how much chick feed?

[kittykorat]

I have 7 day old chicks scheduled to arrive next week.

I have one 5lb bag of chick starter feed.

I stopped at the TSC today and they are sold out of chick feed, and won't be getting more till the spring. There are 2 others within 1/2 hour drive that I can call tomorrow to see if they have any in stock.

I know I am suppossed to feed them chick starter feed for the first 8 weeks. About how much will 7 chicks go through in 8 weeks?

 

[gjoyner]

By the way..most people feed them starter/grower until they find an egg. I had two chickens and they went through 8 pounds every month or two.

 

[kittykorat]

Quote:
The local feed store carries 3 kinds of feed- the chick starter (which was sold out) said to feed them from 0-8 weeks, and chick grower- which said to feed from 8-16 wks then the egg laying feed that said 16 wks+

 

[annek]

I bought the big bags and had 12 chicks, I went through 2.5 bags until they laid their first eggs, then I went to layer. I think the bags were 25 lbs but I am not sure, when I dump them in my garbage can (about 1/2 the size of a regular garbage can) that I use for a container, it fills it about 1/2 way. I don't think 5 lbs will last you at all. You can supplement with boiled eggs, that is good for them, just chop them up. One of our grocery stores here even carries chick food, but we are in the middle of no where....

 

[annek]

Quote:
The local feed store carries 3 kinds of feed- the chick starter (which was sold out) said to feed them from 0-8 weeks, and chick grower- which said to feed from 8-16 wks then the egg laying feed that said 16 wks+

Do they have the grower feed? If so, supplement with the eggs to get them as far along as you can then go to grower.

 

[kittykorat]

I called the other 2 feed stores that are 20-30 minutes away.

One has 3 5lb bags.

the other only had the 50lb bags left..

I'm guessing I would need around 20-25lbs... so another 3 little bags, or one big bag.
The big bag would cost less than 3 small bags....
So I'll probably go get that one...

 

[kysilkies]

We go to Southern States and you order by the pound...Our 2 young chicks went thru 10lbs in 3-4wks, of course that pace picks up...Our last purchase was a 50lb bag, it's so cheap and we now have 6 birds(just got 3 new ones yesterday!)

 

[BantyRooster]

I'd get the big bag. You will go through more food than you would think, especially when they hit the growth stage about four weeks and their consumption really increases.

You can still feed them starter/grower when they start laying, just add some extra calcium to their diet.

 

[kristen2678]

Get the big bag. If you have extra when they are 8 weeks you can mix it in with the grower until it's gone.

 

[YankeeRider]

Marie-

My 15 pullets went through 25 lbs in a liitle over 4 weeks. i bought Poulin Grain feed in 25 lb bags. You might see if there's a Poulin dealer near you-they're based in Vermont and so have pretty good coverage throughout the Northeast. They have a dealer locator page at http://www.poulingrain.com/pages/838/Dealer_Locator.htm