Please help a newbie what do a feed them?

[nanirose]

I am so afraid to do something worng, please hold my hand and tell me what to feed the chicks I just brought home. I bought chick scratch and also "complete chick starter" Do I mix the two things together? I have a feeder tray, the kind that screws on to a jar.
TIA,
Shannon

 

[JennsPeeps]

Welcome to having chickens!

Don't feed chicks chicken scratch at all. It's like giving gourmet chocolate to toddlers: they don't need it & can't digest it anyway. You can give them scratch when they're a couple of months old, so just hang onto it for now.

Keep the new babies exclusively on the starter until they finish it all. How big they are when you run out of starter will determine what to get next.

Before you go any farther with owning chickens, read read READ!! Here are some resources:
1. BYC learning center on raising chicks: https://www.backyardchickens.com/raising-chickens-basics.php
2. MyPetChicken e-book on raisig chickens: http://www.mypetchicken.com/ebook.aspx

The best thing you can do for your new babies & for yourself is to get really familiar w/ what to do!

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Jenn you are awesome

Nanirose - come back and ask all the questions you want and

 

[pascopol]

Quote:
No scratch yet.

In addition to starter I feed mine hardboiled egg mashed with Quaker Oats from day 1. They love it adds nutrition and variety variety and it is good for them.

80 or so years ago there was no chicken starter.

The feed companies perpetuate the myth that chicken (and other animals) have to be fed exclusively their product only, for obvious reasons.

 

[nanirose]

Thank you so much. All the chickies are happily eating their food. YEAH!!

 

[kittyariel]

I have been giving mine chopped up boiled egg since I brought them home. Other than that just chick starter and they had a few cheerios to play with for the first time today. I got them from TS so guessing they are about 10 days old

 

[Pamjay]

I started giving worms to my babies when they were less than a week old and you'd think I gave them drugs! I give them to them maybe once daily so it's a huge treat and they go wild for them! Like a good mother hen I feed them by hand. It's been a week since I started this and they seem happy and healthy. Are there other things I can add to their diet that would make them so happy?? Strawberries? Anything?

 

[LaneRae]

We have given wax worms and meal worms also. They love those!!!