what to feed juvenile chickens

• Protein. Protein helps develop strong muscles and encourage good growth. Protein is most important to fast-growing broiler birds as well as to developing young chicks.
• Grains. Grain is the cornerstone of your chicken’s diet. Usually, commercial feeds will include grains like wheat, oats, or corn.
• Vitamins and Minerals. Chicken need certain vitamins, such as vitamins A, D, and B. They also need salt. ...
• Fat. Chickens need fat to produce energy and essential fatty acids that are needed for certain bodily processes.
• Grit. Adult birds need access to grit, as do young chicks. Birds who are allowed to free-range can find and consume their own grit.
Calcium. You won’t need calcium in a young chick’s diet, but as your chickens mature into laying hens, they will need calcium.
Water. Chicken need plenty of clean, fresh water. Chickens will drink three times as much water by weight as what they eat in feed.

Full Answer

What kind of feed should I Feed my chicks?

The availability of certain feed varies by geographic location, therefore, the manufacturer’s recommendations should always be followed. Day-old chicks through 18 weeks old require starter feed, aka starter crumbles, containing 20% protein.

What do chickens eat on the farm?

Typically, backyard and small farm chickens raised for eggs can eat appropriate food scraps from the farm household in addition to feed. Meat birds raised indoors or on a pasture are small, but voracious eaters, and require mostly high-protein feed to reach top weight efficiently.

What can I give my chickens for treats?

Cottage cheese also has plenty of calcium, so it’s a treat that will help your laying hens with egg production, too. If you want to give your flock something extra, you can add sliced fruit or berries.

What can’t you feed chickens?

Make sure any pasta you prepare for chickens is made without salt since too much sodium isn’t healthy for chickens. 16. Herbs You probably don’t want to feed all of your freshly-grown herbs to chickens.

How long do you feed chickens starter feed?

A healthful starter feed should be filled with complete proteins, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. Your chicks should eat starter feed for the first eight weeks of their life, until they are introduced to grower feed.

What should I feed my 10 week old chickens?

The chickens have been happily catching whatever they can find in the garden including flies, small frogs, and grasshoppers. They also get some food scraps like watermelon, pumpkin, and apple. We personally do not feed our chickens any meat or things like rhubarb, tomato, or avocado, which can be poisonous.

At what age can chickens eat vegetables?

Once the baby chickens are at least a week old, they can be fed a mixture of cracked corn, wheat, oatmeal and fat-free meat. Make sure the corn is broken down into small pieces; place in a food processor if necessary. Greens are not recommended until the chicks are older as they can cause diarrhea.

What do you feed a premature chicken?

Homemade Chick Food All you need are eggs and oatmeal. Baby chicks can thrive and grow on this mix. To prepare your feed, simply hard boil a couple of eggs, mash them up thoroughly, then mix with some oatmeal. If you're the kind of person who loves organic, this is a great alternative to commercial feed.

At what age can chickens eat lettuce?

You should not give salad leaves to baby chicks until they are at least 4 or 6 weeks old. Chicks and growing chickens need time for their systems to be able to cope with other foods and you are best served feeding them the proper diet.

WHAT CAN 8 week old chickens eat?

With the Purina® Flock Strong® Feeding Program, keep chicks on the same feed from day 1 to week 18. Our starter-grower feeds are formulated to provide all 38 essential nutrients chicks need from day 1 to week 18. Continue to offer the same complete chick starter feed you've been feeding since day 1.

Can baby chickens eat fruit?

Chicks enjoy a wide range of fruits and vegetables. Some favorites among our birds are bananas, tomatoes, strawberries, watermelon, apples, grapes, lettuce, cucumbers, squash and kale. Again, keep in mind the size of your young birds.

What Age Can chickens eat apples?

If you are going to serve young chicks apples, it is best to wait until they are at least 1 week old. Dice the apple flesh into little pieces to make it easier to consume. Always offer regular chicken feed first and then treats after. Make sure treats are not more than 10% of a chickens daily diet.

What do 2 month old chickens eat?

