My girls weren't too interested in oyster shell until I started putting crushed egg shells on top. Now they devour it!
How long to feed chick starter?
- Thread starter Cowgrl4life
- Start date
Quote:
Hey gamefowl guy! Thanks! I was kind of struggling with this so I am glad you chimmed in with logical reason here.
That sounds like a plan I can follow!
Hey gamefowl guy! Thanks! I was kind of struggling with this so I am glad you chimmed in with logical reason here.
What would the time frame look like if you were switching from chick starter to "flock raiser" ? I have chicks that are with mama away from the flock, but she seems to want to move them back into the community coop. I was just going to feed "flock raiser" to the whole group until the babies start to lay, but do not know when it is ok to switch from chick starter to flock raiser. Any ideas?
Quote:
By starter, are you referring to a medicated feed? If so you can take them off that at any time. I rarely feed a medicated feed unless I suspect they have too much Coccidia exposure.
Keep in mind that medicated feed contains something specifically for Coccidiosis and nothing else. Bags containing medicated feed are clearly lebeled. That shouldn't be given to birds producing eggs.
Each type of feed, from most manufacturers, will have instructions on the bag as to their recommendations for ages to feed that and their other products. Those recommendations are based on their nutritional formulas and age specific nutritional requirements.
Lots of people obsess with which feed to provide and then mess up that nutritional balance with lots of treats.
It's hard to screw this up. Almost any feed is nutritionally superior to a strict diet of corn and other grains. "Flock Raiser" is usually a higher protein feed for the likes of growing turkeys, gamebirds, waterfowl, etc. which, when free ranging, usually eat higher protein foods than chickens.
I frequently feed something like that to growing chickens, especially if I want faster growth or better feather production like in Fall.
Ignoring the names that a manufacturer gives their feed (starter/grower/finisher/flock raiser/layer/breeder et al.), there are two primary things to look at in feed ingredients. And we should be reading the labels for ingredients and guaranteed analysis.
Protein and Calcium.
Growing birds need 18% protein or more - the more they get the faster they'll grow.
Grown birds need 17% or less, they can take in more but the excess over what they need for maintaining muscle, vascular system, egg production, feather replacement, etc. will be processed by the liver and converted to something else like fat or waste.
Hens producing eggs need about 4% calcium for egg shell development. All other birds need about 1%. Accumulated excessive calcium can cause kidney problems.
The other things listed in the guaranteed analysis are nutrients essential to poultry and must be within a range for optimum nutrition. So rather than focus on what a feed is called, understand the nutritional requirements of each bird depending on age and what you want to accomplish. Reading that nutrient label will answer all your questions.
By starter, are you referring to a medicated feed? If so you can take them off that at any time. I rarely feed a medicated feed unless I suspect they have too much Coccidia exposure.
Keep in mind that medicated feed contains something specifically for Coccidiosis and nothing else. Bags containing medicated feed are clearly lebeled. That shouldn't be given to birds producing eggs.
Each type of feed, from most manufacturers, will have instructions on the bag as to their recommendations for ages to feed that and their other products. Those recommendations are based on their nutritional formulas and age specific nutritional requirements.
Lots of people obsess with which feed to provide and then mess up that nutritional balance with lots of treats.
It's hard to screw this up. Almost any feed is nutritionally superior to a strict diet of corn and other grains. "Flock Raiser" is usually a higher protein feed for the likes of growing turkeys, gamebirds, waterfowl, etc. which, when free ranging, usually eat higher protein foods than chickens.
I frequently feed something like that to growing chickens, especially if I want faster growth or better feather production like in Fall.
Ignoring the names that a manufacturer gives their feed (starter/grower/finisher/flock raiser/layer/breeder et al.), there are two primary things to look at in feed ingredients. And we should be reading the labels for ingredients and guaranteed analysis.
Protein and Calcium.
Growing birds need 18% protein or more - the more they get the faster they'll grow.
Grown birds need 17% or less, they can take in more but the excess over what they need for maintaining muscle, vascular system, egg production, feather replacement, etc. will be processed by the liver and converted to something else like fat or waste.
Hens producing eggs need about 4% calcium for egg shell development. All other birds need about 1%. Accumulated excessive calcium can cause kidney problems.
The other things listed in the guaranteed analysis are nutrients essential to poultry and must be within a range for optimum nutrition. So rather than focus on what a feed is called, understand the nutritional requirements of each bird depending on age and what you want to accomplish. Reading that nutrient label will answer all your questions.
Quote:
By starter, are you referring to a medicated feed? If so you can take them off that at any time. I rarely feed a medicated feed unless I suspect they have too much Coccidia exposure.
Keep in mind that medicated feed contains something specifically for Coccidiosis and nothing else. Bags containing medicated feed are clearly lebeled. That shouldn't be given to birds producing eggs.
Each type of feed, from most manufacturers, will have instructions on the bag as to their recommendations for ages to feed that and their other products. Those recommendations are based on their nutritional formulas and age specific nutritional requirements.
Lots of people obsess with which feed to provide and then mess up that nutritional balance with lots of treats.
