What to feed hen with and chicks?

[D1N0]

Hi my chicks are going to hatch soon(day 19). I'm ready but one thing what to feed the chicks and hen?

 

[D1N0]

@Slothinc

 

[D1N0]

@Chicksgowild

 

[FrostRanger]

Chick starter or all flock with 20% protein

 

[D1N0]

Chick starter or all flock with 20% protein

The hen can eat chick starter? I thought it was not enough protein for the hen

 

[FrostRanger]

The hen can eat chick starter? I thought it was not enough protein for the hen

Chick starter has more protein than layer feed, it usually has 18%-20% protein whereas most layer feed has only 16%. Honestly you can keep hens on starter indefinitely as long as they have crushed oyster shell available on the side

 

[Slothinc]

When I have a broody raise chicks, I usually have the mama and babies in a smaller enclosed area of my coop. So I set out a feeder in that area with chick grower feed. I feed mash which is basically grains ground into a powder - this is very easy for babies to eat. But crumbles are also okay! For the first couple of days I might smash up the crumbles a bit for them by putting in a ziplock bag and smashing with a glass jar or whatever else is nearby (I have little bantams so I want to make sure they have easy to eat food because they are so tiny.)

If you don’t have them in an enclosed area for the first bit, then mama will just feed them whatever is available. If you feed your hens a layer feed, they will eat that - but tiny chicks dont do well with pellets, so I would make sure to offer a smaller sized chick food for them. The problem is that all of your hens may eat the chick grower and you may be re filling it a lot. I feel like it isnt a huge deal if my chicks manage to eat some layer food, and it also isn’t harmful for the mama or other hens to eat chick grower for a time. It is safer for the hens to eat grower than for the chicks to eat layer because chicks don’t need all that calcium. But you may want to make sure that your hens have access to oyster shell or another form of calcium.

Try not to overthink it. Mama will spend most of her day making sure that the babies eat. I would say ideally a chick grower crumble or mash would be best, but if they eat a little layer food, it won’t kill them. And it is really hard to convince chickens to keep to their own feeders when the feeders are sitting next to each other