Question on feeding new chick??? Please read!

[JaciesCoop]

When a chick is with it's Momma should it be fed starter feed and should it be medicate? Won't Momma eat it? Right now she is eating Momma's food. I don't want to separate or move them as they are doing great in their own coop and run and are nesting in a cat carrier where they both seem very happy. But should I put some starter feed in for the baby and should it be medicate?

Jacie

Here is Firecracker with her Mamma.

PS: She has 2 more eggs to hatch in 10 days.

 

[Firework]

Cute!!!!!!!!

 

[JaciesCoop]

I sure do hope someone has an answer. I really want this baby to stay healthy!

 

[Firework]

If you don't get any answers, put it in a different catagory.

 

[ROC4K]

If your chick is with Mom...she will eat what the hen does. If your area is an environment that is chicken friendly your chick will do just fine. I don't know if your birds are confined or free range...but free rangers will find food and water regardless.

My opinion, and I'm no expert, you will need to decide how specific you really need to be. There are some that go way over the top with diet and security and comfort. In the same respect there are some that are not capable of caring for themselves let alone pets or livestock. You won't find many of the latter here but they exist.

My chicks run from the meatbird to the layer to the garden and all points between. Best regards with whatever method you choose.

Is she keeping the eggs covered with the new one there? I would be more concerned about her bailing on the 2 left if they are 10 days behind. My ladies only stuck to the nest for about 72 hours after hatch.

 

[bantiesrule]

I feed chick starter to my broodies with babies mostly because I have bantams and they need the smaller size crumbles. It doesn't hurt the hens any (if it's medicated or not) and there is a little more protien in it for the baby chicks. However, if you only have a couple of little chicks it just doesn't pay to buy a 50-pound sack of starter. Most little chicks will do fine with whatever mama is eating. I've even feed baby banties the bigger food (they pick through and find the smaller stuff) when I've ran out of starter at the end of the year and mama surprises me with another batch. I do free range though, (you didn't state if you do or not), this is a big bonus as mama will find them more bugs with extra protien also.
On a side note, I really doubt if your hen will set for another ten days for the rest of your eggs to hatch if she has a chick already. I would either take the chick away until the rest hatch and try to get her to take it later or get the incubator ready for the eggs she has left.

 

[JaciesCoop]

Quote:
I was worried about her leaving the 2 eggs also but for 3 days now she is still setting on the eggs with the baby. I don't have an incubator and I really hate to separate them

The are in a very confind coop with a small run. She is nesting inside a cat carrier. They are very safe.

My chickens do not free range. They go inside the backyard for a while each day but are mostly in a 2 part run. Right now mama and baby are in the small part of the run.

We just have to many predators for chickens to run loose around here.
Those that let them have lost a bunch to skunks and coyotes this year.

Thanks for all the advise. I have some unmedicated already so I will just mix that in with there feed
Jacie

 

[Ridgerunner]

If the crumbles are too big for the chicks to eat, you can reduce them in a blender of food processor. I had to do that for mine for the first week. After that, they preferred the crumbles.

They'll do OK with what mama is eating, but if you want to feed the chicks and not the grown hens, you can make them a nice safe place for little chicks only. You can use what is on hand or what your imagination comes up with, but I'll describe the process. Make a crate that will fit over the food, water too if you want to. Have holes in it that are about 2-1/2" wide. The chicks can get through but the hens can't. As long as the food is far enough from the edge the hens can't reach it, it is a nice safe haven for chicks. You can build a crate out of slats, cut holes in a milk carton, use plastic bins, whatever you can come up with. Getting something for the chicks only is easy. I cannot come up with a way to have something for hens only that will exclude chicks. Maybe if you had something pretty high where the chicks can't reach it you could manage it while they are very young, but they grow very fast.

 

[JaciesCoop]

Quote:
Hi Ridgerunner. Thanks for the reply. I've raised all my girls in a brooder as they were all ordered over the last 3 years but I'm bound and determined to let this one be raised the natural way by a real chicken mama instead of a human mama! LOL! But the idea of a chick feeder is a good one. I might try to find something that would work so she will get the starter feed but right now they both seem to be eating both.
It was so funny watching the chick watch mama dust bath. Mama kept kicking sand in her face and she would back up and look at Mama like "are you nuts!!!"

This is so much fun.
She does seem to be ignoring the other eggs now so I took them and put them under a hen who went broody 3 days ago with NO eggs. I have isolated her now so she can stick to business.

Thanks again
Jacie

 

[cmom]

The amprollium in the starter helps in the chicks development of a resistance to cocci. It is sulfa based. There is only a problem eating the eggs layed by the birds that have had the medicated feed if you have any allergies to Sulfa.