Talk to me about chick bedding and food!

[pkgal21]

What type of bedding and food is best for starting? And what else, nutrition wise, do they need?

 

[mrshafer5]

What type of bedding and food is best for starting? And what else, nutrition wise, do they need?

I always used pine shavings medium sized. The medicated chick starter is ideal costs a bit more or you could make your own like a lot of people so you know its good stuff. Could add electrolytes to the water will help feather development and look. Dont forget meal worms as a snack they love them but not till they get a little bigger or they get the runs from experience lol

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I brood in the coop on pine shavings already in use by the rest of my flock. I feed flock raiser as it is nutritionally appropriate for all my birds, chicks included

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I brood in the coop on pine shavings already in use by the rest of my flock. I feed flock raiser as it is nutritionally appropriate for all my birds, chicks included

X2 pine shavings and flock raiser.

 

[Alex#242]

I personally use poplar shavings in coops and brooders. My father runs a sawmill so I have basically and endless supply. They don’t help keep the smell down as much as pine shavings but I keep them changed about every other week so it’s not a problem. I feed medicated chick starter to chicks and layer to adult birds usually southern states brand. If I notice my birds are acting sluggish I will mix a product called rooster booster in their water, for the adult birds only.

 

[pkgal21]

How long do they need to stay on chick feed?

 

[chickluvinfreak]

How long do they need to stay on chick feed?

Around 4 months, or untill they start laying eggs. Some chick feeds are meant to be switched to a "grower" feed after a certain point, check the feeding instructions on the bag to make sure what age to switch.

 

[AllenK RGV]

In my region starter/grower are the same at my feed stores. I really wouldn't be offering treats for them until fully feathered and outdoors, but that is my preference as I want them imprinted on their crumbles. All flock raisers are a great choice at any point in life for them with oyster shell on the side once you see your first egg. Chicken can be as picky as cats if you start offering too many treats.

Since you are in Texas you can turn your compost into a Black Soldier Fly Larvae incubator should you want free treats for them.

Many of the links here work some are broken as I had saved this to my desktop.

Best wishes!

BLACK SOLDIER FLY COMPOSTER / AUTOMATIC CHICKEN FEEDER
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A simple 3D animation to show relative size and layout of the BSF Composter / Chicken Feeder
We have had much success harvesting Black Soldier Fly Larvae to feed our chickens, but we needed a new design. After much thought, this is the design that we have come up with. We designed this unit with these things in mind:

• large for plenty of compost

• portable so we can move it

• auto-feeds our chickens

• easy to build and replicate

• made from common materials

This composter can turn everyday food and garden waste in to a nutritious food source for chickens and rich compost. We simply place the food scraps in the barrel and the Black Soldier Fly (or BSF) larvae does the rest. The larvae converts the scraps in to rich organic compost. Once the Larvae are mature, they crawl up the rain gutter and fall in to the chicken feeder. The chickens love the BSF and they get a healthy dose of calcium and protein. Once the composter is full of compost, take the barrel out and dump it and mix it in your compost pile as it is ready to be used. This device reduces household waste and provides a free dietary supplement for your chickens. The BSF larvae that are not eaten eventually transform in to adult BSF, lay eggs, and you really don’t see them much at all. The pheromones produced from the BSF repel the common house flies. There is not much odor that is produced from this process, similar to a conventional compost pile but the process is much faster.


Here is the completed project. Our 8 hens can eat at the same time with this unit. The portability makes it easy to go between the chicken coup and the compost pile. Click image to enlarge.
Materials:

• (3) 2″x4″x8′ Treated Lumber
• (1) 55 Gallon Food Grade Barrel
• (2 Linear Feet) 3/4″ PVC
• (5 Linear Feet) Rain Gutter
• (1 pair) Rain Gutter Ends
• (4) 3″ Swivel Caster Wheels
• (1) box Deck Screws and appropriate bit

Tools:

• Cordless 3/8″ Drill or more
• Circular Saw
• Variable Speed Jig Saw
• 1″ Drill Bit
• Marking Utensil (sharpie, crayon, pencil, etc.)
• Measuring Tape
• (2) Saw Horses
• Safety Glasses

Instructional Video:
When: April 23rd, 2011
Where: The Garden Pool in Mesa, AZ
Who: Dennis with GardenPool.org
Length: 16 minutes

Untitled from GardenPool on Vimeo.