Chicks should be fed the same chick starter-grower feed until week 18, when you will transition to a Purina® complete layer feed. These starter-grower feeds are formulated to provide all 38 unique nutrients your baby chicks need to start strong and stay strong – no need to supplement.

How do you feed a baby chicken for the first time?

Remove the skin and any loose meat or cartilage from the child's portion and cut into age-appropriate sizes. Cool the meat to room temperature before serving. Serve: Let baby self-feed with hands. If help is needed, pass a drumstick in the air for them to grab from you or remove the meat from the bones and shred.

Can baby chickens eat dried mealworms?

Yes, mealworms — fresh and dried — are very safe for chickens young and old to eat. Mealworms contain zero toxins. The only thing you have to be aware of is the fat and protein content.

Chicken Feed and Supplements

We’ll start with the obvious, what can chickens eat? Chicken feed of course!

Feed Chickens Bugs

There’s no denying it, one of the the best things you can feed to chickens is bugs!

Feed Chickens Weeds and Flowers

One of the most satisfying things to feed your chickens is the weeds that pop up in your yard and garden!

Feed Chickens Kitchen Scraps

Food waste from the kitchen is an unfortunate fact of life, but it doesn’t have to be a problem when you have chickens!

Feed Chickens from the Garden

If you have a vegetable or herb garden, or even an orchard, your chickens can reap the benefits!

What are some supplements for chickens?

Supplements to Commercial Feed. Besides the main feed, there are a few supplements commonly fed to chicks, pullets, and chickens. Oyster shells provide calcium, a cabbage head for fun and entertainment, and grit to help them digest anything outside of the commercial feed are all important.

What do birds eat?

Most poultry like to eat growing grasses, like clover, buckwheat, and Kentucky bluegrass. They eat broad-leaved weeds of all kinds. They eat the growing tips as well as the seeds of these plants.

Why do chickens keep mice in their gizzards?

They keep it in their gizzards to help them grind up the wild foods they forage. Once in a while, a rooster will catch a mouse and feed it to his hens. Typically, backyard and small farm chickens also eat food scraps from the farm household.

Can you feed chickens eggs if you run out of feed?

Remember, they can also go a day or two without feed, and longer eating general kitchen scraps without a real issue. Of course, always make sure they have water.

Can chickens eat potatoes?

1  Chickens are dumb enough to eat significant amounts of styrofoam if allowed access to it, and some munch on the pine shavings that act as their litter. You'll also need to make sure they don't eat what they're not supposed to.

Can you mix your own chicken feed?

You may wish to design, buy, and mix your own feed, or even grow all the grains, seeds, and other components of a comprehensive chicken feed. There are several different commercial feed choices with different purposes for each one. Some of the specifics differ.

Can you pasture chickens?

If you can't pasture your chickens but can let them have access to a run (a fenced-in area outside the coop), they will be happier and they will get some supplemental insects, even if the floor of the run gets pecked down to bare dirt.

What is the first step in feeding chickens?

Knowing what types of carbohydrates, vitamins and proteins go into poultry feed is the first step to providing your backyard chickens with the nutrition they need to grow and thrive. The next step is ensuring your flock receives those nutrients in the proper percentages.

How old do you have to be to start broiling meat birds?

Broilers and roasters develop at a different pace than egg-laying birds and have different nutritional requirements. If you are raising meat birds, offer starter rations from hatching through three weeks of age, then switch to grower feed through six weeks of age.

What is starter feed?

You can typically find starter and grower feed in both medicated and unmedicated formulas. The medicated formula contains a medication called a coccidiostat, which is added to help prevent coccidiosis, a parasitic disease affecting a bird’s intestinal tract.

Can chickens be full grown?

At this stage of development, chickens have reached point-of-lay and, while not completely full grown, are considered adult birds. You can now offer layer rations. These come as both crumbles and pellets.

What to feed chickens to keep them healthy?

If you want to offer some variety and more nutrient-rich options, try feeding them leafy greens. Kale, spinach, collards, turnip greens, and chard are all great choices. Chickens probably won’t immediately gravitate to greens as they do to sweet foods like berries or dense starches like bread.

