Help Me With Food Timing and Type Please

[AmyJane725]

Hi guys,

I'm moving along in my chicken preparations, and I need to start figuring out what to feed them.

I know chicks eat different food (Chick Starter) than adults do (Layer Feed/Grower Feed?). I need the following questions answered:

1. I have heard that you switch from chick food to adult food at 18 weeks. Is this correct?

2. What kind chick food should I buy? I want the chicks to be as healthy/comfortable as possible, so I don't want to feed them anything that would make them feel sick or bad in any way. What brand (if any) is good? There's a lot of talk about organic/regular and medicated/non-medicated feed. I was currently planning to go with the medicated. Organic everything is a huge fad right now, but I'm not sure if it makes any difference to the chicken's health/well-being or not. Thoughts/data?

3. What kind of adult food should I buy? Again, any brand recommendations (or warnings) are appreciated. I don't care if the chickens never lay a single egg. I just want them to be healthy/happy.

4. Do different breeds of chickens need to eat different foods, or is this more if you're trying to increase egg production (or trying to keep a pet Cornish cross alive as long as possible)? For arguments sake, let's say I'm planning on having a mixture of LF and bantams. Can they eat the same food just fine?

5. A lot of people recommend putting Apple Cider Vinegar into the water. Anybody do this? Is it worth it? And if so, how much do you add to a 5 gallon waterer?

OH! And what about oyster shells and grit? Adult and chick grit. I've heard that you need grit if they'll be eating anything other than store food.

When do you introduce chick grit? I assume you switch to adult grit at the same time you switch to adult food? And the oyster shells once they start laying? Do you just have little feeder dishes of this stuff inside the coop, or where do you offer it? And this is a stupid question, but how do they know to eat the oyster shell stuff? What form is it in? Powder, or grit-like?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

You can simplify things completely by using an all ages appropriate crumble at all times.... I like a 20%protein feed...all flock, flock raiser, grower, etc. Put out free choice calcium (oyster shell) for actively laying birds to take.
That said, if you want to use layer feed, yes, switch at 18 weeks or when most of the birds are actively laying.
Regarding acv....I dont use it. If you do, do not use in galvanized waterers

 

[Chickengene]

Hi guys,

I'm moving along in my chicken preparations, and I need to start figuring out what to feed them.

I know chicks eat different food (Chick Starter) than adults do (Layer Feed/Grower Feed?). I need the following questions answered:

1. I have heard that you switch from chick food to adult food at 18 weeks. Is this correct?

2. What kind chick food should I buy? I want the chicks to be as healthy/comfortable as possible, so I don't want to feed them anything that would make them feel sick or bad in any way. What brand (if any) is good? There's a lot of talk about organic/regular and medicated/non-medicated feed. I was currently planning to go with the medicated. Organic everything is a huge fad right now, but I'm not sure if it makes any difference to the chicken's health/well-being or not. Thoughts/data?

3. What kind of adult food should I buy? Again, any brand recommendations (or warnings) are appreciated. I don't care if the chickens never lay a single egg. I just want them to be healthy/happy.

4. Do different breeds of chickens need to eat different foods, or is this more if you're trying to increase egg production (or trying to keep a pet Cornish cross alive as long as possible)? For arguments sake, let's say I'm planning on having a mixture of LF and bantams. Can they eat the same food just fine?

5. A lot of people recommend putting Apple Cider Vinegar into the water. Anybody do this? Is it worth it? And if so, how much do you add to a 5 gallon waterer?

OH! And what about oyster shells and grit? Adult and chick grit. I've heard that you need grit if they'll be eating anything other than store food.

When do you introduce chick grit? I assume you switch to adult grit at the same time you switch to adult food? And the oyster shells once they start laying? Do you just have little feeder dishes of this stuff inside the coop, or where do you offer it?

Like you I don't need egg machines.
I only have five chicks five weeks old today. Because of winning a door prize I have just over 100 pounds of starter grow feed. I hope to mix it with 20% layer feed, probably 16 weeks and let the older birds helpeat it up.
Is this a bad ideal? How bad?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Like you I don't need egg machines.
I only have five chicks five weeks old today. Because of winning a door prize I have just over 100 pounds of starter grow feed. I hope to mix it with 20% layer feed, probably 16 weeks and let the older birds helpeat it up.
Is this a bad ideal? How bad?

Both you and the op will be best served if you start your own thread for your questions so as not to hijack their thread. Doing so makes it easier for all parties (you/op and those wishing to reply and help you each) to keep conversations straight and on track.

 

[rosemarythyme]

1. You can feed all flock for life if you want to simplify, or if you prefer to go chick > grower > layer, then start layer once they're all laying or close to it. I've never had a chicken lay at 18 weeks as I don't have production birds.

2 & 3. If you don't buy into organic, save money and don't feed organic. I eat organic so my chickens have to as well. I can't recommend any non-organic feeds however as I've never tried them.

4. I think the only difference is if you're raising meat birds for meat, you want them to gain weight quickly so those types of feed tend to be higher in protein I believe. Otherwise no different breeds don't need different food.

5. I don't use ACV as I have nipple waterers and don't want the metal to corrode. I gave my first batch of chicks some ACV but can't say it actually does anything... some people say it slow algae growth but an opaque waterer does the same without additives.

Grit: I introduce chick grit right away, I don't see any reason to wait. I have 3 sizes of grit on hand so I switch sizes when it seems the smaller size is too small... I don't go by age but just by eyeballing the size of birds to stones. Since some of my pullets are a little smaller than the others I have both medium (pullet) and large (hen) grit available, they can pick what they want.



Oyster shell I have a small hanging dish with it. Once the birds need it they'll start craving it and will find it and eat it. It is literally oyster shell smashed up, so some dust and a lot of shell shards. The larger shards are supposedly more beneficial since they take longer to digest.

 

[AmyJane725]

How many pounds of oyster shell and grit would you estimate 7 chickens would go through in a month? (6 chickens for the shells since one is a boy and won't need them)

 

[rosemarythyme]

How many pounds of oyster shell and grit would you estimate 7 chickens would go through in a month?

The large grit I buy in 7 lb bags. I only recently bought my second bag with my hens going on 3 years old, so 1 bag every 3 years?

The oyster shell I buy in 4 lb bags and I do go through faster, maybe 2-3 bags a year? During winter I don't put out any since no one's laying.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

How many pounds of oyster shell and grit would you estimate 7 chickens would go through in a month? (6 chickens for the shells since one is a boy and won't need them)

I buy OS in a 50 lb bag....it lasts several years for my flock that averages 10 layers at any given time.
Grit I get in 50 lb bags, it last longer than the OS, lol. Chick sized grit I would get the little bag, but I still have some from the bags I bought to use in my last aquarium build....I have probably 10 pounds and it will last probably 10 years worth of chicks or more

 

[BYCforlife]

I buy non-medicated layer feed. No organic, because where I live, people are just happy to get eggs from places other than the store.

If you're going to buy layer feed, only start feeding it when your hens start laying. You could buy grower feed instead, (cheaper where I live) and supplement oyster shells and grit. That way you can switch straight from chick starter to grower, and never have to change feeds again.

I've had one bag of oyster shells for maybe 2 years now. For 7 hens you will probably never need to buy a bag again.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Chick sized grit I would get the little bag, but I still have some from the bags I bought to use in my last aquarium build....I have probably 10 pounds and it will last probably 10 years worth of chicks or more

Yeah that little container of chick grit I posted above will last me several more generations of chicks... it's really hard to use it up. My feed store has a bulk section so I only bought a scoop of it.