Homemade chick starter

[U_Stormcrow]

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

Here I had just finished commenteing "EE are Mutts" on another thread discussing Start of Lay expectations, hadn't considered the implications here.

White Leghorns are cheap, there's lots of literature on feeding them already which might be useful for planning, they aren't a hybrid like the {X}stars or a mutt like an EE, they put on better weight than some of the new hybrids, and they are moderately early layers - here, faster maturity increases the potential of getting results in the very short timeframe of the experiement [which I would push to 6 weeks, that being the more common recommend for how long to keep a bird on starter, as well as more time for differences to become evident}

 

[pecksandkisses]

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??

Sorry, I meant per 10 pounds. I have a way to grind ingredients, so don’t worry about that lol.

 

[pecksandkisses]

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.

Good point! I was mainly planning on getting them because they have the most availability, but I’ll research some more standardized breeds.

 

[pecksandkisses]

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.

If I were able to I’d compare different recipes, but my teacher only wants us to have a control group plus the variable.

 

[pecksandkisses]

Here I had just finished commenteing "EE are Mutts" on another thread discussing Start of Lay expectations, hadn't considered the implications here.

White Leghorns are cheap, there's lots of literature on feeding them already which might be useful for planning, they aren't a hybrid like the {X}stars or a mutt like an EE, they put on better weight than some of the new hybrids, and they are moderately early layers - here, faster maturity increases the potential of getting results in the very short timeframe of the experiement [which I would push to 6 weeks, that being the more common recommend for how long to keep a bird on starter, as well as more time for differences to become evident}

Good point. I would extend my time frame but it entirely depends on how quickly my experiment gets approved.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Leghorns should be readily available, and as cheap as the EE from the same hatchery. Assume approval, start reviewing YouTube, Google results for homebrew starter feed recipes. Record your sources, recipes. Then select one whose ingredients are available to you at reasonable price.

In your experiment summary, indicate that you reviewed a number of popular homebrew recipes, indicate any you rejected due to a lack of {Ingredient} availability, and then casually mention that the one you did select was substantially similar to recipes X, Y, and Z from {sources}, you would therefore anticipate generally similar results if one of those alternates had been selected as your variable, instead - though with time and funding, you could repeat the experiment, using the same control diet, and additional flocks on recipes {Original choice}, X, Y, Z to determine which of the homebrew recipes was best.

You likely also want to record cost, as an alternate basis of comparison, and quantity (weight) fed, which will be needed to calculate effective cost, feed efficiency, a number of related measures of importance to raising poultry effectively and efficiently.

Ultimately, I can almost guarantee the commercial feed will result in a superior weight gain over the period, at the lowest price (both per unit time and per pound gained) - and there are tons of reasons for that we can get into later - but I'm willing to be pleasantly surprised, partially because the price of the 10# dumor is so high - I buy 24% protein feed for under $15, in a 50# bag. Trying to buy 50# of bulk ingredients, I can't begin to compete on price - the feed store doesn't carry 10# bags of oats, cracked corn, brewers grains, alfalfa meal, dried soybeans, or any ofthe other things you might commonly see in an at home recipe.

 

[Sally PB]

What an interesting experiment to do. Following!

 

[pecksandkisses]

What an interesting experiment to do. Following!

It maybe be a while before you see results, as it's due in December, but I'll try to remember to send updates!

 

[The Moonshiner]

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.

Curious if you have or have had MM "Ameraucana"?

 

[3KillerBs]

Curious if you have or have had MM "Ameraucana"?

I am relaying the info from the many people here who have explained that real Ameraucana come in named color varieties and cost a lot more than $4-5 per chick.

If I have been misinformed I am willing to be corrected.