Question about chick starter feed.

[J&KV]

Last thursday on the 19th we got 6 baby chicks (4 RIRs and 2 WCB Polish bantams) from our local feed store. We went ahead and picked up the feed they had there. Today i noticed on the bag that it was 24% chick starter,and on the back of the it stated that this was for turkey,pheasant, quail, and chukar. For chickens the bag states that we should be using 20% chick starter. Will the 24% chick starter hurt our chicks in any way? Here are some pics of our chicks after a week and seem to be healthy besides 3 cases of the pasty rear so far, but they to be very active.

Thanks for any input.

 

[hennypenny9]

I think you're probably okay... Maybe someone will jump in and say no, but at least this will get bumped to the top.

How many pounds of it did you buy? We never got to just walk into our store and buy feed, we always went to the till and asked for -pounds of chick starter, and later layer pellets.

 

[farrier!]

For once in my life I was trying to get everything set up ahead of time for my chicks. I too went to the farm store and now have 50 pounds of the 24% protein chick starter also....

So.....could someone with experience tell us newbies who do not read well that the 4% higher protein will be fine????

 

[J&KV]

It was a 50lb bag,and the only kind they had. There is another feed store we probably should have went to for the feed, becacause there were a lot of folks getting chicks and the starter feed. I guess we should look on the label a little closer next time.

 

[debilorrah]

Wow, good question. I never even thought to look at the bag!!!! I just fed the chicks the stuff assuming the feed store knew I needed chick start because I bought chicks!!!

 

[Lollipop]

You`ll be OK for a couple months. By the time they are 2 months you should start them on the lower protein grower. To much protein after 2 mos will cause leg problems from rapid growth.....Pop

 

[pkeeler]

The protein is okay for young chicks, but you have slower growing breeds and your next bag should be lower. Try not to switch all at once, introduce the new feed with the old.

The bigger issue is that your feed is probably non-medicated. Now, maybe that is what you wanted. Lots of people raise chicks without medicated feed. But you might want to look around the internet and this forum. I've not done it, but if you keep the litter in good shape you should be okay. I would guess you could switch to medicated feed now.

 

[DancesWithChickens]

oh my i guess i better go look at my chick feed, as i am feeding it to my little ducks, not so little anymore. They are growing so fast you can see it over night. The guy at the feed store said they should be eating it also. All my chicks are growing except one, he is a little fellow and does not seem to be growing at all. Except for being little he seems to be fine.
Thanks for the heads up!

 

[J&KV]

Thanks for the input. I do have some Buff Orpingtons i pre ordered from a different feed store and i will make sure we get the medicated chick starter they need.

 

[pkeeler]

Dances, how many feeders do you have? Sometimes, low ranking chicks are kept away from feeders. It is always a good idea to have two, separated as much as possible.