How Much Food?

[ClareScifi]

How much grower mash per day does a 14-week old Ameraucana/Leghorn rooster chick need? I have been told by my vet not to make so much food available to him that he will overfeed, because he has a tendency to pack his crop full like a squirrel does his cheeks! But I don't want to starve him, either, and the vet didn't say how much to give him. He did say to switch from crumbles to mash because he is likely to eat less mash than crumbles.

Thanks for your help,

Clare

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Well they say a lighter weight hen needs 4 ounces a day. I hope that helps some.

 

[ClareScifi]

Thanks for the info.

I worry about him. He's not skinny, but he's smaller than the 2 roos who hatched at the same time he did. But they have a lot of white Leghorn showing, and he's mostly buff, so maybe his breed mix explains his smaller size.

But I worry that maybe he needs to eat more, that somehow the food goes through him without nourishing him as much as it does the others. Is this possible?

He has always loved to eat and has been raised indoors, so you would think he might be larger than the others. Of course, they put on more feathers being outdoors in the cold winter, so that might explain their size difference.

He does go outside and run and play, so I know the exercise is helpful to him, and he expends more energy than a totally sedentary chick.