Mixed flock - can I feed "meat bird grower"??

[RachelleM1986]

I have 2 hens sitting on nests, and for the heck of it, I threw a few duck eggs in the mix. My last few attempts at using broody hens have failed miserably, so I wasn't very hopeful of success with this round...but guess what?! I have some pippers!!!

I already plan on taking the chicks and ducklings away as they hatch and keeping them in a brooder... But I know I can't feed medicated chick start to ducklings. My husband and I own a feed store, but the brand we carry doesn't have a non-medicated starter feed, only a grower/finisher feed. Is this ok to feed to chicks and ducklings that have just hatched?

Here's a link to the info:
http://farmerswarehouse.com/PDFs/Products/Poultry-Feeds/5715.pdf

And here's a link to their list of products (scroll down to the poultry section):
http://farmerswarehouse.com/products.html

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

As long as they are able to eat the feed (size wise), yes, it is fine. Many folks use a grower at all times for their flocks - it avoids the issue of non-laying birds getting layer feed (excess calcium) and the higher protein content is better, imo, than the pretty bare minimum content of most layer rations, especially if one is offering scratch, etc that is so low on protein that it can quickly bring the overall intake of protein below the desired level when the base diet is already on the low side. If the size seems to be an issue for your chicks, just toss it in a grinder or use other methods to bring the crumble size down a bit.

ETA - myself, I would look for something in the 20%+ protein content -- is this truly the only line of feed you carry?

 

[RachelleM1986]

Thank you Ol Grey Mare for the advice! Where we're at in Nevada it's a pretty low-income economy, so we carry the best-price stuff with the best quality (among the cheaper brands). I've raised all my animals on this stuff for years and haven't had any issues, I've just never mixed chicks with ducklings and tried to feed them at the same time lol. Is there a certain brand with 20% protein in their starter/grower feeds? We can't carry Purina or Pedigree brands in our store due to "boundary issues"

(We're about 35 miles from the nearest dealer lol)