But what should I feed them before 20 weeks? Do you have specific brands and/or types that you really like? Or brand/types that you don't like?
Hard to believe we haven't discussed feed in this long thread. It is an important topic. And once again the problem is that you have too many options.
The first issue with feed is calcium content. Hens and pullets laying eggs need quite a bit of calcium for the egg shells. Young growing chickens not laying need a certain amount of calcium for growth, especially bones. All chickens need a certain amount of calcium for body maintenance and functions. For those laying eggs, a total calcium content of around 4% works. For all others somewhere around 1% calcium works. This is total calcium content as part of total food consumed. If all they eat is chicken feed, they can get enough calcium from the chicken feed they eat. If they forage for part of their diet or you feed them much low calcium treats they may need supplemental calcium to reach their daily quota.
Studies have shown that excess calcium can sometimes harm growing chicks. Not all of them but some. It's not great for non-laying adult chickens either. It is not what is in one bite either, it is total grams of calcium they consume in a day, and that is averaged over a few days. If a growing chick eats some 4% calcium laying feed and also eats a lot of low calcium food, either foraging or treats, then they are a lot less likely to get hurt from excess calcium as they would be if all they ate was that Layer feed.
I'm a simple person and this is way too complicated for me. So I feed everybody a low calcium feed and offer supplemental calcium on the side. I use oyster shell. The ones that need the extra calcium for the egg shells seem to know it while the ones that don't need that much calcium don't eat enough to harm themselves.
The other talking point is protein content. You can get disagreement on here as to how much protein content is "best". If you are raising them for show they need a high protein feed so they will reach the size show chickens need to win prizes. Meat chickens need higher protein content. For laying chickens, many people on this forum, I suspect the majority, like to feed a fairly high protein content but not that high, say 18% to 20% protein feed from hatch until the end of their lives. The way I feed mine and for my goals I'm happy with a smaller percent, say 16% when they are grown.
I think most of us will agree it is best to start chicken chicks with a relatively high protein content to get them off to a good start. That would be an 18% to 20% protein content. That can be Chicken Starter or something called Flock Raiser or All Flock, depending on brand and what is available at your feed store. Some people continue to feed that feed for the rest of their lives. Some of us are OK changing to a lower protein feed after that good start, say between 4 and 8 weeks depending on when that bag of feed runs out until they are ready to lay. I switch to a 16% protein feed, still low calcium like all these other feeds. The theory is that they don't need that extra protein and I want to slow their body growth a bit so their skeleton and internal organs can keep up. They don't need to be large when they grow up to make me happy.
So what do I suggest for your 8 week olds when you get them? Feed them a low calcium diet, around 1% calcium content feed. I suspect most people on this forum will be happier if you feed a 20% protein feed regardless of how much low calcium treats or forage they get. You do not need to offer supplemental calcium until they start laying. When they start laying you can switch to a 4% calcium Layer or continue with a low calcium feed. In either case I'd offer oyster shell or some calcium supplement on the side.
