Which bag of feed to buy for growing chicks?

[jokerone]

We got six baby chicks about a month ago. We have been feeding them medicated chick feed from the Farm Supply store. The 50lb bag is about 1/3 gone already.

I was looking this weekend at what comes next but the store had about 6 different types/brands of feed. Some called Chicken Scratch seemed to consist of cracked corn, milo and other stuff.

I avoid milo in my wild bird seed because, at least in my neighborhood the birds won't eat it unless they are starving to death. The other neighbors provide better food, so they migrate to those feeders. So I've found since most "cheap" birdseed is about 50% milo, it is actually less expensive to buy the good stuff that will be 100 percent consumed than waste half a 50 lbs. bag that won't be eaten. (hope that explanation makes sense).

So what about Chickens? Milo in the mix? Should I just buy cracked corn?

Also, I've seen on the bag something about 18 percent crumbles. I have no idea what that means.

I want to feed the chicks the rest of the starter but now that it is slowly getting warmer, I want to start throwing feed on the ground when we let them outside during the warm parts of the day this spring. At some point I want to switch them over.

thanks.

 

[realsis]

18% is the protein content. You do NOT want to feed only corn because corn is high in sugar and has less nutrients. You do NOT want to feed scratch. It is like a chicken treat or candy but they will not get their needed protien. At this stage you will want a grower with a high protien content. 18 to 19%. After that when they begin to lay they will need a complete layer feed. Which usually has around 16 to 17% protien. They should Not be started on layer until after 6 months old. The higher calcium is not good and can harm their body. One thing I have learned is cheap is NOT always your best option when it comes to feed. If you don't pay attention to what's actually in the feed your flock can have BIG problems. My flock came down with a vitamin defiency and I was feeding what I thought to be a "complete" feed.it was a layer feed from puriena. I since learned that if the bags have sat on the store shelves for a long period of time they can lose their vitamin content.so also look at the mill date on the bag. I've since switched over to a USDA certified all organic feed with a higher vitamin content and they only Mill small amounts at a time. I order it online and they ship it to me from countryside organics. Their is such a great difference in ingredients of organic feed . Also a different protien and vitamin content. It's reasonably priced at about 27 dollars for a 50 pound bag.its very much worth the extra few dollars in my opnion. If you just compare the ingredients you will see a huge difference. The feed is non soy non GMO (genetically modified organism) if your looking for a good grower may I recommend you take a look at countryside organics grower feed.its at 19% protein and has lots of vitamins and probotics in it.if nothing else just compare the ingredients so you can see what I'm saying. When it's delivered after you order online it's guaranteed fresh. After switching to organics I won't switch back. You might consider going that route. But which ever you choose make sure it's age appropriate for their life stage they are in now.so you will want a good grower with a higher protien content. Keep scratch to a minimum and only as a occasional treat. You can't feed that as a complete food.i hope this helps and wish you the best for you and your flock.

 

[jokerone]

18% is the protein content. You do NOT want to feed only corn because corn is high in sugar and has less nutrients. You do NOT want to feed scratch. It is like a chicken treat or candy but they will not get their needed protien. At this stage you will want a grower with a high protien content. 18 to 19%. After that when they begin to lay they will need a complete layer feed. Which usually has around 16 to 17% protien. They should Not be started on layer until after 6 months old. The higher calcium is not good and can harm their body. One thing I have learned is cheap is NOT always your best option when it comes to feed. If you don't pay attention to what's actually in the feed your flock can have BIG problems. My flock came down with a vitamin defiency and I was feeding what I thought to be a "complete" feed.it was a layer feed from puriena. I since learned that if the bags have sat on the store shelves for a long period of time they can lose their vitamin content.so also look at the mill date on the bag. I've since switched over to a USDA certified all organic feed with a higher vitamin content and they only Mill small amounts at a time. I order it online and they ship it to me from countryside organics. Their is such a great difference in ingredients of organic feed . Also a different protien and vitamin content. It's reasonably priced at about 27 dollars for a 50 pound bag.its very much worth the extra few dollars in my opnion. If you just compare the ingredients you will see a huge difference. The feed is non soy non GMO (genetically modified organism) if your looking for a good grower may I recommend you take a look at countryside organics grower feed.its at 19% protein and has lots of vitamins and probotics in it.if nothing else just compare the ingredients so you can see what I'm saying. When it's delivered after you order online it's guaranteed fresh. After switching to organics I won't switch back. You might consider going that route. But which ever you choose make sure it's age appropriate for their life stage they are in now.so you will want a good grower with a higher protien content. Keep scratch to a minimum and only as a occasional treat. You can't feed that as a complete food.i hope this helps and wish you the best for you and your flock.

thanks for the reply. That helps a lot. I'm not into Organics, or care about GMO for myself, so I'm not going to go out of my way for the chickens either, but I am big on Nutrition, especially for growing bodies, like my kid, my pets, etc. We feed our dogs Science Diet and/or Iams.

Now that I know that the 18 percent is, I'll keep an eye out for it. The plan was for these chickens to be released into my big fenced backyard, but we may have to scale that back. A week after we bought the chickens a pair of large hawks started building a nest across the street in a pine tree. Ugh..

I had planned to allow them to run around the garden and wanted to throw down some feed for them in the process, but also have a main staple in the feeder. your recommendations help quite a bit.

thanks.

 

[realsis]

I know about hawks! I have them so bad where I live I can't even let my chickens free range! Last time I tried a hawk tried to attack with me standing right there! It's usual for one to be coming from the east one from the south and one north all circling above my property! I had to build a covered and fenced run where I plant pasture for my girls to graze. It's like nothing scares the ones I have here! Only way to keep my girls safe is to keep them fenced in a run. I wouldn't have a chicken left if I let them out! It's that bad here. I live very close to a river and I'm guessing that's where they are nesting. Big ones too! I wish I had advice to keep the Hawks at bay but the only thing I can figure is to keep mine in a pastured run.

 

[dheltzel]

Feed the rest of your starter first. Then you can switch to the lower protein grower if you wish, or keep feeding the starter until they reach the point of laying. I'd probably at least switch away from the medicated feed at some point. Once some start laying, you can switch them all to layer. Or you can leave them on the grower feed and add (free choice) oyster shell to give them the calcium they need.

 

[jokerone]

I know about hawks! I have them so bad where I live I can't even let my chickens free range! Last time I tried a hawk tried to attack with me standing right there! It's usual for one to be coming from the east one from the south and one north all circling above my property! I had to build a covered and fenced run where I plant pasture for my girls to graze. It's like nothing scares the ones I have here! Only way to keep my girls safe is to keep them fenced in a run. I wouldn't have a chicken left if I let them out! It's that bad here. I live very close to a river and I'm guessing that's where they are nesting. Big ones too! I wish I had advice to keep the Hawks at bay but the only thing I can figure is to keep mine in a pastured run.

Two neighbors have chickens. I know they let them range and don't have covers over them during the day. I'll have to ask them. Perhaps this year will be different. the hawks are in the area, but now they are across the street (less than 200 feet from the coop/tractor)..

Don't know what type these are. I don't think they are Red-tails, but they are quite large. I'll have to get a better look at them.