Help Me With Food Timing and Type Please

[Ol Grey Mare]

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.

Good thing rocks have such a good shelf life, lol

 

[AmyJane725]

 

[AmyJane725]

How much food will a single chick eat during the chick food phase? I've got some chicken math going on, so I'm getting somewhere between 7 & 17 chicks, and I'm trying to figure out how much food they'll need. Will one 50 lb bag of food last them the entire 18 weeks they're on chick food, or will they need more (or less)? Would a 20 lb bag be better? Will the food go bad if I have it for that long? Like, should I buy the 20 lb bag and then buy another once they've made it through, rather than a 50 lber that might be stale by the end?

 

[paneubert]

How much food will a single chick eat during the chick food phase? I've got some chicken math going on, so I'm getting somewhere between 7 & 17 chicks, and I'm trying to figure out how much food they'll need. Will one 50 lb bag of food last them the entire 18 weeks they're on chick food, or will they need more (or less)? Would a 20 lb bag be better? Will the food go bad if I have it for that long? Like, should I buy the 20 lb bag and then buy another once they've made it through, rather than a 50 lber that might be stale by the end?

Hard to calculate since they will waste more or less of it depending on your feeder.

I started with 25 chicks born February 26th, got down to my current 10 chicks within a week of birth. They are now almost 3.5 weeks old. I am probably about.....30 pounds in. Most of the way thru my first 40 pound bag of food. And mine do not waste a ton of food.

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

Mine will keep eating until they explode so now I have to portion their feed accordingly.

 

[Timothy Menezes]

What's your local feed store have in stock? Brand doesn't seem to matter much, the major brands are all owned by the same corporation. Grit isn't needed when their just eating starter crumbles.

I prefer feeding layer, and Purina suggests starting them on it about a month before you expect them to start laying. If your doing the non layer ration then I put in the oyster shell before they need it.

 

[AmyJane725]

My local TSC has Dumor (regular and organic), Purina (regular and organic), Blue Seal (the extra egg crumbles), Nutrena, Nature's Best, Eggland's Best, NatureServe, Healthy Harvest, Kent (same as Blue Seal I think. Bag looks identical except for the logo on it), Manna Pro, Producers Pride. There's probably fewer available in the actual store, but that's the ones from the website.

In store I know they have Dumor, Purina and a couple of the organic varieties.

 

[Timothy Menezes]

I've had good results with Purina and Nutrena products. I liked the Omega 3 Purina allot. Now I am trying Nutrena Hearty Hen and it seems to be working out nicely. It's soy free, 18% protein, and smelled good when I was pouring it in the feeder. The hens took right to it and didn't seem to have any issues transitioning over to it.

 

[AmyJane725]

Ok, well that sounds promising. Is that pretty affordable?
I've been thinking about the Scratch N' Peck stuff. Anyone have any experience with it?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0068SP1XE/?tag=backy-20

 

[rosemarythyme]

I've been thinking about the Scratch N' Peck stuff. Anyone have any experience with it?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0068SP1XE/?tag=backy-20

As much as I like S&P feeds I don't really care for their chick feed. The grind can be chunky and I had a harder time convincing the chicks to eat fermented feed (they liked it dry but I don't want to feed it dry). I ended up feeding my fermented S&P starter to the hens (who were VERY happy to get it) and bought a "hatch to hen" crumble instead.

Once the chicks were older and willing to eat fermented feed I did offer them S&P grower along with the crumble.