This was recorded live in a classroom setting. To be a part of our classes in person, join our meetup group.

How it was made:
Click Here for the 2×4 cutting guide.
Begin by cutting the 2×4’s. There is a cutting guide on the left to help you make the cuts with your circular saw and saw horses. As you can see, there is only 5% wood scrap in this project.
Begin assembling the barrel base. Use two 19″ pieces and two 36″ pieces to assemble as shown below.

Next, add a pair of 6″ legs on one side and a pair of 12″ legs on the other as shown below.Next, add support for the legs by using a 19.5″ piece in the front and back as shown below.

Next, connect the two legs with two 42″ pieces as shown below.

Add the 4 swivel caster wheels to make the base mobile as shown below.

Next, we need to add the front guard. Use the 4″ piece of wood next as shown below.

Next, attach the 21″ 3/4″ PVC pipe to the base as shown in the picture below.

Next, add the 21″ rain gutter with caps to the top of the front of the base. Do not secure until you loose fit with the barrel in place. The barrel should be all the way forward. Once you know where the barrel will rest, secure the rain gutter as shown below.

Now it is time to prepare the barrel. Drill a 1″ hole in to the barrel as shown below.

Next, carefully cut out a smile with a jig saw in the barrel as shown below.

Next, clean the barrel and place on top of your base as shown below.

Finally, add the 39″ piece of rain gutter in the barrel, all the way against the back. The rain gutter should stick out just enough so that the BSF would fall from the top rain gutter to the bottom rain gutter as they crawl. The finished picture is below.



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[mrshafer5]

What type of bedding and food is best for starting? And what else, nutrition wise, do they need?

Normally it says on the back of the bag how many weeks old feed this kind of food.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How long do they need to stay on chick feed?

Everyone does things differently A lot depends on if you have other chickens and if you are going to integrate them into an existing flock(?)

If this is your "first batch" of chicks - then they can eat chick starter up until point of lay, then you can switch to layer if that's what you choose. Sometimes, I feel all too often people switch to layer too soon. I know if you go by the info on the feed bags (think Purina) they say to switch to layer at around 16wks. I don't think it will hurt, but a lot again depends on the breed. "Heritage" dual purpose breeds take longer to start laying and they definitely are slower growing and I feel like they need the extra protein that starter or a 18-20%grower will provide. If you have Leghorn type birds, then layer at 16wks is probably o.k.

All said and done - if you are integrating youngsters with adults - for me, I find it easier to have one feed that covers all bases. This is why a lot of us use an all flock or Flock Raiser type feed - I don't have to worry about too much calcium for the littles and don't have to worry about keeping up with different types of feed formulas. Just provide oyster shell free choice for the adults.

As for "treats" - again, we all do things differently - you will eventually become comfortable and confident in what you do and find what works best for you. I do give mine "treats" in the first week. Chick sized poultry grit is also provided free choice. I introduce chicks to things they will have as adults - I usually place a small slice of cucumber or a couple of finely chopped grapes, etc. in the brooder on a coffee can lid. They will investigate and taste. I don't expect them to scarf these things down, but they will come to recognize this as food/treats. By week 3 they have a handle on picking the "innards" out of a hanging piece of cucumber, apple, squash or will tug at and eat cabbage or kale leaves. Hard boiled egg is also a weekly treat too. Everything in moderation. Even with my adults, they do not get any treats until midday - they eat their feed all morning, then get a treat, they eat their feed for the rest of the day.

Just my thoughts.