Question about chick feed

[TheWickedChicken]

I have chicks around 5 weeks old who are on grower feed specified for chicks up to 6 weeks old that they have just about finished. My boyfriend came home with a bag of finisher feed specified for chicks 10-18 weeks. Is it okay to feed them this even though they aren’t 10 weeks yet? I don’t know how strict those age restrictions are supposed to be.

 

[azygous]

If you were to read all the labels stating ingredients and quantities, in chick starter, chick finisher, and all flock feed such as Purina Flock Raiser, you would be astonished to see that they are all practically identical.

I discovered this several years ago as I stopped by the feed store to pick up a bag of chick starter for some new chicks that had just hatched. Curiosity made me compare labels with Flock Raiser. Yup! Identical.

Finisher may be a bit higher in protein because, guess why, fed to chicks over ten weeks old and you can get them grown out faster and EAT them!

I suggest you skip the "finisher" and just get a bag of all flock feed. You can feed this to a mixed flock of all ages and genders, including layers. Make life simple. Ignore the manufacturers suggestions. They want to sell product.

 

[TheWickedChicken]

My boyfriend already bought the finisher feed. I just wanted to know if it was safe or not to give to chicks. You answered that, so thank you.

 

[Norseman]

You coul stick with the starter another week or so and then start adding crumble. Starter feeds are finely ground. Crumble is bigger. And pellets are bigger still. A lot of the feed has the same ingedients but the size of the feed matters when they’re small. I wouldn’t get layer pellets until they’re older/bigger.