what do you feed your chicks PLEASE TELL ME!!!!

[TN_BIRD]

Manna Pro Medicated Starter, then went with Purina Start n Grow once they ate all the medicated starter

 

[hickchick55]

Quote:
X2

 

[vjbakke]

We're feeding organic pride grower feed. When they start to lay eggs we'll use organic pride layer 16% protein.

 

[kermujin]

Quote:
Hi there,
Chicken newbie here... I was curious about a couple things you mentioned in this (excellent) response...
My chicks are just about four weeks old (on Monday they will be). They're on non-medicated starter crumbles (which they love). I was eyeing an abandoned lettuce leaf in my kitchen this morning and wondering...

Is it too early to give them some torn up greens? I expect they'll mostly play with it at this point, but ... do I need to give them grit as soon as they get non-crumbles?

How finely do you grind the flax and sesame at first? Is squishing them in a mortar & pestle enough?

They're inside right now; it's too cold to move them out, although I'd been hoping to have them outside for a little while during the day by now. Are they too young to have a clump of grass and dirt in their box to fool around with?

Overall, they're vocal and active, VERY curious (nosy), and love to peck at me and eat out of my hand. I am a bit worried that they're going to get bored. So if they have to wait for big-chick food, that's fine, but it would be good to know if I can give them some yard stuff to fool around with.

Thanks! What a great forum!
kermujin

 

[Mak]

Four weeks is old enough to start giving them treats. You can just tear up the lettuce into small pieces or even leave it whole if you have a solid (or shaving) floor booder. I chop what I give them because I have a wire floor and if it's tiny pieces, I can sprinkle it on the feed trough and they don't lose too much by dropping thru the wire mesh floor. They will eat it- eventually. Chicks can be weird about new foods. If they are used to eating out of your hand, you can offer it to them that way at first. You should get one or two curious ones who will peck at it, and as soon as they appear to like it, the others will join in! I have also hung a small bunch of greens to the side of the brooder (again, it is wire) with a cable tie. Works great! They will need grit of some sort once you start feeding greens, friuts and other treats. I use sand, but a bit of dirt from the yard or the chick grit you can buy at the feed store will work fine.

I grind the seeds in the electric coffee grinder we use for spices, but a mortar and pestle would work as well. Tho at 4 weeks, they can probably handle the seeds whole.

Grass and dirt would be fine. They will have great fun tearing it apart!

 

[WhySayWhat]

Quote:
This is exactly what I tried to do... I have 3 chicks, so a 5 lb bag of Manna Pro lasted me about 3 weeks, but when I went to the feed store to buy a bag of non-medicated Start and Grow, the feed store doesn't carry anything but medicated. I got a 25 lb nag of the medicated Start and Grow, and will be going to the "other" feed store this week to see if they have non-medicated. Otherwise, I'll be going back to the store closer to my house (they are the same "chain", just different locations and they carry different items) and "educating" them on the need to stock and carry both medicated and non-medicated. The sales girl when I was there claimed that Purina only makes medicated, "because thats what chicks need", even after I pointed out the flyer they had posted next to the bags of medicated that pictured both on it!

The other location had mixed up their chicks last month (BR, RIR, and Cornish X) and were selling each bin as a seperate breed... I wonder how many people are wondering when those little black and white RIR are gonna turn red and why the white ones are growing so fast, lol. They apparently had some silkies in a small bin, but the gal working there the day I was in said that she had no idea what they were...but they were a lot prettier than the others, lol.

 

[miraclz5]

I am feeding Blue Seal Medicated Chick Starter Crumble...based on reading and advice I will switch to Grower Pellets at 8 weeks and then Layer Pellets at 20 weeks.

 

[AlienChick]

I started mine on Manna Pro medicated chick starter.

Then when that was all gone in about two weeks, I switched them to non-medicated Dumor chick starter from TSC.

 

[Celtic Chick]

Quote:
x 2

 

[Razadia]

Nutrina Country Feeds Chick Starter