Questions from a semi-beginner

[Mike521]

Hi all, we are currently raising a batch of 6 hens and I have a few questions if anyone has time

1. at what age should we start to switch them from all-you-can-eat 24/7 buffet, to just "we're feeding you twice a day, the rest is up to you"? We plan to let them do a lot of free-ranging in our yard once they're full grown
   
   
2. at what age should we switch them from medicated starter crumbles to non-medicated? I did some googling on this and it seems there's no consensus?
   
   
3. when should we start giving them de-wormers? Should we start this fall (maybe in a month or two, so they'll be roughly 3 months old), or wait till next spring?

Some background:

When I was younger I spent 10 years working on a farm that had many free-range chickens, among other farm animals. At the farm our chickens were mostly self-sufficient - chicks were raised by their moms, we didn't provide heat (just a barn for shelter) and we just fed them corn twice a day). As a result, my chicken raising experience is less "hands-on"

Right now our chicks are being kept indoors. We were expecting them to be big enough to not need heat, and therefore they'd go straight to the coop. But on the day we went to the store to pick them up we saw that they were only about 7 - 10 days old, so we scrambled and set up a bin with a heating "brooder", food and water.

Outside, we have a coop in an enclosed 8x16 chicken-run. Our coop is small, just big enough for 6 hens, with an auto-open/close door. The run is enclosed by 1/4" hardware cloth to keep raccoons out. We plan to let them free-range in our roughly 1-acre yard once they're big enough, but not necessarily every day.

thanks in advance : )

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Hi all, we are currently raising a batch of 6 hens and I have a few questions if anyone has time

1. at what age should we start to switch them from all-you-can-eat 24/7 buffet, to just "we're feeding you twice a day, the rest is up to you"? We plan to let them do a lot of free-ranging in our yard once they're full grown

My chicks are in brooder with all you can eat until integration age, which for me is when thier bodies are close enough to the adults that I know they can handle them (around 12 weeks.) At that point they have daytime buffet and free ranging, I put feed up at night.

1. 
   
   
2. at what age should we switch them from medicated starter crumbles to non-medicated? I did some googling on this and it seems there's no consensus?

I use All Flock 20% for babies and adults. I'd move from starter to layer or all flock when they start to lay.

1. 
   
   
2. when should we start giving them de-wormers? Should we start this fall (maybe in a month or two, so they'll be roughly 3 months old), or wait till next spring?

Worming is not something that you have to do on any schedule or even at all if you have no issues with worms. I have never wormed my chickens except for Coccidiosis situations, in 20years of chicken keeping.

Some background:

When I was younger I spent 10 years working on a farm that had many free-range chickens, among other farm animals. At the farm our chickens were mostly self-sufficient - chicks were raised by their moms, we didn't provide heat (just a barn for shelter) and we just fed them corn twice a day). As a result, my chicken raising experience is less "hands-on"

Right now our chicks are being kept indoors. We were expecting them to be big enough to not need heat, and therefore they'd go straight to the coop. But on the day we went to the store to pick them up we saw that they were only about 7 - 10 days old, so we scrambled and set up a bin with a heating "brooder", food and water.

Outside, we have a coop in an enclosed 8x16 chicken-run. Our coop is small, just big enough for 6 hens, with an auto-open/close door. The run is enclosed by 1/4" hardware cloth to keep raccoons out. We plan to let them free-range in our roughly 1-acre yard once they're big enough, but not necessarily every day.

thanks in advance : )

Sounds great, ENJOY!!

 

[Mike521]

My chicks are in brooder with all you can eat until integration age, which for me is when thier bodies are close enough to the adults that I know they can handle them (around 12 weeks.) At that point they have daytime buffet and free ranging, I put feed up at night.

I use All Flock 20% for babies and adults. I'd move from starter to layer or all flock when they start to lay.

Worming is not something that you have to do on any schedule or even at all if you have no issues with worms. I have never wormed my chickens except for Coccidiosis situations, in 20years of chicken keeping.

