How much should i feed my baby chicks
How Much Feed Does a Chicken Eat?
Knowing how much feed a chicken should eat is the key to managing your flock budget and doling out the proper amount of food.
It's important to have at least a ballpark idea of how much feed chickens eat. This helps you to budget for your chicken feed bill, and also determine how much feed to keep on hand.
Fortunately, it's a pretty easy and straightforward question to answer.
An adult, laying chicken will eat about 1.75 lbs of feed a week. That translates to about 3.5-4 ounces (about 1/4 lb.) a day which roughly measures out to about 1/2 cup of feed per chicken per day.
Inadequate amounts of feed will almost immediately result in a decrease in laying, so you don't want your chickens to ever go hungry. Since a chicken won't overeat their feed, the best practice is to feed free-choice, leaving out feed for them all day.
How Much Feed do Baby Chicks Eat?
Baby chicks will eat approximately 1-2 ounces of feed a day for the first 8 weeks. That comes out to 3/4 to one pound of feed a week.
And they'll drink about three times more than they eat.
Don't worry, chicks and chickens won't overeat, so you can fill the feeders with several days' worth of feed, comfortable in the knowledge that each will eat only as much as she needs to get the nutrition and energy that their body requires for that day.
A quick tip is to ration out your flock's daily feed by measuring out the half cup per chicken into a pail.
Make note of how much feed that is and then either use a scoop of that size, or find a container that fits that amount of feed. Then in the future, you can just fill your feed scoop and dole it out each morning without having to measure each and every morning.
I generally put out my chickens' feed in the morning and then early afternoon I check to see if they have eaten it all.
If they need more, I measure out a bit more, and if they leave any at the end of the day, I make note and might reduce the amount I give them the next day.
There are several factors, of course, that can result in your chickens eating either more or less feed than is the norm.
That half cup guideline can be influenced by several factors:
- the size and breed of chicken
- the time of year***
- the age of the hen (layers require more feed than older, non layers for example)
- the quality of the feed
- how much the flock is allowed to free range
- how many treats they get (treats should always be limited to no more than 10% of their total diet, and be given in the afternoon, after they have filled up on their feed)
***Chickens will eat more in the fall when they require extra protein to regrow feathers during the molting season and more during the winter months when they require extra energy to stay warm and can't be out supplementing their diet eating worms, bugs, seeds and grass.
Once the temperatures start to rise during the warm months, chickens will also eat less. In general, feed intake will begin to decrease a bit once the temperature hits around 68 degrees F and then decrease considerably once temperatures rise above 86 degrees F.
You can save some on your feed bills if you ferment grains for your chickens. They'll eat less if you ferment their feed because the process of fermentation boosts the nutrient levels in the feed and makes those nutrients more readily available, so chickens need to eat less to get the same amount of energy.
Similarly, you might think that you're saving money by buying the cheapest-priced feed, but most often, investing in a high-quality feed will actually save you money (and trips to the feed store!) because your chickens will need to eat less in order to get the energy and nutrients they need.
As a rule of thumb, chickens will drink two or three times as much water as the feed they eat, so figure on about two cups (one pint) of water per chicken per day, although during the summer, their feed intake will decrease while water intake will remain the same or increase.
Then once the mercury really begins to rise, their water intake will really begin to increase while feed requirements still remain fairly low.
Either way, chickens need nearly unlimited access to both feed and water all day long to remain in optimal condition and lay you delicious eggs!
What Do Baby Chicks Eat?
First time raising chicks? Or maybe it's just been awhile and you need a refresher of what baby chicks eat? Here are some guidelines for feeding chicks from hatch to laying age.
Baby chicks are like any other babies and need lots of nutrients, vitamins and minerals to help them grow up to be strong and healthy.
This simple chart gives you the guidelines you need to ensure you're feeding your babies correctly.
Your chicks will see their biggest growth spurt during this critical time.
