Feed questions from a new member!

[kenp719]

Hi everyone, my name is Michelle and I live in Peyton, CO. We just moved out to the country about 3 months ago, when we moved, we promised our kids we would get chickens. Well, yesterday our baby chicks arrived!
1 Barred Rock
2 RIR
2 Barnevelders
2 Buff Orpington
2 Self Blue Cochins

We love them already (our chihuahua is still on the fence ) They took to the food and water very well, we have them in a 10g aquarium as my husband finished the brooder this weekend then we plan on moving them over to on Sunday. Since I am a planner, I have been researching feed when the chickens move out to the coop. I'd love to feed them organic once they get older, but it's super expensive and since I'm not quite sure how much food I will need as they get older I'm wondering if adding scratch to their diet would be of benefit and might help make their food go a bit longer.

Thank you in advance for your wisdom. It's like being a new parent all over again!

 

[chickens really]

Hello. I feed a Grower finisher feed after 8 weeks and continue that all their lives. Once laying I supply Oyster shell in a separate dish. Scratch is a treat so use it sparingly.

 

[kenp719]

Hello. I feed a Grower finisher feed after 8 weeks and continue that all their lives. Once laying I supply Oyster shell in a separate dish. Scratch is a treat so use it sparingly.

Thank you so much! Can you let me know which brand you use?

 

[chickens really]

Thank you so much! Can you let me know which brand you use?

I'm in Alberta Canada so I'm sure you can't get my brands I use.?

 

[kenp719]

I'm in Alberta Canada so I'm sure you can't get my brands I use.?

No worries! Thank you for your help!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

but it's super expensive and since I'm not quite sure how much food I will need as they get older I'm wondering if adding scratch to their diet would be of benefit and might help make their food go a bit longer.

Hi there, welcome to BYC!

All the birds you mention are dual purpose breeds and will do best on at least 18% protein in the future.

My preferred feed is Purina Flock Raiser with 20% protein... for all my birds... offering oyster shell free choice on the side as they approach laying age.

No, offering scratch is NOT a way to save $... it's simply a way to diminish nutrients. It is okay to use at NO more than 10% of their total daily intake. Aside from being low in protein it also doesn't have the added vitamins and minerals the formulated ration does... but even more so the amino acids. If too much scratch is given it reduces immune system function, can cause fatty liver (Orp can be prone to it), or other issues... Seeking medical attention or losing birds is never the more affordable way to go.

If you do go with "layer" feed (usually 16% protein and 4% calcium) after they start... cheapest Organic I have seen is at Costco. Just don't forget organic poison is still poison.

Most my DP birds consume .20- 0.25 # of feed per day.. slightly less during nice weather.

Shopping around... I can save about $3/bag on the same (flock raiser) feed.

Hope your babies thrive!

 

[IamRainey]

Just don't forget organic poison is still poison.

Can't say I understand this comment. NOT disputing it -- it's logically true. I just don't understand what advise it's intended to provide. That choosing organic is needlessly expensive? That layer feed is toxic? That overindulging in scratch or non-balanced feed is going to poison birds?

Help me understand, if you will.

 

[IamRainey]

Hi, Michelle, and welcome!

I feed my chickens a non-organic all-flock feed supplemented with oyster shell, egg shells and grit that are always available for the birds' free choice. I also give them daily treats of kitchen scraps and shredded cabbage (too many predators for my flock to forage green stuff for themselves) and occasional treats of black oil sunflower seeds or scratch that they have the same freedom to choose as the oyster/egg shells and grit. But you won't be doing that until your chicks are feathered out and grown.

Mine are all healthy and seemingly happy and I always reason that free ranging birds don't have nutritionists "balancing" their intake and yet seem to thrive around the world in all kinds of harsh and unforgiving environments.

I think we have an absolute obligation to take good and empathetic care of our flocks but also that we're capable of overthinking things sometimes. I also want to encourage you that chickens are easy to provide for and you'll do a good job and have birds that are able to live a good life in return for your family's efforts on their behalf.