Sounds great, ENJOY!!

thank you! What about stopping the medicated feed? I bought a huge bag, but then I read something about wry neck and (if I remember right) there's suspicion that keeping them on medicated feed for too long can contribute to it

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I've used both medicated and non, I've experienced no difference, and I've not dealt with wry neck. I would say use up whatever starter feed you have on hand and then switch to All Flock. I use Kalmback 20% offering a dish of oyster shells. Layers will eat the oyster shells when their bodies need it. Or if you're going to switch to a Layer feed, then keep them on the medicated starter until they are close to laying.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum! Glad you joined!

at what age should we switch them from medicated starter crumbles to non-medicated? I did some googling on this and it seems there's no consensus?

I'll copy something I wrote a few years back on this in answer to a different question. If this does not answer your questions get back to me.

First you need to know what the "medicated" is in the medicated feed. It should be on the label. Usually it is Amprolium, Amprol, some such product, but until you read the label, you really don't know. Most "medicated' feed from major brands for chicks that will be layers uses Amprolium, but there are a few out there mostly for broilers, that use other medicines. I'll assume yours is an Amprolium product, but if it is not, then realize everything I say about it may not apply. And it is possible that the "medicated" is Amprolium AND something else.

Amprolium is not an antibiotic. It does not kill anything. It inhibits the protozoa that cause coccidiosis (often called Cocci on this forum) from multiplying in the chicken's system. It does not prevent the protozoa from multiplying; it just slows that multiplication down. There are several different strains of protozoa that can cause Cocci, some more severe than others. Chickens can develop immunity to a specific strain of the protozoa, but that does not give them immunity to all protozoa that cause Cocci.

It is not a big deal for the chicken’s intestines to contain some of the protozoa that cause Cocci. The problem comes in when the number of those protozoa gets huge. The protozoa can multiply in the chicken’s intestines but also in wet manure. For them to reproduce they need some moisture. Slightly damp isn't an issue, soaking wet is. Different protozoa strains have different strengths, but for almost all cases, if you keep the brooder dry, you will not have a problem.

To develop immunity to a specific strain, that protozoa needs to be in the chicks intestines for two or three weeks. The normal sequence is that a chick has the protozoa. It poops and some of the cysts that develop the protozoa come out in the poop. If the poop is slightly damp, those cysts develop and will then develop in the chick's intestines when the chicks eat that poop. This cycle needs go on for a few weeks so all chicks are exposed and they are exposed long enough to develop immunity. A couple of important points here. You do need to watch them to see if they are getting sick. And the key is to keep the brooder dry yet allow some of the poop to stay damp. Not soaking wet, just barely damp. Wet poop can lead to serious problems.

What sometimes happens is that people keep chicks in a brooder and feed them medicated feed while they are in the brooder. Those chicks are never exposed to the Cocci protozoa that lives in the dirt in their run, so they never develop the immunity to it. Then, they are switched to non-medicated feed and put on the ground where they are for the first time exposed to the protozoa. They do not have immunity, they do not have the protection of the medicated feed, so they get sick. Feeding medicated feed while in the brooder was a complete waste.

I do not feed medicated feed. I keep the brooder dry to not allow the protozoa to breed uncontrollably. The third day that they are in the brooder, I take a scoop of dirt from the run and feed it to them so I can introduce the protozoa and they can develop the immunity they need to the strain they need to develop an immunity to. Since I keep my brooder extremely dry and the water clean the protozoa can't reproduce so every three days I give them more dirt from the run so they get more protozoa and can develop immunity. I don't lose chicks to Cocci when they hit the ground.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeding medicated feed to chicks, whether the protozoa are present or not. It will not hurt them. They can still develop the immunity they need. But unless the protozoa are present, it also does no good.

If you get your chicks vaccinated for Cocci, do not feed medicated feed. It can negate the vaccinations.

when should we start giving them de-wormers? Should we start this fall (maybe in a month or two, so they'll be roughly 3 months old), or wait till next spring?

I raise mine for meat and butcher at several different times each year. When I clean them I cut open the intestines to look for worms. I've never found either roundworms or tapeworms so I've never treated mine for worms.

