Starter Feed... ?

[1hawaiian]

I have 4 Production Reds...only a month-old says breeder.
They do spend time outdoors and free-range for an hour or two daily.

My local store only had Broiler Starter.... 22% protein

My questions are...

#1- Can I feed this to my girls til I put them on "Layer Feed"... right now I feed them this
3x daily as I got 50lbs of this stuff and don't want to waste it?

#2- Or do I need take get Grower Feed at some point?


Also, now while on this Starter Feed which is quite powdery...
#3-At what point do I need to provide grit?

***And if it's just way too much protein for them @ 2-3 months age;
Could I not just feed them 2x daily as they do forage daily and let them eat what they can in 20 mins or so
to limit their feed protein intake and just monitor their weight/health?


Thank you for your help!

 

[buckabucka]

I have 4 Production Reds...only a month-old says breeder.
They do spend time outdoors and free-range for an hour or two daily.

My local store only had Broiler Starter.... 22% protein

My questions are...

#1- Can I feed this to my girls til I put them on "Layer Feed"... right now I feed them this
3x daily as I got 50lbs of this stuff and don't want to waste it?

#2- Or do I need take get Grower Feed at some point?


Also, now while on this Starter Feed which is quite powdery...
#3-At what point do I need to provide grit?

***And if it's just way too much protein for them @ 2-3 months age;
Could I not just feed them 2x daily as they do forage daily and let them eat what they can in 20 mins or so
to limit their feed protein intake and just monitor their weight/health?


Thank you for your help!

As long as you are not worried about coccidiosis (in which case you would want medicated feed), I think the broiler starter would be fine. Some people feed a high protein feed over the life of the chicken, never even switching to layer feed, with oyster shell as free choice.
As far as grit goes, they should be picking up some when they are out free-ranging, depending on your soil. Where I live, the soil is fine sand, so I sprinkle chick grit (it is smaller) on their food starting at just a week old, and eventually switch to larger grit.
I'm not sure about how many times per day to feed them,-I always just leave a bunch of feed out and they eat whenever they want.

 

[1hawaiian]

buckabucka,

Thank you!!!

Yes, it is a medicated feed so I'll only feed til they start laying. Then will use Layer Feed since non-medicated...and they do have access to pebbles and such outdoors.

Thanks again for your reply

 

[Cowgirl75446]

That feed will be fine for them. I use to feed all my baby chicks turkey starter until they were about 10-12 weeks old. The protein was 28%, they grew off great on that and never had any problems. 22% is not to high, most chicks starters are 20%. I would still use Turkey Starter, but is is about $22.00 a sack now.

 

[Mahonri]

I've been giving mine blended scratch with BOSS, turkey starter and Flock Raiser ( I mix all of them in my Montel blender to make a mash) and they are growing SO FAST... only two weeks old and they've almost outgrown the Laree brooder.

At 22% your chicks will be at an advantage. Good job!

 

[1hawaiian]

That feed will be fine for them. I use to feed all my baby chicks turkey starter until they were about 10-12 weeks old. The protein was 28%, they grew off great on that and never had any problems. 22% is not to high, most chicks starters are 20%. I would still use Turkey Starter, but is is about $22.00 a sack now.

I've been giving mine blended scratch with BOSS, turkey starter and Flock Raiser ( I mix all of them in my Montel blender to make a mash) and they are growing SO FAST... only two weeks old and they've almost outgrown the Laree brooder.

At 22% your chicks will be at an advantage. Good job!

Thank you for sharing your experience... It definitely helps and builds my confidence

 

[Vamvakas]

Anything over 20% is fine, I stoped feeding my chicks protein crumbles and feed them cracked corn when they are around 1.5-2 months old only beacuse your chicks will get used to the brown food crumbles and wont eat cracked corn. They may not grow as fast but in the long run it's good.