What to feed chickens in winter?

When you think about what to feed chickens, oatmeal probably isn’t what first comes to mind. But oats are a major ingredient in chicken feed, so it makes sense that chickens like oatmeal, too. Warm oatmeal can be a great snack for them, especially in winter.

What to feed a chicken to get rid of stale bread?

However, bread is a popular treat among many chicken keepers. Feeding your pet chickens bread is a great way to get rid of stale bread. Make sure it isn’t moldy, though–mold can make your chicken sick.

What is it like to raise chickens?

Raising chickens is a fun and rewarding experience. When you spend time with your birds, you’ll get to know their individual personalities. Sometimes they’ll even eat out of your hand! And just like people, your chickens will appreciate some variety in their diets. If you’ve been wondering what to feed chickens, you’ve come to the right place.

What do chickens eat?

Berries. Berries, and especially strawberries, are a major treat for chickens. They taste sweet and can give your birds an energy boost. Berries are also rich in antioxidants and vitamins. Even if you have a picky flock, almost any chicken will jump at the chance to eat some blueberries or strawberries.

What is the best food for chickens?

1. Scratch Feed. Scratch feed is a mixture of different grains and seeds–it usually contains wheat, cracked corn, barley, and sunflower seeds. It gets its name because chickens will peck and scratch to get to it. Scratch feed can encourage chickens to forage, and it’s great for reducing boredom.

How long does it take for a chicken to switch to layer feed?

This type of feed is intended to make sure they get all the nutrition they need. After about 18 weeks , you’ll need to switch them over to layer feed. This feed is made for adult birds and has enough calcium to support laying hens. Make sure you do this gradually–switching feeds abruptly can result in upset stomachs.

What To Feed Baby Chickens

From hatch day to 8 weeks old, your chickens should be on a chick starter diet. These diets have 18-20% protein to support their rapid growth. It also has high amounts of vitamins and minerals to keep your chickens from getting sick. And to top it all off, starter feed is finely ground to make it easier for them to eat.

What To Feed Pullets

The next age group is chickens 8-20 weeks old, called pullets. These hens have not started laying eggs yet, and still in a period of growth. Pullets eat a grower feed that supports their bodies and gets them ready for laying eggs.

What To Feed Laying Chickens

Most hens start laying eggs around 21 weeks. Once they start laying eggs, their diet completely changes. So they will need chicken laying feed. The biggest difference in grower and layer feed is that layer has added calcium and only 16% protein.

What To Feed Roosters

Roosters don’t need calcium like laying hens do. And they need more protein to keep them healthy than your hens. But they don’t make a rooster feed, so what do you feed them? The best food for roosters is either grower food or all-purpose poultry. So that works great if you only have roosters. But how many of us only keep roosters?

What To Feed A Mixed Flock

Most of us have a mixed flock of roosters and hens, at least. In these cases, your best option is a compromise. Hens can handle more protein than what we recommend. But roosters will develop kidney disease with too much protein. So the best feed is grower feed with plenty of oyster shells in a separate container.

What To Feed Broiler Chickens

We raise broiler chickens for fresh meat, and they have different requirements than laying chickens. Broilers grow rapidly and need lots and lots of protein to keep up with it. Feeding a broiler feed made for layers won’t result in the fattest chickens.

What To Feed Molting Chickens

Every mature chicken goes through a molting period every fall. They lose all of their old feathers to make room for fluffy new ones. Chickens also go through their first molt around 16-18 months old to grow mature feathers.

What happens if chickens are fed at the wrong time?

These foods all have specific times to be fed. If they are fed at the wrong times, they can cause major issues.

Can you give treats to chickens?

Remember, treats are treats and shouldn't take up more than 10% of a chicken's daily diet.

Do chicks need to be switched to grower feed?

Note: If you fed an 18% starter feed then the chicks do not need to be switched to the grower. However, if they had a 20% starter feed, they do need to be switched to the 18% grower feed. Water- Avilable at all times with unpasteurized, organic apple cider vinegar added to it. (One teaspoon per quart.)