kept things small & soaked in water or milk. Provided grit. Grafted them onto a broody hen after a week & she took them around foraging everywhere. Some of this feed mix was always accessible, and I assumed it would be a while before they ate the larger items. Much to my surprise, they began eating the whole-in-shell BOSS at about three weeks of age.

If your chicks are that old, have grit, and are used to eating diverse foods, I would introduce some, a little at a time & see how they do. Checking their crop every morning & seeing that they digest everything well, of course.

 

[beginnergirl]

Great info, Dandelioness! Is it normal for chicks to have a swollen lump on the right side after eating? Maybe they are eating too much? Seems to go down though. Another couple questions: what kind of barley do you feed- pearl, hulled? And are the oats whole or rolled? Will check with feed stores and see what is available. Excited to give the chicks some good food. They have been getting little bits of my grains and veggies. Sometimes caused loose stools if they ate a lot of greens. Though not exactly sure what the poop is supposed to look like. It's varied for sure. They are little pooping machines

but I am loving having chickens!!! Many thanks to greenlove and you.

 

[GreenLove]

Great info, Dandelioness! Is it normal for chicks to have a swollen lump on the right side after eating? Maybe they are eating too much? Seems to go down though. Another couple questions: what kind of barley do you feed- pearl, hulled? And are the oats whole or rolled? Will check with feed stores and see what is available. Excited to give the chicks some good food. They have been getting little bits of my grains and veggies. Sometimes caused loose stools if they ate a lot of greens. Though not exactly sure what the poop is supposed to look like. It's varied for sure. They are little pooping machines

but I am loving having chickens!!! Many thanks to greenlove and you.

Just my two cents: Too many treats are bad for young chicks, especially if it's causing loose droppings. I just had an incident with giving my 14 week olds watermelon, causing very watery droppings. Their starter feed is the most important thing you can give them right now (kudos by the way, for feeding organic

) Mine loved mealworms at that age! If you don't raise your own, you should look into it because after initial set up, they are practically a free high protein source. Just remember, everything in moderation. Mine at 14 weeks old, love any grain I have given them, red winter wheat, oat groats (hulless oats), millet, quinoa, soft white wheat, barley (hulled, not pearled because it's more nutritious than pearled), spelt, I'm sure there are others but my brain is just waking up. They also love hulled hempseed (but it's very expensive), I really just gave them a little to see if they liked it. Love tomatoes, carrots, all greens, etc. (all cut very small at that age though). I know chickens can and will eat whole oats and barley etc., but I believe the hulls have extra fiber, so that's why I feed mine hulless. Mine are free range so they get enough fiber elsewhere. Regarding your questions on what poop looks like, I found a great article, (with pictures) called "What's the scoop on chicken poop". Just GOOGLE it, it's on a website called the chicken chick. I'm still a newbie myself and found it very interesting. Yes, they are certainly pooping machines! I bought a pair of muck boots

. Good luck!

 

[Dandelioness]

Great info, Dandelioness! Is it normal for chicks to have a swollen lump on the right side after eating? Maybe they are eating too much? Seems to go down though. Another couple questions: what kind of barley do you feed- pearl, hulled? And are the oats whole or rolled? Will check with feed stores and see what is available. Excited to give the chicks some good food. They have been getting little bits of my grains and veggies. Sometimes caused loose stools if they ate a lot of greens. Though not exactly sure what the poop is supposed to look like. It's varied for sure. They are little pooping machines

but I am loving having chickens!!! Many thanks to greenlove and you.

Hi again - the lump is their crop. It should be full at the end of the day & empty in the morning before eating if everything is moving through well.

I feed whole millet (whole everything, really). Just smaller grains/seeds & make sure it's soaked when they are very young.

I did formulate something for those two little chicks. I should go find the recipe & post it later. Grains & greens aren't treats in my book, they're food.

This isn't a thread about bagged feed, but sharing ideas & experience with feeding a home mix or otherwise alternative feed management.

 

[GreenLove]

Hi again - the lump is their crop. It should be full at the end of the day & empty in the morning before eating if everything is moving through well.

I feed whole millet (whole everything, really). Just smaller grains/seeds & make sure it's soaked when they are very young.

I did formulate something for those two little chicks. I should go find the recipe & post it later. Grains & greens aren't treats in my book, they're food.

This isn't a thread about bagged feed, but sharing ideas & experience with feeding a home mix or otherwise alternative feed management.

If this is passive aggressiveness towards my post, let me clarify it: I never said grains and greens were treats. I simply said too many treats. As far as the bagged feed comment, it was my intention (and my opinion) to say that the starter feed that she was feeding is the most important thing for her chicks to eat right now until she formulated a homemade feed mix of her own (if that is what she was trying to accomplish).

 

[Dandelioness]

Not being passive aggressive, I think it was pretty straightforward. Thanks for clarifying, just trying to stay focused.

FWIW - I have trouble tagging & doing multiple quotes from my phone.

 

[GreenLove]

I just use one cup of pellets in a Little water. It melts down to mush in minutes. 2x a week for 15 hens

Just saw your answer, thanks!