As for the brands of supplies available, I think most of us choose from what the local feed stores have available. The ones near me have one brand of grit, one brand of oyster shell. There isn't a lot of comparative shopping to do (other than prices offered by different feed supplies). And I don't think it's really necessary. As for feed there are some choices:

• pellet, crumbles or mash -- all essentially the same nutrition just different forms
• medicated or unmedicated -- a personal preference
• organic or non-organic -- another personal preference
• starter (first 6-8 weeks), grower (until they begin laying), layer (15-18% protein, 3-4% calcium) and all-flock (20% protein, 0% calcium) -- choose what's age appropriate and skip the calcium in the feed if you're feeding roosters

You're going to do fine and, I hope, have a lot of fun along with your delicious fresh eggs!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum, Glad you joined.

It probably won't take you long to realize you can get some really differing opinions on here. We keep them for so many different goals, different climates, different management techniques, different facilities, different flock make-ups, the list goes on and on. and so many different things work. It's not surprising we have different experiences and different opinions. It's not like there is only one way to do something and all other ways are wrong, but that so many can be right. I think that is one of the problems on this forum, you have so many different options that can work but you have to pick one out. For some of us certain things work better than others, but with no experience how do you know which is right for you? It can be challenging and confusing.

Commercial operations have determined a fairly standard feeding regimen for chicks that will become a laying flock. You will see that printed on many bags of commercial chicken feeds. In general it involves a high protein feed (18% to 20%) the first month or so to get them feathered out and give them a good start, then they cut back to a lower protein feed (maybe 16%) to slow their growth a bit so the skeleton and internal organs can keep up. Then at around 3 months they cut back a bit more (15%) to help control that maturation process. Then a little before they are ready for them to start to lay, they change the feed to a bit higher protein (16%) and increase the calcium content since they will need the extra calcium for egg shells.

You don't need to do that. Commercial operations use special bred hybrid chickens bred for heavy laying. Your breeds are not those. Commercial operations manage when they start to lay, partly by diet but to a large extent by managing light. With their specially bred hens they could start to lay really young, maybe young enough to hurt themselves if their body is not ready. Again, you don't have to worry about that.

People that raise chickens for show do not follow this feed regimen. They feed their chickens a much richer diet as they grow so they will grow bigger. Again, these are specially bred birds. Yours are not. Chickens raised for meat are also fed differently.

I'm going through all this to say you have a lot of freedom in how you feed your chickens, especially in regard to protein. My chicks get an 18% protein Starter for the first month. After that the entire flock gets a 15% Finisher/Developer with oyster shell offered on the side for the ones that need the calcium for their egg shell. But mine forage for a lot of their food so I've lost the ability to micromanage their every bite.

If you are providing practically everything they eat it is a good idea for their feed to make up at least 90% of what they eat. Standard chicken feed provides a balanced diet of the many different nutrients they need. It's not just protein and calcium but fats, fiber, minerals, and vitamins among others. You can provide other food such as, scratch, kitchen wastes, garden wastes, bugs, or green stuff, but the general recommendation is to keep that total to 10% or less of their daily diet. If you can come up with a way to do that and cut feed costs more power to you.

And that's my opinion.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
Because I have both actively laying hens and pullets, and roosters young and old, and birds not actively laying eggs, I feed an all flock feed, 20% protein, with oyster shell in a separate container, and grit available. Layer feeds are meant for smaller breed egg layers who are actively laying eggs, and eating nothing else. Most of us don't have the same birds, in those conditions, so other feeds make sense too.
Buy fresh feed! Every bag has a mill date on it somewhere, and get something within a month or so, that you can use up within another month or not a lot longer. Chicken feed can be found sometimes that's much older, and don't get that bag!
Organic is nice, but we don't buy it here for our chickens. We ourselves eat some organic, and some not, so having a flock fed organic feeds exclusively doesn't make sense to me.
Feeds that are made up of whole grains can be a problem, as some birds will pick out the tasty bits, and become malnourished. I avoid that type myself.
Scratch and extra goodies are nice, but as treats, not a big part of their diet. Just less than 10%.
Post pictures! We all love chick pictures!
Mary