What food for bantams?

[huntsman]

Well the previous owner supplied me with a can of sweetcorn, but surely they don't need canned food daily?

I'll stay away from grit for a while then...

What is the correct feeding regimen?

Feed them at the crack of dawn, and then again at dusk? Or leave food for them all day? Is the food scattered for them to pick up, or is it all put in bowls?

Are treats welcome, and if so, what do you suggest?

Sorry about the barrage of questions, but I'm a typical n00b, I fear.

 

[mboreham1]

Everyone has slightly different regimens for their chickens. I have a feeder, so they have a supply of food all day everyday. i check once each morning to ensure they havent kicked up straw and their poop into the feeder, if so i just pick out the "foreign objects".

they do not need canned food daily, go to your local feed store if you have one, they will carry food for chicks and i buy purina layena for my pullets (Hens under 1 year old) it is about $12 for 50lb bag. i also buy chicken scratch, a mixture of crushed dried corn and seeds, it is used as a treat and so they get a hand full every couple days, i throw it in the coop or on the grass and they have a great old time scratching around finding the grains.

For chicks, think about it, there are millions of wild chickens out there, what do they eat? whatever they scratch up, people worry about the correct "nutritional" needs for the chicks, while i in no way suggest ignorace and putting them through a regimen of survival of the fittest, chicks and chickens are incredibly tough. Chick feed for a few weeks, then transition to crushed or pellet feed, there is no right or wrong in this, just preference.

As they get older feel free to throw in vegetable peelings, fruit, their egg shells etc they will eat it all!

 

[Akane]

Grit can be given to chicks. I've raised some with it available from day 1 and chicks following mom around would be picking up grit from the ground. The problem is in a nice clean brooder with little to peck when you add something new they go a bit nuts over it. They eat and eat and eat whatever this new stuff is until they get sick or get bored. You have to limit the amount of anything new you give to chicks.

Get your chicks poultry feed (not a layer feed) and feed them only that available all the time until you learn more about feeding chickens. Some treats are ok, some treats are not, some will require grit. Some people feed treats from day 1 and some people don't feed treats until they near adults in order to avoid any possible complications like the grit overeating. Treats can be comlpicated. Raising chicks is not. They will grow perfectly fine on just chick starter, gamebird starter, or similar.

 

[huntsman]

Solid advice, thank you!

Is a slice of white bread considered a treat?

I thought that if I tore up a slice each morning and tossed small bits near them, that it would get them more used to me.

Well, here's an update:

The gaps in the run fencing are secured, as is the door, and yesterday I tied a whole lot of roost branches in place for them - fairly low down.

I've put shelving against one wall for the brood boxes, but the hen has ignored them so far. All in all, it seems fine, but I imagine I will have to close up the one wall which is fencing at the moment, when the cold arrives. I'm in South Africa, so our cold will seem paltry to you, but night time temps combined with wind will be an issue, I'm sure.

 

[jenjscott]

My main suggestion is reading. Pick a topic and read. Like Raising Baby Chicks. Go over there and read any topic that looks interesting. You will see lots of different opinions, but after reading enough, a general sense of what is appropriate becomes apparent. If you can get books on the subject, great. But once again, that is someones opinion, and it might not all fit with your lifestyle. Most of us agree that chick starter is sufficient feed to raise chicks on. But most of us also remember grandmas chickens that got a handful of scratch a day, all the kitchen scraps, and anything they could find in the yard. So there is a lot of latitude in what works, and you just have to find out what works for you.

 

[huntsman]

Yeah, good point!

I do devour a tonne of articles here, as well as on my tomato and pepper forums, but I guess it's the being new 'thang'...you always feel as if you should have learned more, and quicker!