How much starter feed is too much?

[chicchic25]

Hi All!
We bought 6 pullets 1 wk ago they did not tell us how old they were but from pics I've been looking at my guess is they are now approx 2 1/2 weeks old?? Total guess on my part.

For the last 2 days I've woke up to an almost empty feeder. (The feeder/water are the ones purchased in the "starter kits" and seem to be a good size for all the wee ones. I thought they were kicking it out of the feeder but when i cleaned their pen/box there was very little to be found. Should I limit how much they eat or just let them have all they want for now?

They all seem to be growing at an incredible rate and have their feathers coming in! Any advice is greatly appreciated.
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[Odelia]

I would say the chicks in the photo are 5-7 days old. You should not limit their feed. If they are eating it give it to them.

 

[chicchic25]

Thank you so much for your reply. I will certainly let them eat what they want to. They are so precious!

 

[dragon30276]

Let them eat cake..... I mean feed

 

[chicchic25]

Thanks dragon30276 and Odelia... I will.

By the way, and I truly am not trying to be the dense little chicken owner newbie, but I have lots of questions that i think i know the answers to but def don't trust my tiny bit of "chicken knowledge."

If I may ask ...
When do they start eating other food (meal worms,veggies, fruits etc)? I've heard they should wait to start eating other food til after 4 wks?

What is the best grit to feed ? I've read were you can use play sand, commercial "washed" sand or limestone?????

Do I mix the grit in with their food (if so, how much do i put in their food) or should I have a separate bowl of it? I won't even pretend that I know this answer... lol

 

[PapaChaz]

Thanks dragon30276 and Odelia... I will.

By the way, and I truly am not trying to be the dense little chicken owner newbie, but I have lots of questions that i think i know the answers to but def don't trust my tiny bit of "chicken knowledge."

If I may ask ...
When do they start eating other food (meal worms,veggies, fruits etc)? I've heard they should wait to start eating other food til after 4 wks?

What is the best grit to feed ? I've read were you can use play sand, commercial "washed" sand or limestone?????

Do I mix the grit in with their food (if so, how much do i put in their food) or should I have a separate bowl of it? I won't even pretend that I know this answer... lol

there are no dumb questions. if you feel like you're unsure of something enough to ask, that in and of itself merits you ask it.

I put a bowl of chick grit in the brooder after I'd had them just a few days and started giving them veggies, meal worms, scrambled eggs. Where ever you get your feed and supplies from should have 'chick grit', just put it in a separate bowl, they'll take what they need as they need it.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

When do they start eating other food (meal worms,veggies, fruits etc)? I've heard they should wait to start eating other food til after 4 wks?

Pretty much whenever you start offering it. Think about it, if they were being raised outside by a hen, they'd be scratching for stuff and trying stuff out as soon as they left the nest. I started mine out early with treats and sprouts. The mealworms had to be chopped up of course, and I used clover sprouts, which were the smallest seeds I could find.

What is the best grit to feed ? I've read were you can use play sand, commercial "washed" sand or limestone?????

Do I mix the grit in with their food (if so, how much do i put in their food) or should I have a separate bowl of it? I won't even pretend that I know this answer... lol

I used the Chick Grit they sell at the feed store, not play sand. It's quite a bit larger than sand, which seems too small to do much IMO. Don't mix it with the food, offer it on the side (I made a dust bathing bowl for them and kept it in there as well; they would spend HOURS scratching and dust bathing in that thing).

 

[chicchic25]

You guys are awesome!! I can literally feel the tension in my shoulders starting to release. LOL I don't know why I'm so nervous about these little girls. They are a huge responsibility that we are more than willing to take on, I just don't want to mess things up for them.

I can't say thank you enough times, you make a "chicken newbie" feel very welcome.

 

[Odelia]

I give my girls commercial chick feed, and it has grit in it. You only need to give them grit if they are getting a lot of other things to eat. They recommend that you not feed treats until they are a couple of months old. If you let them out in a run they will eat what ever they find grass/bugs etc.. Keep in mind that these bugs can have parasites in them such as worms so once they start eating such things you have to start watching for and be prepared to start treating such things. I personally don't give a lot of treats to birds this age. If I do I give things that are easy for them to eat like scrambled eggs.

 

[lazy gardener]

Never heard of chick feed coming with grit. Are you sure it's not the mineral fines that you're seeing?