Feed And Care

PandaGirl

Chirping
Jan 27, 2021
96
73
83
Hello
I am planning on getting chicks in the next few months, and I have a few questions.
- If I am planning on feeding my chickens grains that I grow myself, will I need to buy something different for the chicks?
-If I am planning on breeding these chickens, but having the mothers raise them ( not using an incubator) is there any special food I will have to give the chicks or will the mother take care of that?
-What do I keep my chicks in and how long until they can go in there coop?
Any thing else I should know about raising chicks will be appreciated! Thanks!
 
Hi there.
Chickens eat a lot, so unless you have a few exclusive acres to raise grain on, especially the variety required to formulate a good feed and all the machinery to gather and process, I wouldn't bother. Unless you really read up on nutrition to properly mix the right grains and ratios, most people end up making a glorified scratch. There are a few members that mix their own grain feeds that are nutritionally balanced but I can't remember who they are or I'd tag them in. Are you set up to grind grains smaller for the chicks? You need to separate a broody hen, give her her own area to the hatch her peeps and keep them separated but where all the chickens can see each other for a few weeks.
How many chicks are you getting? When will you be getting them? How big is your coop? We need this info to answer your questions. :]
 
I mix my own grain feed, like farmers did for a thousand years before pellets came along. It can be done, however, unless you have an operating commercial crop farm, or access to a multitude of grains, then I would certainly not recommend trying to grow or mix enough to feed even a very small flock.

I don't have a farm but my wife and I own an auto parts store in a very AG dominant community. I source what grains I can, for my 40+ layers and roughly 250 broilers that I raise every year, as well as a dozen turkeys and a few ducks and quail, straight from farms that I supply. Even with all the farms around me, it is very difficult to find everything needed to formulate a nutritionally complete feed. I am a strong proponent of locally sourced fresh, non processed feeds, but still leave pellets out free choice for my flock.

I am constantly asking my customers what grains they have available, and find that I need to buy them at harvest time and store them myself in order to be certain they are available when I need them. I also find that I need to be very flexible in my feed recipe and need to adjust to what I can get my hands on. Some years I have a very hard time finding barley, others it's beans( non soy). Flax seed, safflower, milo, millet, lentils, etc.. all are great and needed in a complete feed recipe, but are very expensive to buy and nearly impossible to grow an a small scale.

I'm all for buying your grains locally and feeding them to your flock, as long as they have access to plenty of good pasture, free choice grit, free choice oyster shell, and a commercially balanced feed. I have kept my flock this way for years. My layers are very healthy, but my egg production isn't what it would be if I fed only a layer pellet. my meat birds grow a bit slower than birds fed only "broiler maker" feed. I'm fine with that, as a matter of fact it is the reason I started looking for an alternative to the commercial feeds. My egg and meat customers are looking for that as well. I wouldn't feed my kids Tyson chicken nuggets every day, and I don't think I should feed my hens a processed feed as their only choice either.

Just how I do things.
 
We have acers to grow on. I am thinking any ware from 5-10 chicks to start out. So are you saying that if I grind up the grains the chicks will be able to eat it. I have not built the coop yet so size is adjustable. I will let them free range in the woods so that should cut back on grain needed. If a hen go broody and hatches an egg will she take care of grinding it up for the chicks or will I have to that? Also what should I keep them in ( the chicks I buy) and at what age can I put them in the coop? I will probably get them this spring or summer.
 
Your chicks will need to be brooded, or kept warm, for several weeks. There are several ways to do that. Simplest way is in a brooder box, with a heat lamp.
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Something like this will work.
Start them at 95*F and drop temps by 5* a week until they are fully feathered. Around 6-10 weeks of age.


Chicks will need chick starter feed. It is a specialty feed just for them, they will eat some fine ground grain, but it isn't nutritionally sufficient feed. Hens will not grind food for chicks.
The chickens will range mostly over green spaces, as there is not much in the woods to feed on. They love fresh green grass in the door yard or to chase bugs in a hay field. They will only generally use wooded areas for cover from predators.
 
ok! thank you guys so much! I do not really know if this is the right place to ask this, but will rocks or wyandotte go broody easily?
 
So are you saying that if I grind up the grains the chicks will be able to eat it.

If a hen go broody and hatches an egg will she take care of grinding it up for the chicks or will I have to that? Also what should I keep them in ( the chicks I buy) and at what age can I put them in the coop? I will probably get them this spring or summer.

Yes I would grind it down just to make it easier for them to eat, and also provide grit, so they can break it down further in their gizzards once it's consumed.

If you have hens raising chicks the chicks will eat whatever the hen eats. I would prefer they all be provided ground down feed until the chicks are a bit bigger, but obviously chickens have survived this long without humans grinding food for them.

Build the coop first and then brood the chicks inside there. Keeps the mess out of your house and avoid the need of having to transfer them out as well.
 

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