How old until Baby chicks don’t need ‘chick starter’?

[aart]

chick starter is 26%

Hmmm...might be you have some game bird starter?
That's kinda higher than usual for chicken chick starter.

Starter
Grower
Finisher
Layer
.....and all the other names that are slapped onto feed bags,
and tossed around so freely on forums,
don't mean squat unless you include the protein and calcium percentages.

Learn to read the tag sewn into the bottom of bags,
and to ignore the pretty lettering on the front of bags.

 

[Nekopan]

Hmmm...might be you have some game bird starter?
That's kinda higher than usual for chicken chick starter.

Starter
Grower
Finisher
Layer
.....and all the other names that are slapped onto feed bags,
and tossed around so freely on forums,
don't mean squat unless you include the protein and calcium percentages.

Learn to read the tag sewn into the bottom of bags,
and to ignore the pretty lettering on the front of bags.

Oh dear. I just went to the big feed store and asked for a bag of chick starter. I read the label before I bought it and it says “Poultry and game bird”. So uh, what now?

 

[paneubert]

26% is pretty high for non-game birds/turkeys. On the plus side, you can feel free to dilute that 26% down to a lower amount by mixing with a much lower protein feed. The problem is that often the lower protein feed is the higher calcium feed....

 

[Nekopan]

26% is pretty high for non-game birds/turkeys. On the plus side, you can feel free to dilute that 26% down to a lower amount by mixing with a much lower protein feed. The problem is that often the lower protein feed is the higher calcium feed....

Could I use scratch grains? I have lots of chicken scratch.

 

[paneubert]

The risk with scratch is that some are smart enough to pick out only the good bits. I would see if you can find some really low protein feed and just mix with that. How much do you have left? May be worth just not even using it anymore and starting fresh with a more appropriate feed.

 

[Nekopan]

I’m happy to grind the scratch to mix in.

The 26% starter bag is 20lbs and pretty much full, but I’m going to head to my local store to see what I can find. Hope they have something appropriate but typically they only carry 16% layer pellets. The feed store is a 2 hour drive.

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

Oh dear. I just went to the big feed store and asked for a bag of chick starter. I read the label before I bought it and it says “Poultry and game bird”. So uh, what now?

I would love to get a bag of those.... how much do they go for?

 

[paneubert]

I would love to get a bag of those.... how much do they go for?

When I fed Nutrena game bird to my quail, it was about $25 for 50 pounds. Not exactly cheap.

 

[Nekopan]

It was a no go at my local store. They only had 16% layer pellets, 16% duck and goose pellets, and scratch. I asked them to order me some 18% feed, I guess in the meantime I’ll cut my starter with ground scratch.

 

[aart]

Oh dear. I just went to the big feed store and asked for a bag of chick starter. I read the label before I bought it and it says “Poultry and game bird”. So uh, what now?

I’m happy to grind the scratch to mix in.

How old are your chicks and how many do you have?