Substitute chick starter feed??

[silkieshorts]

My hen hatched one singular baby yesterday evening that I didn’t know about until I spotted the egg the day before. What can I feed the chick in a pinch?? I can’t buy starter feed until Monday where I’m at.

 

[wrathsfarm]

What are you feeding your flock?

 

[wrathsfarm]

I feed my whole flock whatever the youngest needs. So I'm feeding an 18% chick starter/grower feed to both my flocks including roosters. I may or may not switch back to the All-Flock feed I was feeding them because they seem to like it a lot more.

 

[nuthatched]

It can live off the absorbed yolk for a few days. Or cooked egg yolk.

 

[Yardmom]

Nothing wrong with feeding the food you have to chicks. Not just now, but their whole life. Just realized it was not the OP who was feeding starter/grower. That was the feed I meant was good for their whole life

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My hen hatched one singular baby yesterday evening that I didn’t know about until I spotted the egg the day before. What can I feed the chick in a pinch?? I can’t buy starter feed until Monday where I’m at.

What feed do you have on hand?
I assume baby and Mama are together, baby will eat what Mama eats.
You can give small bits of scrambled or hard boiled egg. If you only have layer feed, grind some of that up to small particles like chick start consistency and offer that for the 2 days. If you have no way of grinding it up, then make a wet mash (soak the feed for a little while in warm water to make it mushy). I'd still give bits of egg too.
A just hatched chick will only eat a little for a few days, but Mama needs food too.

Then switch to chick starter when you get that on Monday. Mama will eat chick starter just fine too.

I'd also provide chick grit if you have that.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What are you feeding your flock?

What is your set-up? Is the hen and chick with the rest of the flock or are they separated? Is the chick with the hen? Where are you located, my interest is in your weather. If your hen free ranges over fresh grass and the weather is warm the chick should be able to get enough to eat while out with the hen. Has the hen brought the chick off of the nest yet? As mentioned, the chick absorbed the yolk and doesn't have to eat for 72 hours. The more you can tell us about your circumstances and what you are working with the more likely we can help.

To get you to Monday, you can feed the chick corn meal. I'd avoid the corn meal mixes as they are high in salt, straight corn meal would be best. You can feed it dry or damp in a mush.

You can cook various kinds of bread for it. Reduce the salt content the recipe calls for. Crumble it up so it is in small pieces.

Scrambles eggs work well. For two days the chick can eat what the others are eating, the problems with high calcium if it is Layer are a cumulative problem, it will not hurt the chick immediately. You may need to crush it into bits small enough that the chick can handle it.

Your goal is to get you through an emergency, if you even have one. The chick is unlikely to eat a lot until it has digested the absorbed yolk, but it will not hurt it to eat something. Good luck!

 

[silkieshorts]

I wasn’t expecting this many responses! I managed to get some starter feed in the end, it was hard to find at this time of year, one store had one bag.

To answer all questions though, I’m in Ireland, the weather has been freezing for the last while & hen hasn’t brought baby off the nest yet, she usually free ranges with the flock but she also has layers mash. Mama and baby are housed separately from the rest of the flock. All is good.

Thank you all so much. At least I know what to do if I’m ever caught out having no baby food again! It’s the first chick to hatch in my flock and I was totally unprepared because of the well hidden egg!!

 

[Debbie292d]

I wasn’t expecting this many responses! I managed to get some starter feed in the end, it was hard to find at this time of year, one store had one bag.

To answer all questions though, I’m in Ireland, the weather has been freezing for the last while & hen hasn’t brought baby off the nest yet, she usually free ranges with the flock but she also has layers mash. Mama and baby are housed separately from the rest of the flock. All is good.

Thank you all so much. At least I know what to do if I’m ever caught out having no baby food again! It’s the first chick to hatch in my flock and I was totally unprepared because of the well hidden egg!!

Yey!

If you ever have to do this again, just make sure it's only for a few days. The extra calcium in layer feed can wind up causing kidney issues in chicks if fed to them long-term.

I had chicks get into the dish of oyster shell unbeknownst to me. Out of six chicks, one died, two had to be culled, one developed cross-beak at two weeks old, and the other two are fine.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I wasn’t expecting this many responses! I managed to get some starter feed in the end, it was hard to find at this time of year, one store had one bag.

To answer all questions though, I’m in Ireland, the weather has been freezing for the last while & hen hasn’t brought baby off the nest yet, she usually free ranges with the flock but she also has layers mash. Mama and baby are housed separately from the rest of the flock. All is good.

Thank you all so much. At least I know what to do if I’m ever caught out having no baby food again! It’s the first chick to hatch in my flock and I was totally unprepared because of the well hidden egg!!

Glad you were able to find chick feed and all is well!