Chick starter feed has the highest levels of protein of any feed (other than meat bird feed!) to help support this rapid growth. You'll be looking for a feed that's 18-20% protein.
The calcium levels in starter feed are relatively low (usually under 1.5%) because the chicks only need it to grow strong bones, not to produce eggshells.... yet.
Starter feed is available in both medicated or non-medicated formulations and should be offered 24/7 to your chicks while they're in the brooder along with fresh room temperature water.
Chicks of all ages will not over eat their feed. They will only eat just enough to get the nutrients and energy they need for the day. A baby chick will eat about 3/4 to one pound of feed a week for the first 8 weeks of its life.
That's the equivalent to about 1 to 2 ounces of feed per day. And be sure that chicks have plenty of clean water at all times. They'll drink about three times more than they eat.
Although your chicks' growth will slow down quite a bit during this next period, they still need a balanced feed to continue to fill out and mature properly.
The protein level in the grower feed will drop from the level in the chick feed, down to 15-16%, while the calcium levels remain constant at less than 1.5%.
They'll eat about a pound of feed a week at this point, and as they get closer to 18 weeks, they'll likely be eating closer to a pound and a half per chicken per week.
As your chicks, now considered pullets, begin to approach laying age, they will need to start stockpiling extra calcium in their bodies that will be use to create strong eggshells.
Anytime within this age range, it's alright to switch them to layer feed when your last bag of grower feed runs out.
Layer feed contains similar protein levels (15-16%) as grower feed, but far greater amounts of calcium than either starter or grower feed. Layer feed should contain 3-5% calcium - the amount that laying hens need to make strong eggshells.
Feeding layer feed to young-ish hens before they are approaching laying age can lead to an excess of calcium in their bodies and kidney issues later in life. So wait on the layer feed until they're almost ready to start laying.
Each chicken will be eating about 1/2 cup of feed per day, or a pound and a half to a pound and 3/4 a week at this point.
What Else Do Chicks Eat?
There are a few other things that I recommend when it comes to feeding baby chicks. I do recommend limiting treats or anything other than the starter feed for the first two weeks, but if you can get your chicks out on grass right from the start, they'll love nibbling on grass and weeds, and scratching in the dirt for bug larvae and worms.
I also like to offer my baby chicks chopped herbs and weeds, especially dandelion greens, right from day one. Be sure that they also have grit to help them digest the greens. A small dish of coarse dirt is sufficient when they're very small.
Can Chicks Have Treats?
As I mentioned, I do try to limit my chicks treats for the first two weeks. After that, they will love a variety of healthy treats including leafy greens, sliced cucumbers, watermelon and other grains, fruits and vegetables.
Breakfast of Champion Chicks
I also recommend adding a few supplements and additions to my chick feed right from the start - at hatch or day old, depending on when I get the chicks (and add the same to their adult feed as well):
- Brewers Yeast with Garlic (as mentioned before, ducks need more niacin than chickens)
- Poultry Probiotics
- Organic Sea Kelp
- Rolled Oats
For more details on the benefits of the various supplements and additions, read HERE.
Choosing a good-quality chicken feed for your chickens is one of the most important things you can do for them. Feeding them the correct feed during each stage of their life is the second most important.
If you're not sure which type of feed you should be feeding, check the bag tag or label for the protein and calcium levels.
Available from Amazon.com
Available from Chewy.com
All rights reserved.Information about veterinary instruments | AMA+
As a poultry farmer, you want to feed your chickens according to their species and needs. But how to do that? In this guide, we'll walk you through what's important when feeding your chicks the right way. The anatomical features of the gastrointestinal tract of birds and the natural diet of chickens are described. We also explain what kind of chicken food you can give your chickens to keep them healthy.
Birds have a special digestive system
If you want to properly feed your chickens, the first thing to remember is that the digestive system of birds is different from, for example, mammals.
