Starter chicken feed is specifically tailored to their individual needs, providing essential proteins from whole grains such as wheat, barley and oats as well as amino acids, vitamins and minerals for their enjoyment.
Most medicated chick starters contain Amprolium to treat and prevent coccidiosis, an intestinal protozoa that can be fatal for young birds. Additional medication are often added in finisher and grower feed to assist birds transition more quickly from baby birds to laying hens.
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Medicated or Non-Medicated
Walking down the feed aisle, one often encounters big brand chick starters on one side and non-medicated versions on the other. Their differences lie in ingredients used and what effect they have.
Most medicated starter feeds contain Amprolium as a coccidiostat to protect chicks against intestinal protozoa (coccidiosis), which can pose a threat to chicks’ health.
Baby chicks have underdeveloped immune systems and therefore can become susceptible to diseases of their digestive tract, including coccidiosis. While medicated feed can help prevent such issues from developing, once symptoms do appear they cannot provide relief.
If you are raising a small flock of chicks that have been vaccinated against coccidiosis, non-medicated feed may be suitable. Just add First Peep(tm) as an organic supplement with prebiotic fiber to prevent bad bacteria from flourishing while simultaneously supporting their natural immunity system.
Mash or Crumbles
Chick starter typically consists of mash with a texture similar to oatmeal. Crumble varieties offer something coarser yet not as compact as pellets – many chicken lovers use crumble varieties as a transition between mash and pellets for their flock.
Both types can be combined with hot water to form a paste for use by your flock, creating a thicker soup-like consistency that may take more time for them to consume than pellets would do, producing additional feed dust that poses respiratory hazards for your flock.
Feeding chicks a mash diet for as few as seven days was shown to significantly increase bodyweight, ADG and ADFI; however, FCR did not change at 42 days. Conversely, feeding crumble diets during their starter periods led to greater improvements in BW, ADG and ADFI as well as an increase in FCR due to improved feed utilization by birds.
Feeding Schedule
At first, chicks need a complete chicken feed with high protein content to foster proper bone and muscle development. At this stage, it’s wise to avoid feeding treats with too many fruits and vegetables that could potentially lead to digestive issues in these small birds.
At this stage, chicks need access to plenty of clean water in order to remain healthy and digest their food efficiently. Most complete chick starter feeds contain grit to aid digestion; it consists of small stones or grains made up of sand, dirt or stone made into grains that help digest fibrous foods in the gizzard more easily. Chickens that forage outdoors often enjoy eating natural grit without supplementing it separately but those kept indoors or fed other types of fibrous food require supplementing it separately with their feed.
Once your chicks reach six weeks and are considered pullets (hens) or cockerels, they should be switched over to grower feed which contains less protein (16-18 percent) and more calcium for egg development. At this age it is also important not to transition them directly to layer feed as this could cause kidney damage.
Treats
Treats like chicken scratch (a blend of cracked corn and other high-fat grains), fresh fruits and vegetables can make for tasty treats for your flock, but make sure they do not dilute the nutritional balance of their feed.
Starter chicken feed is protein-rich and designed to meet the dietary needs of young chicks, specifically their protein requirements during their first six weeks. While this high concentration may benefit young birds, as soon as they reach six weeks they should no longer require this high-protein feed as too much could potentially overdose and lead to liver complications.
Medicated chick starter feed contains amprolium to prevent coccidiosis and other diseases in baby chicks, while non-medicated starter feed still protects them against this threat. If using vaccination against coccidiosis in your chicks, however, medicated feed may contain ingredients incompatible with its vaccination process; you could try purchasing non-medicated starter food instead and filtering out debris from their food as an extra layer of defense.
