How Long Do I Keep My Baby Chicks on Chick Starter?

[Awestruck]

How long do I keep my baby chicks on chick starter and what do I feed them after that? The oldest ones are about 4 weeks old now and I will put them in the coop in a couple of weeks. What kind of food do I feed them when they are in the coop (they are pullets)? When do I start layer feed?

 

[nuthatched]

You can feed layer feed after they start laying or keep them on starter or an all flock feed with oyster shell on the side their whole lives.

 

[rosemarythyme]

You can keep them on non medicated starter for life if you wish, or on grower or all flock instead. Provide calcium on the side for strong eggs.

If you want to switch to layer, I personally wait until about half the chicks start laying to do so, but I continue to provide calcium on the side as well.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

How long do I keep my baby chicks on chick starter and what do I feed them after that? The oldest ones are about 4 weeks old now and I will put them in the coop in a couple of weeks. What kind of food do I feed them when they are in the coop (they are pullets)? When do I start layer feed?

Agreed with @nuthatched and @rosemarythyme above. I'll just add my 2-cents, since I started this reply before they posted. (They're just much faster and less wordy than I am!)

The babies should be fed starter feed until about 18-20 weeks of age, and then transition to layer feed. Layer feed has about 3-times the calcium, which they need for strong eggshells. However, feeding layer feed when they are not yet ready to lay, or to roosters, isn't good for them. Excess calcium in chicks or roosters can lead to organ damage.

So, if you have a mixed-age flock and/or a rooster, you can use an all-flock type feed that's designed for all ages, or you can just continue to feed them starter feed forever - BUT with either one, you'll need to supplement with oyster shells on the side (free-choice) or another source of calcium once the pullets are ready to lay (20-26 weeks usually). Hens will eat the oyster shells as they need it, but the roosters and chicks generally leave it alone.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

What works for me is to keep the chicks on non med starter and start weaning to layer mash at 16 wks with all day free range. Some, very few of previous RIRs Barred Rocks started laying at 18 wks.

 

[Ittybittyschmidtie]

Hello all,

Just curious, I am feeding my chicks a medicated starter, should I switch to non medicated? They will be 4 weeks on Friday.

 

[jreardon1918]

Hello all,

Just curious, I am feeding my chicks a medicated starter, should I switch to non medicated? They will be 4 weeks on Friday.

My chicks are about a week older than yours.. The starter I bought is medicated. That feed will run out at about 8 weeks. This feed is in the brooder where the hens can not get to it. At 8 weeks I will switch the hens and chicks to a non-medicated grower. There will be a side dish of oyster shell. In the Fall, the chicks will start laying, while the hens start molting and stop laying. At that point I will switch them all to Game bird pellets for the winter. Lastly in the spring, when most of the girls are laying they will move to layer pellets. This schedule has worked for us for our 6-7 years. I like pellets as there seems to be no waste.
YMMV

 

[K0k0shka]

You don't have to ever switch them to layer feed. Layer feed has a flat rate calcium added to it and the chickens, which are very good at regulating how much they need, have no way of doing that with layer feed. Before they start laying, during molt, in the winter when they slow/stop laying, when they are sick/injured and not laying, when they slow/stop laying because of age, etc. etc. - in all those scenarios, they need less calcium than what's in layer feed, and continuing to eat layer will cause calcium buildup which is not good for them in the long run. That's why I prefer to let my chickens decide for themselves. I feed an all flock type of feed (no calcium added) year round and to all ages, and always have calcium on the side (crushed eggshells, you can use crushed oyster shell as well). I use Purina, and their all flock feed is the same protein % as chick starter/grower - 20% - so it's good for all ages. And makes life easier for you! I have never used layer feed and never will.

 

[K0k0shka]

Hello all,

Just curious, I am feeding my chicks a medicated starter, should I switch to non medicated? They will be 4 weeks on Friday.

4 weeks should be enough but there's no reason to waste the unfinished bag if you have more left. Feed it to them until it runs out, then get unmedicated for the next bag. If you have older chickens, they can eat chick starter as well, both medicated and non medicated, it won't hurt them at all and their eggs are safe to eat. So don't feel like you have to separate them or separate who eats what, or buy multiple bags - you can just feed them all the starter (with eggshells/oyster on the side if you also have layers).

 

[rosemarythyme]

Hello all,

Just curious, I am feeding my chicks a medicated starter, should I switch to non medicated? They will be 4 weeks on Friday.

Answer actually depends on where they're located. If they're already outside and have been for a week or two, then you can probably switch off whenever. If they have not been outside at all, then it'd be safest to keep them on medicated feed for a couple of weeks after they move out, as they have not been exposed to any coccidiosis in your environment and it seems like the transition period is when they're most likely to have problems.

(Note that I do not use medicated feed, I have Corid if needed but because I brood outdoors my hope is that they build up resistance to coccidiosis naturally via early exposure.)