The beak forms the first part of the bird's digestive system. This is followed by the pharynx, esophagus and crop. This is followed by the stomach, intestines and cloaca. The path in the gastrointestinal tract is relatively short. Birds have a very intensive metabolism, which is why they process the food they eat in a very short time.
Birds do not have large storage organs, so they must have access to a sufficient amount of food during the day. Birds do not have teeth on the upper and lower jaws, they have a beak with which they pick up food. Glands in the cavity of the beak secrete food with saliva. It then passes through the esophagus to the crop. This is a bulge in the esophagus and ensures that the bird can swallow more food. nine0003
In chickens, as in other bird species, the stomach consists of an anterior glandular stomach and a hind stomach, which is also called the masticatory stomach. Enzymes and hydrochloric acid are secreted in the glandular stomach with gastric juice, which break down food and have a bactericidal effect. The stomach of a bird mechanically crushes food, performing the function of the teeth of a mammal. It is made up of smooth muscle and can be broken down into four separate muscles. The grate along with the small stones ensures that the food is crushed by grinding the stomach. Stones are picked up by a bird.
They are called gastroliths or grits. nine0003
Another feature of the digestive tract of birds is the cesspool, where both the ureters and the rectum end, so that the chickens defecate and urinate together.
What do chickens eat?
Proper feed is very important for chick health and egg quality. Chickens scratch and peck in the wild. They feed on seeds, green fodder, small insects, worms and berries. In most cases, domestic chickens cannot get enough of this free-range feed, so they have to be fed additionally. The feeding plan must be adapted to natural chick feed. Make sure your chicks are getting enough important nutrients through their feed. If you feed your chickens one-sidedly, there is a risk of an unbalanced diet. With a lack of nutrients, deficiency symptoms appear, which must be avoided at all costs. You can improve your grain feed for chickens, for example by adding flour as supplementary feed. nine0003
Cereals are the basis of feed for chickens.
Chickens eat wheat, corn, barley, oats and rye. If you want to feed corn, corn huskers can help. With their support, you can remove corn on the cob in seconds. You can also feed sprouted grain to your bird. Sprouts contain many vitamins and linolenic acid, as well as starch and sugar. As a soft food, you can offer boiled potatoes, potato peels, boiled pasta or boiled rice to animals. Soft food must be eaten quickly so that it does not spoil and freeze when feeding chicks in winter. Chickens also like to eat green food such as grass, clover, alfalfa, or nettles. nine0003
Calcium in chicken feed
When you feed chickens, it is important that they get enough calcium. Calcium is essential for the growth and production of eggs. With a lack of calcium in chicken feed, the body of chickens first of all turns to the bones as its own supply of calcium. When it is depleted, the eggshell becomes thinner and more brittle. If you continue not to give calcium, the hens will stop laying eggs.
Feather pecking and cannibalism are also associated with calcium and other nutrient deficiencies. If you are also feeding shell limestone, you can provide enough calcium. nine0003
Complete feed for chickens
If you don't want to worry too much about the best chick feed formula, or you're not sure if all the nutrients are taken into account when choosing a feed, you can buy a complete chick feed. Complete feed for chickens is a feed mixture that provides the chicken with all the nutrients. It is often offered in the form of stowing flour or stowing granules. Chickens can only be fed complete feed. Only water should be offered extra. Complete chicken feed is also offered by various manufacturers as organic chicken feed with organic farming ingredients. It is guaranteed to be free of genetic engineering, artificial flavors, colors and preservatives. nine0003
Feed during shedding season
Moulting is the regular loss and growth of feathers in a bird.
Plumage change is controlled by hormones and occurs so that worn feathers are renewed, and the bird is constantly protected from cold and dampness. In autumn, chickens usually molt.