It's hard to screw this up. Almost any feed is nutritionally superior to a strict diet of corn and other grains. "Flock Raiser" is usually a higher protein feed for the likes of growing turkeys, gamebirds, waterfowl, etc. which, when free ranging, usually eat higher protein foods than chickens.
I frequently feed something like that to growing chickens, especially if I want faster growth or better feather production like in Fall.
Ignoring the names that a manufacturer gives their feed (starter/grower/finisher/flock raiser/layer/breeder et al.), there are two primary things to look at in feed ingredients. And we should be reading the labels for ingredients and guaranteed analysis.
Protein and Calcium.
Growing birds need 18% protein or more - the more they get the faster they'll grow.
Grown birds need 17% or less, they can take in more but the excess over what they need for maintaining muscle, vascular system, egg production, feather replacement, etc. will be processed by the liver and converted to something else like fat or waste.
Hens producing eggs need about 4% calcium for egg shell development. All other birds need about 1%. Accumulated excessive calcium can cause kidney problems.
The other things listed in the guaranteed analysis are nutrients essential to poultry and must be within a range for optimum nutrition. So rather than focus on what a feed is called, understand the nutritional requirements of each bird depending on age and what you want to accomplish. Reading that nutrient label will answer all your questions.
Great answer...follow the directions on the packages. Mine were on Starter/Grower till the started laying, THEN I switched them over to Layena with oyster shell on the side...different opinions, as you can see...being told to mix adult food with starter at a young age is not wise in my opinion...the extra calcium is not good for growing chicks....
I would not, personally, feed Flockraiser to growing chicks, its like giving table scraps to a new born, not enough nutrition in it for the growing baby...
By starter, are you referring to a medicated feed? If so you can take them off that at any time. I rarely feed a medicated feed unless I suspect they have too much Coccidia exposure.
Keep in mind that medicated feed contains something specifically for Coccidiosis and nothing else. Bags containing medicated feed are clearly lebeled. That shouldn't be given to birds producing eggs.
Each type of feed, from most manufacturers, will have instructions on the bag as to their recommendations for ages to feed that and their other products. Those recommendations are based on their nutritional formulas and age specific nutritional requirements.
Lots of people obsess with which feed to provide and then mess up that nutritional balance with lots of treats.
It's hard to screw this up. Almost any feed is nutritionally superior to a strict diet of corn and other grains. "Flock Raiser" is usually a higher protein feed for the likes of growing turkeys, gamebirds, waterfowl, etc. which, when free ranging, usually eat higher protein foods than chickens.
I frequently feed something like that to growing chickens, especially if I want faster growth or better feather production like in Fall.
Ignoring the names that a manufacturer gives their feed (starter/grower/finisher/flock raiser/layer/breeder et al.), there are two primary things to look at in feed ingredients. And we should be reading the labels for ingredients and guaranteed analysis.
Protein and Calcium.
Growing birds need 18% protein or more - the more they get the faster they'll grow.
Grown birds need 17% or less, they can take in more but the excess over what they need for maintaining muscle, vascular system, egg production, feather replacement, etc. will be processed by the liver and converted to something else like fat or waste.
Hens producing eggs need about 4% calcium for egg shell development. All other birds need about 1%. Accumulated excessive calcium can cause kidney problems.
The other things listed in the guaranteed analysis are nutrients essential to poultry and must be within a range for optimum nutrition. So rather than focus on what a feed is called, understand the nutritional requirements of each bird depending on age and what you want to accomplish. Reading that nutrient label will answer all your questions.
Great answer...follow the directions on the packages. Mine were on Starter/Grower till the started laying, THEN I switched them over to Layena with oyster shell on the side...different opinions, as you can see...being told to mix adult food with starter at a young age is not wise in my opinion...the extra calcium is not good for growing chicks....
I would not, personally, feed Flockraiser to growing chicks, its like giving table scraps to a new born, not enough nutrition in it for the growing baby...
Last edited:
So after getting excellent advice from all, I also went to http://poultry.purinamills.com/ to see what they had to say about all this. They pretty much agree with you guys and also give some good insight into the composition of their feed.
- Jan 23, 2013
- 12
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I have four chicks that are 9 weeks old. I have moved them to coop with the two older birds. I have continued to give them the chick starter but they are also eating the layer feed that is there for the laying hens. Conversely, the old girls are nibbling at the chick starter. Difficult to designate a feeding station and have everyone follow the rules. The only thing i can do is raise the layer feed to make it more difficult for the young birds to reach it. Any other suggestions?
The simple solution is to feed all the birds the chick feed - provide oyster shell for the older birds to take as they need/want it and you have one, simple feed that meets the nutritional needs of all the birds without putting the health of any of them at risk. Many folks, myself included, use this sort of program - all birds get a grower ration from the first to last day they are in my flock.
X2
Or as you suggested you could elevate the layer so the young birds can't reach it and put the starter feed under or inside something the hens can't reach but that's complicated.
Ol Grey Mare's suggestion is easier.
Or as you suggested you could elevate the layer so the young birds can't reach it and put the starter feed under or inside something the hens can't reach but that's complicated.
Ol Grey Mare's suggestion is easier.
You don NOT want your 9 week old chicks eating layer feed, they can't handle the calcium yet. Ol grey mare's feed system is what we do, it's stress free.
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