Homemade chick starter

[pecksandkisses]

Hi everyone! I’m a senior in high school and part of vet science. For our class we have to do an agriscience project for FFA, and I’m planning on raising chicks. My plan is to have two groups: one raised on store bought starter and the other raised on homemade starter.
So….
Does anyone have any good recipes/links to homemade chick starter that I could use from newborn-30 days old? I’m looking as well, but I want to find the best one possible. Thanks in advance!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

What kind of birds (CX? Rangers? Leghorns?)??? How many? Budget?? How about local availability? Recipe does no good if you can't buy the stuff, or can't afford it.

Are you looking to compare against what's popular? (If so, use the top google hit, or the top youtube hit). Organic? Non-GMO?

 

[pecksandkisses]

What kind of birds (CX? Rangers? Leghorns?)??? How many? Budget?? How about local availability? Recipe does no good if you can't buy the stuff, or can't afford it.

Are you looking to compare against what's popular? (If so, use the top google hit, or the top youtube hit). Organic? Non-GMO?

We’re planning on getting Ameraucanas from Murray McMurray, probably like 8 in each experiment (16 total.) We usually buy DuMor 24% Chick starter, which is around $9 per pound, so our budget would probably be around there (maybe a bit more) since I’d compare it with that.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

K, that helps. I was worried you might select CX because their fast growth would rapidly reveal weight disparities, but their famed poor health plus small sample size might really skew the results. By not seeking soy free, non gmo, or organic, you pought yourself in a reasonable price range, and...

where are you??? Dumor 24% starter in a 10# bag should be more like $0.90/lb (which is still huge). Given expected consumption (and waste) you are looking at what, 3 10# bags for 8 birds over 30 days?

meaning you likely need a similar amount of "home brew". Do you have a way to grind ingredients that you won't destroy doing this project??

 

[Brooks_]

Does anyone have any good recipes/links to homemade chick starter that I could use from newborn-30 days old?

Would that be a form of plagiarism for your experiment?

 

[3KillerBs]

We’re planning on getting Ameraucanas from Murray McMurray, probably like 8 in each experiment (16 total.)

Easter Egger are highly-variable crossbreeds of crossbreeds. MM claims that their Ameraucanas aren't Easter Eggers, but since they don't come in the accepted color varieties for that breed they are actually Easter Eggers.

May I suggest that your experiment might be better done with birds that are bred to a uniform standard?

As much as I dislike red chickens, something like the Red Star sexlinks are bred to a more exacting standard (by hatchery standards), as commercial laying crosses so you're more likely to chicks that are more uniform in growth and development.

Likewise for Pearl-White Leghorns -- commercial-type layers.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Would that be a form of plagiarism for your experiment?

Nope. Plagiarism is copying someone's results, such as representing someone else's home brew feed as their own recipe. The experiment here is not to design a home brew feed, its to compare the results of feeding a commercially complete starter mix with a home brew mix - and selecting an existing, popular home brew will ensure the experiment is both topical and worthwhile. That's why I suggested using the top google or youtube hit - you are relying on their search algorhythms to find something widely popular.

Of course, OP could improve the study by searching further, and comparing results across multiple recipes - chances are, there are a number of popular, very similar, recipes published - which can be mentioned in the experiement summary and listed in the bibliography.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Easter Egger are highly-variable crossbreeds of crossbreeds. MM claims that their Ameraucanas aren't Easter Eggers, but since they don't come in the accepted color varieties for that breed they are actually Easter Eggers.

May I suggest that your experiment might be better done with birds that are bred to a uniform standard?

As much as I dislike red chickens, something like the Red Star sexlinks are bred to a more exacting standard (by hatchery standards), as commercial laying crosses so you're more likely to chicks that are more uniform in growth and development.

Likewise for Pearl-White Leghorns -- commercial-type layers.

^^^ VERY GOOD POINT!

 

[3KillerBs]

^^^ VERY GOOD POINT!

I did not pursue research science as a career, but my BS is Biology/Geology and I remember a lot about designing valid experiments.

 

[Brooks_]

Nope. Plagiarism is copying someone's results, such as representing someone else's home brew feed as their own recipe. The experiment here is not to design a home brew feed, its to compare the results of feeding a commercially complete starter mix with a home brew mix - and selecting an existing, popular home brew will ensure the experiment is both topical and worthwhile. That's why I suggested using the top google or youtube hit - you are relying on their search algorhythms to find something widely popular.

Thank you for the clarity.

Of course, OP could improve the study by searching further, and comparing results across multiple recipes - chances are, there are a number of popular, very similar, recipes published - which can be mentioned in the experiement summary and listed in the bibliography.

I think that would be a much better academic route.