How much Food do Baby Chicks need a Day

[FluffyButtTikiHut]

i know but they told me i can pay the price of 4 and just take 2 home with me

That's nuts. My hatchery had no minimum. In fact I ordered 4 chicks and got 6 for the same price! Mostly because though I wanted a mixed flock, she knew I wanted a silkie so badly. At least one, so she gave me extras because they're hard to sex. Now they're 16 wks. One turned out to be a rooster ooohhh he's so handsome and sweet! Wish I could keep him but I'm in the city...so dad took him. And one of the girls has a much friendlier personality than the other. I have 5 total and no regrets! Glad yours are healthy!

 

[mommiesrcool]

It looks like you have cornish cross chickens, the only kind that sometimes do need to have their feed limited. (Based on the way they look, and based on them laying down to eat when they were younger, before you started limiting their feed.)

They may have finally figured out what amount is right to eat. Or not.

You will probably just have to pay attention to how they act, and you may end up switching back and forth between free feed and limited feed, depending on how they are doing at what time.

For new chicks, if you get Rhode Island Reds, it should be fine to feed them as much feed as they want. Even if the store mis-labels the chicks, if they look red, they should be a kind that can handle free-choice feed.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/white-broiler-tsc-cornish-rock-hen-and-egg-color.664541/ if you look at the baby chicks in the link mine did NOT look like that at that young they had Lots of feathers at 6 weeks they were not bald

 

[mommiesrcool]

Dual purpose breeds do not over eat in my experience.

i think i have white rocks but i free fed them and they ate some food and left it alone and right after eating their running around so i DO BELIEVE that i have White Ricks

 

[Parront]

but they aren't laying down they only lay down around 12 pm- 4 pm because that when it gets REALLY hot i just free feeded them and they ate and are running around

Now that they are grown up and healthy, they do not lay down all the time. While they are growing, they get too heavy for their legs. They lay down because their legs can't hold them up. Now, yours are almost adults and legs are strong. Like the other poster said, you will probably always have to watch them to be sure they do not get too heavy. There are lots of different strains of meat birds, some are more prone to grow fast and heavy than others. They have a shorter life-span than dual purpose hens. When you get the new chicks, you might consider getting the 4 you paid for, they may not be able to share a run or a feeder with your older birds. Are you limited to only 4 birds where you live?

 

[NatJ]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/white-broiler-tsc-cornish-rock-hen-and-egg-color.664541/ if you look at the baby chicks in the link mine did NOT look like that at that young they had Lots of feathers at 6 weeks they were not bald

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...rnish-x-meaties-tractors-do-not-count.813414/

First post has photos at 4 weeks and 5 weeks, with feathers.
Some just do grow feathers faster than others.

My main point was that you did right in limiting feed when your chickens showed that they needed it. You appear to have chickens that DID overeat, even though most kinds of chickens will not overeat.

Your judgement about feeding your chickens was better than the judgement of a bunch of us on the internet

 

[mommiesrcool]

Now that they are grown up and healthy, they do not lay down all the time. While they are growing, they get too heavy for their legs. They lay down because their legs can't hold them up. Now, yours are almost adults and legs are strong. Like the other poster said, you will probably always have to watch them to be sure they do not get too heavy. There are lots of different strains of meat birds, some are more prone to grow fast and heavy than others. They have a shorter life-span than dual purpose hens. When you get the new chicks, you might consider getting the 4 you paid for, they may not be able to share a run or a feeder with your older birds. Are you limited to only 4 birds where you live?

i dont think i can have chickens where i live but my neighbors are fine with my chickens

 

[mommiesrcool]

Now that they are grown up and healthy, they do not lay down all the time. While they are growing, they get too heavy for their legs. They lay down because their legs can't hold them up. Now, yours are almost adults and legs are strong. Like the other poster said, you will probably always have to watch them to be sure they do not get too heavy. There are lots of different strains of meat birds, some are more prone to grow fast and heavy than others. They have a shorter life-span than dual purpose hens. When you get the new chicks, you might consider getting the 4 you paid for, they may not be able to share a run or a feeder with your older birds. Are you limited to only 4 birds where you live?

i'm going to give the heaviest pullet away and keep the lighter one who is more sweet and doesn't try to get out

 

[mommiesrcool]

i'm going to give the heaviest pullet away and keep the lighter one who is more sweet and doesn't try to get out

ill post a pic of the other pullet a little later

 

[Parront]

ill post a pic of the other pullet a little later

Post one with both birds together, too, if you can.

 

[mommiesrcool]

i sure will