Substances from which feathers are made, and which are increasingly needed during molting, must be added to the animals with their feed. You can offer them supplemental medications to help your chicks go through the shedding period quickly and without difficulty. They contain substances important during the molting period. These include B vitamins, biotin, trace elements such as selenium and zinc, and minerals such as calcium and phosphorus. Complete feed usually contains all the vitamins and nutrients that are important for a hen, even during shedding season. nine0003
How much feed does a chicken need?
Don't think that your chickens need little food because they are small and light. On the contrary: because birds have a very fast metabolism, they have to absorb a huge amount of energy from food.
Thus, the amount of food consumed is much greater in relation to body weight than in mammals. As a general rule, you should feed a 2.5kg hen with 120g of chicken feed to ensure it has an adequate supply. nine0003
Proper water supply is also important
You should always keep an eye on the water supply of your chickens. Water must be available to the animals at all times, as a chick needs about 250 ml of fresh drinking water daily. You must ensure that the water does not freeze in winter and evaporate in summer.
What equipment is needed to feed chickens?
Make sure the food and water containers in the coop are sturdy. Animals should have access to them at all times and they should be easy to clean for hygienic reasons. There are metal and plastic feeders of different sizes. Stable feeding fences prevent animals from fighting over food. nine0003
All chicks should be able to eat at the same time. Therefore, provide enough places for feeding and make sure that the places for feeding are far enough apart.
Then even low-ranking animals will be able to eat calmly without fear.
In addition to feeders, it is also possible to feed your animals with automatic feeders. Feeders (legged feeders) can be filled with several kilograms of feed. They are suspended or placed on a stable floor. The feed stays clean in the machine because it slides from the container closed at the top into the lower side feed grooves. Large poultry farms in agriculture use chicken feeding systems. They save the farmer a huge amount of time. nine0003
Output
Hens need the right feed to stay healthy and produce high quality eggs. In the wild, they feed on grain, green fodder, small insects, worms and berries. You can offer your bird something similar in the form of seeds, germinated cereals, green food, and soft foods such as boiled potatoes, pasta, and rice. Or you provide it with complete chicken feed. It is important to make sure your food contains enough nutrients and calcium. Calcium is very important for building bones and producing eggs.
A chicken needs about 120 g of feed and 250 ml of water per day. This is a lot in relation to body weight compared to a mammal, since birds have a very fast metabolism. nine0003
What and how to feed chickens from the first days of life: recommendations and photo review
Everyone who decides to have fluffy lumps - chickens, hopes that he will be able to grow a strong and strong livestock. Doing this at home is not so difficult if you approach nutrition and bird care in the right way. Unfortunately, very often the cause of the death of young animals is precisely the wrong diet. In order to prevent this from happening, you need to know what to feed the chickens, when and how to do it correctly in accordance with their age needs. nine0003
Features and rules of feeding
A chicken is essentially a child, and all children need to be fed correctly and nutritiously. To avoid possible negative consequences in the future, a balanced diet should be established literally from birth.
If you are buying day old chicks from a hatchery in the market, ask how long ago they hatched and if they have been fed. Set the feeding schedule for your feathered babies. At first, they will have to be fed every 2 hours, but this is not for long, after the chickens celebrate their one-month anniversary, only 3 feedings will be enough for them. nine0003
In addition to a balanced diet, your chicks should always have clean and fresh water. Some breeders recommend periodically soldering chickens with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Others consider it poisonous and argue that with the slightest violation in the proportions in the process of preparing the solution, it can bring harm to the birds, not benefit.
Newly hatched chicks only
The first feeding of the chicks should take place as soon as they are dry. Nature has programmed the brain of a newborn chicken in such a way that immediately after he swallows something on his own for the first time in his life, this will start the mechanisms for the formation of the “correct” digestive system and the feeding reflex.
