Newbie question--starter and grower feed?

[Day Old ChicK]

How long do you feed starter feed to chicks before you switch to grower feed? Also when yoou feed chicks how much do you put out seeing that much of it will be wasted by messy chicks? Will it be obvious once the chicks start eating (mine should arrive tomorrow) or is there a formula to it? Thanks for the help.

 

[newchickmom09]

Most of the feeds have a label that tell you how long to feed that certain feed to the chicks some brands and formulas very. My starter that I used is to be fed until they are 8 weeks old. The grower that i just bought says 6-8 weeks until they lay, then switch to layer feed. They also have some starter/grower and you can feed that from day one until they lay. It all really depends on the food so read the label.

A good rule of thumb would be starter 0-8 weeks old, grower 8-20 weeks (or until laying ), then layer once they start laying aprox. 20 weeks.

Forgot to answer the rest of your question.

I just fill up my feeder and they eat all they want. They start wasting there food when they strach at it. It is best to have a feeder big enough to were everyone can eat but small enough they can't fit in it to scratch and poo in the feed. Once they get a week or week and a half old I put my feeder on a small block so they stopped kicking there bedding in it. I wouldn't regulate how much feed you put in there because you will end up with chicks that don't get as much food as they need if they are not as pushy as the others. Just keep the feeder full with clean water available also.

 

[6368]

you feed them starter feed for the first 10 weeks, then the mix feed for the next 6 weeks. after, that you go for adult feed for the rest of their lives. enjoy the info!!!