What feed do you use for your chicks

[JennyBean]

Hi everyone! I am hoping to pick up my girls here in a week or two. They will be about 8 weeks old.

I have been told to keep them on high protein or a chick feed until they start laying their first egg.

What brands do you guys use or have tried??Is the medicated feeds really necessary?? Tractor Supply Company looks to be the best place for me to get everything I need.

Thanks

 

[Fred's Hens]

Tractor Supply, like Atwoods, is convenient and carries both Purina and DuMor, usually, but in most of the country, DuMor is just Purina made for TSC.

I like the DuMor Start N Grow. Our chicks have always done very well on it. As for medicated, it just depends. In areas of the country where Cocci disease is present, feeding medicated is almost a must. Other folks place a small chunk of dirt, from the chicken yard, into the brooder. The idea is to build the chicks immunity system.

Again, TSC is often close by and convenient, but honestly? It is also not the cheapest place to buy feed. That would be a local feed mill, a place where area farmers and small holders buy their feed.

 

[Pyxis]

Hello and congrats on getting your first chicks! Medicated feed isn't necessary, it just safeguards against chicks developing coccidiosis. I like to use it just in case, since one of the chicks in my first batch developed a pretty bad case of it (I wasn't using medicated feed at the time) and then I had to separate him out and spend way more money on Corid than I would have spent had I just used the feed, and I had to figure out the dosage and change the brooder multiple times a day since it lives in droppings...ugh. I personally use Purina medicated chick starter and I've had no problems with it. Seems to work pretty well. Then when they outgrow the starter I use flock raiser until they're at laying age and then I switch them onto layena. That's what's available at my TSC besides dumor so it works out pretty well for me.

 

[zbraswell92]

i use nutrena chick starter cauze it has pro&pre biotics in it. those biotics r great for their little tummies.

u can use medicated if youd like. i didnt and lost 8 chicks! so sad! :'( i will use medicated from now on. medicated and biotics are different though. medicated is a chemical and biotics are friendly bacteria that stay in the gut to assist with their feed nutreint absorbtion. my adult hens get biotics too.

hope this helped!

 

[JennyBean]

Awe how sad you lost some of your chicks. Thank you for sharing as well. I'll just have to make my decision then.*L*

 

[HouseCat]

I feed Purina Flockraiser for the life of my chickens. I am very pleased with it. I also sprinkle some topsoil over their litter as a probiotic. I read about it in an old book on raising gamefowl. They also recommend adding soiled litter from your adult chickens coop and mix it in with your chicks litter to help add some beneficial digestive bacteria.

 

[JennyBean]

HouseCat~ Thank you! The person I am buying my chicks actually recommended giving some compost from her pen to get mine started. So there must be something to it!