Not planning to use bag feed

[Lavender Mum]

Hey Everyone,
My first set of chicks is arriving this Friday and I don't want to give them chick starter. I'm into a natural approach and I was wanting to give the chicks oats, grass, fruit/veggie, etc. I was hoping someone else here has taken this approach and might have some feeding tips to pass my way. Thanks!!

 

[nuthatched]

Hi there, welcome to BYC.
It's best not to futz around with experimental feeding at such a critical stage of development, they need easy to digest feed, high protein and all the nutrients found in chick feed.
You can make your own feed for fully grown birds but it's going to much more involved than than fruits, veggies, grass and oats. Oats are actually not great for chickens in large amounts, they have anti nutritional properties.

 

[David61]

Flock raiser crumble and wait until they are older.

 

[SourRoses]

Chickens aren't natural. Humans have made them what we want them to be. That is to grow quickly and produce a lot.
They need a lot of nutrition. They aren't going to get it from what you want to feed. You'll end up killing them or stunting / crippling them with your good intentions.

An adequate feed requires:
Protein @ 18-20% (hard to get from plants)
Low fat (3-5%)
Balanced minerals
Sufficient vitamins (a common cause of leg problems)
yada yada

Would you rather "natural" chickens or living, healthy chickens?

 

[Perris]

Hey Everyone,
My first set of chicks is arriving this Friday and I don't want to give them chick starter. I'm into a natural approach and I was wanting to give the chicks oats, grass, fruit/veggie, etc. I was hoping someone else here has taken this approach and might have some feeding tips to pass my way. Thanks!!

I have, and with better success than I have ever had on commercial chick feed. You may find this useful:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/26419330/
That was from December. Updated to add, all pullets are laying good eggs now, and the cockerels are supporting the dom. This photo was taken of one of them yesterday; he was part of the July clutch, so is 8 months old now

 

[Sally PB]

@Lavender Mum, where are you located? In the US, just the state is fine; out of the US the country is enough. Climate and what feed you have available matter as far as the advice you might receive.

During the first weeks/months of a chicken's life, what they eat can be CRITICAL to their long term health and survival. There are essential amino acids, that if missing, will mean the difference between a healthy bird, a weak bird, and a dead bird.

Making your own feed is usually not cheaper or easier. Start doing your research now, before the chicks arrive.

 

[Lavender Mum]

Hi there, welcome to BYC.
It's best not to futz around with experimental feeding at such a critical stage of development, they need easy to digest feed, high protein and all the nutrients found in chick feed.
You can make your own feed for fully grown birds but it's going to much more involved than than fruits, veggies, grass and oats. Oats are actually not great for chickens in large amounts, they have anti nutritional properties.

I have, and with better success than I have ever had on commercial chick feed. You may find this useful:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/26419330/
That was from December. Updated to add, all pullets are laying good eggs now, and the cockerels are supporting the dom. This photo was taken of one of them yesterday; he was part of the July clutch, so is 8 months old now
View attachment 3445596

Hey! thanks for the information, this is exactly what I was looking for. The last thing I want to do is stunt the growth of a chick but, I was hoping there was a more back to basics approach. Your rooster is beautiful and I wonder how great of layers your hens will be with your feeding approach.

 

[Perris]

@Lavender Mum do bear in mind that my chicks are raised by a broody, and they free range on green and brown forage, so they get some of their nutrition from the environment, esp. insects and other things that live in pasture and leaf litter. They are not shut in a cage all the time and entirely dependent on me for food.

You can trust your chicks' instincts to select edibles from non-edibles and to select what they need from what's available. I started a thread recently which includes links to published scientific research on all this, which you might find useful: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-research-debunks-trad-views-on-nutrition.1567953/ It gets derailed periodically, but I try to get it back on track within a page or so, so that it's not too much of a slog to extract the informative stuff.

 

[Lavender Mum]

@Lavender Mum do bear in mind that my chicks are raised by a broody, and they free range on green and brown forage, so they get some of their nutrition from the environment, esp. insects and other things that live in pasture and leaf litter. They are not shut in a cage all the time and entirely dependent on me for food.

You can trust your chicks' instincts to select edibles from non-edibles and to select what they need from what's available. I started a thread recently which includes links to published scientific research on all this, which you might find useful: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-research-debunks-trad-views-on-nutrition.1567953/ It gets derailed periodically, but I try to get it back on track within a page or so, so that it's not too much of a slog to extract the informative stuff.

Thanks for the link I always love reading scientific publishings Since posting I have found some great information about %'s and what needs to be in any feed from ages of chick to layers and non-laying age. I'll be making my own mash using soaked assorted grains, grass/dirt, sardines, meal worms, marigolds, egg shells, salt, herbs. Everything will be chopped finely and mashed up.

 

[Brooks_]

Thanks for the link I always love reading scientific publishings Since posting I have found some great information about %'s and what needs to be in any feed from ages of chick to layers and non-laying age. I'll be making my own mash using soaked assorted grains, grass/dirt, sardines, meal worms, marigolds, egg shells, salt, herbs. Everything will be chopped finely and mashed up.

Please share your recipe and final cost breakdown. Also how much time it takes to prep. A nutritional analysis would be great too.