The process of leaving the egg itself is very energy-intensive. In order to somehow compensate for these energy costs, the so-called yolk sac is provided, which will serve as a source of nutrients for the newborn for the first 10-12 hours of life. nine0003
In order not to provoke a deficiency of these very nutrients in your hatched birds, immediately offer them food. Small corn grits are ideal for the first feeding. Scatter it simply on the floor of the cage or on the cardboard, so it will be more convenient for the chicks to peck at it. After that, take care of drinking, in the first 24 hours of life, the chicks will benefit from a 3-5% glucose solution - a powerful source of energy. It's great if you also add vitamin C there, at the rate of 10 g per 10 liters of liquid. nine0003
Day old
Many people are accustomed to feeding small day old chicks hard-boiled chicken eggs. And more recently, they began to talk about the fact that it is wrong to use such food for chickens in the first days of life.
The egg does not give the proper load on the chicken stomach, which interferes with the formation of the correct muscles of the gastrointestinal tract. Protein oversaturates the body of the chick with proteins, and the yolk with fats. And this, in turn, negatively affects the process of assimilation of B vitamins, which are essential for the nervous system of chickens. nine0003
Although there is a successful experience of growing chickens at home on chicken eggs, it is probably not worth neglecting the latest research in this area either. Therefore, it is still preferable to dilute corn grits for chickens on the second day of life with such cereals as wheat, barley, semolina, oatmeal or millet. Make sure that all the chicks peck at the grain.
If a chick has an empty stomach, it is better to remove it from the common cage and feed it separately until its appetite returns to normal. Recall that daily babies need to be fed every two hours (that is, more than 10 times a day).
In addition to mixtures of cereals, starting from two or three days of age, finely chopped greens, cottage cheese, and wet mash are introduced into the diet of chickens. nine0003
Dairy products, a source of calcium and proteins, deserve special attention in the diet of feathered babies. In addition to cottage cheese, do not forget about kefir and yogurt. If the chicks refuse to voluntarily consume these products, they will have to drink yogurt from a pipette. Thanks to this, the microflora of the gastrointestinal tract of your small pets will be populated with beneficial microflora. Of course, he does not forget about greenery, from the third day of life, the chickens can already eat it. Young nettles, dandelions, clover, green onions from their own garden are the best food for chicks. nine0003
Weekly
At the age of one week (7 days), we continue to feed the chickens with mixtures of cereals, herbs and cottage cheese, the consumption rate during this period is 10 grams of feed per chick.
We add wet mash with the same cereals and boiled potatoes or grated carrots to the diet, red carrots are especially useful. Starting from the 6-10th day of life, you can introduce mineral supplements, such as small shells, chalk, do not forget to water the chicks. We put a container with sand - in it the chickens not only swim with pleasure, but can also peck some grains of sand. For them, this is very useful - the esophagus is cleared and the food in the stomach is better ground. nine0003
Monthly
Three-week-old and one-month-old chicks can already spend most of their time in the pen. You can no longer chop the grass for them, as before, but hang bunches of herbs in bunches so that they can peck at the greens they like the most. You can give the birds more mash, but it's time to wean them off the "children's" cereals. For them, crushed grain is already suitable, and from the age of one and a half months and whole. Since the babies are in the stage of active growth, increase the proportion of minerals and vitamins in their feed.
nine0003
Mix three-week-old chicks with meat and bone or fish meal, fish oil, pieces of sea fish. Some breeders prefer to feed their chicks with special baby food balanced for their age requirements.
Care considerations
In addition to a balanced diet, home chicks must be provided with the necessary comfort and care. It is better to settle them in well-ventilated cages, it is not bad if it is possible to provide them with walking. The cage needs to be cleaned every day. For convenience, a newspaper is laid on the floor where day old chicks live, which is easily removed as it gets dirty with droppings. The floor in the cage where chicks older than 10 days live is covered with sawdust. So that your feathered babies do not get stressed, feed them at the same time and keep the cage at a constant temperature and sufficient light. nine0003
Wash drinkers and feeders daily, especially after wet mash. The slightest violation of sanitary conditions can lead not only to illness, but also to pestilence among young animals.