I suggest you worm them when you see signs or symptoms of worms. You can do a search and find out what those are. If you find you have a worm problem then treat them. Some people do have a worm problem and treat regularly. Depending on what medication you use to treat worms you probably have a withdrawal period where you cannot eat the eggs. On principle I don't like to treat for something if there is not a problem to treat, but I also don't want to give up my eggs for what I consider no reason.

Some background:

When I was younger I spent 10 years working on a farm that had many free-range chickens, among other farm animals. At the farm our chickens were mostly self-sufficient - chicks were raised by their moms, we didn't provide heat (just a barn for shelter) and we just fed them corn twice a day). As a result, my chicken raising experience is less "hands-on"

I grew up on a farm like that except the only times our chickens got corn was when there was snow on the ground. So yeah, they were really self-sufficient.

My typical flock is one rooster and six to eight hens, but I also hatch and raise to butcher age around 40 to 45 chicks each year, keeping some for replacements to keep the flock young and productive. Quite different from the chickens I grew up with.

 

[Mike521]

Thanks @Ridgerunner, that all makes sense to me! I happen to be taking the chicks out to the chicken run a few times a week so they can get real exercise and acclimate to that area. It's around 80 - 85 degrees here, and humid, so even though they're not full grown I think it's fine. Maybe that will help as far as protozoa and such?

I suppose I'll just finish the medicated feed we have, since I already bought it, and then switch them either to layer feed, or whole flock + oyster shells (depending on price probably, I haven't looked into those feeds yet)

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I plan to permanently move the chicks outside as soon as they're ready, in terms of outside temps and their size / feathers. I'm *hoping* that will be in 1 - 2 weeks. They'll be a little over 1 month old and it should still be minimum 65ish on a cool night (but probably 70) and 85ish during the day

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi all, we are currently raising a batch of 6 hens and I have a few questions if anyone has time

1. at what age should we start to switch them from all-you-can-eat 24/7 buffet, to just "we're feeding you twice a day, the rest is up to you"? We plan to let them do a lot of free-ranging in our yard once they're full grown
   
   
2. at what age should we switch them from medicated starter crumbles to non-medicated? I did some googling on this and it seems there's no consensus?
   
   
3. when should we start giving them de-wormers? Should we start this fall (maybe in a month or two, so they'll be roughly 3 months old), or wait till next spring?

My opinion:

1. Ours free range. We have dogs and cats as well as solar motion lights and giant wind spinners all that keep the riff-raff out. Feed is always available 24/7 in their coop, even though at night they aren't eating. Our coop is manually opened when we get up which is not when they get up, so they spend an hour or two in there before going out for the day. That works out as at night, they do not come in and eat, but go right to their roosting spot. So basically, if they didn't eat it in the morning, they'd never get it. They need it for the nutrients.

2. If I get the chicks from elsewhere, I use medicated. If I take my own chicks camping (new strains of coccidiosis are possible), I use medicated. Otherwise, I use regular chick crumbles. When I do use it, it's for two weeks or when the 5 lb bag runs out.

3. I've raised silkies for about 8 years and never wormed them. I never saw a need. With that said, they may have been dewormed when we used Ivermectin 5% Pour-On for SLM (scaley leg mite) treatment last fall. It's been said lately that it's not the most effective dewormer, but it still may have if they had any. I've just never seen any sign of it and they are all very healthy.

 

[rosemarythyme]

1. My chicks stop getting food and water 24/7 once they're about 1 month old, which is when they're fully moved in with the adults as well. Otherwise the birds have food and water available during daylight hours (the caveat is I don't free range so there is nothing to forage for).

2. There's no consensus because there's no magical number. Ridgerunner's approach is the same as my own, I don't feed medicated because I expose the chicks very early to dirt and pathogens and bacteria from outside (they're raised outside) to help them naturally build up resistance. Since you have the medicated feed right now I'd use it up (and get them moved out and exposed to the outdoors during the same time), then switch to the age appropriate feed of your choice.

3. I only deworm when I can confirm presence and identification of worms, as treatment may vary based on type of worm.