Starter Grower Chicken Feed is specifically tailored for juvenile birds from hatch to laying age (18-20 weeks). It provides the essential levels of energy, protein (18%), vitamins and minerals required by chicks during this critical stage in their development.
When selecting starter grower feed for your bird, there are a variety of options to choose from. Non-medicated and medicated complete feeds can both meet their requirements.
Contents
Protein
Feeding chicks a sufficient amount of protein is essential for their development and later in life. Not only does it aid in their growth, but it can also contribute to bone health.
Starter grower chicken feed typically contains around 20% protein, the highest level of protein a layer chick will consume during their early development. This high level of protein gives them energy to grow rapidly, build muscle mass and gain weight quickly.
Young chicks typically receive high-protein starter feed until they are eight weeks old, at which point it should switch to grower feed. Grower food typically contains less protein than starter feed and usually has a lower calcium content.
Vitamins
Starter grower chicken feed is packed with vitamins and minerals that offer your chicks numerous advantages. Vitamins can aid in building up their immunity, maintaining bone health, as well as overall wellness.
They can reduce the risk of coccidiosis and improve egg quality. This type of feed contains essential oils that promote gut health and strengthen your birds’ immunity.
Additionally, this starter-grower chicken feed is formulated with FlockShield, an antibacterial agent that helps keep bacteria and other harmful organisms from growing in the intestines – especially beneficial for chicks still in their early weeks of life.
Starter-grower feed is specially formulated to give your chicks the energy and protein they need to build strong bones, muscles, and feathers. It also supplies calcium – an important mineral as hens need about 4 grams of it daily to form their eggshells. A lack of this mineral may result in weak skeletal structure as well as kidney issues later on.
Minerals
Chickens require a range of vitamins and minerals to stay in excellent health. These essential elements aid the body’s functionality, build tissues, conduct certain biological reactions and boost immunity levels.
Starter Grower Chicken Feed provides essential nutrients for growing chicks. This formula has a complete protein (18%), vitamins and minerals to foster strong growth and development in your young bird.
For the first eight weeks after hatching, baby chicks are fed starter feed to promote their growth and development. After this period is over, they transition to a grower feed with less protein but an emphasis on healthy development.
For optimal eggshell formation, your diet must provide enough calcium and phosphorus levels. Common sources for these minerals are ground limestone, oyster shell or fish meal.
Mega Mineral is an essential supplement that can be added to any complete feed for poultry, especially when supplementing their diet with free-range foraging or scraps. Mega Mineral is a chelated sea mineral designed specifically to help chickens absorb essential nutrients.
Coccidiosis Prevention
Coccidiosis is one of the most prevalent illnesses chickens can contract and it causes serious damage to their intestinal lining, as well as prevent them from absorbing essential nutrients for growth and wellness.
Oocysts, parasites caused by oocysts, are carried on equipment or people and inhaled into a chick’s digestive system. Once inside its gut, these parasites can multiply and cause an infection.
Coccidia can sometimes be controlled with the addition of anticoccidial drugs to feed. This is the main method employed in most broiler flocks.
However, anticoccidial resistance is increasing rapidly due to chemical anticoccidials becoming ineffective over time or due to feed mixing errors.
One of the most successful methods for preventing coccidiosis is feeding starter chicken feed that contains amprolium. This medication helps shield chicks from getting this parasite by stimulating their immune system to build antibodies necessary to combat it.
