Using Best Practices
Place feeding troughs and waterers around the outside of the chicken coop. Opt for 5–8 cm (2.0–3.1 in) deep feeding troughs that provide at least 8 cm (3.1 in) of space for each chick. Place as many feeding troughs as necessary in the space around the coop and provide a 1 US gal (3.8 L) waterer for every 2 chicks in the enclosure. Make sure there are enough troughs for all of your chicks to eat at one time.
Keep the troughs filled at all times. Chickens tend to eat constantly throughout the day in short bursts. Fill the feeding troughs 1-3 times per day (as needed) and sprinkle a few generous handfuls of feed around their pen every day to let them eat as they please. Fill the water troughs twice a day or more often if you notice that the water is low or empty when you check on your chicks.
Offer snacks and treats sparingly and in very small amounts. Snacks and treats make any animal's day, but growing chicks need to have a steady, strict diet of starter and grower feed or they won't get the nutrition they need to grow. Only provide treats once every couple of days as your chicks are maturing, but you can give them more treats more often as they reach maturity. Veggies and fruits like watermelon, leafy greens, bananas, tomatoes, pumpkin, and broccoli are great treats for your chickens. You can also provide cooked meat (including leftovers from your kitchen), plain yogurt, black oil sunflower seeds, and oatmeal. Only give them a tiny amount of treats when they are chicks, such as a single leaf of a veggie or a diced piece of meat. Do not give your chicks junk food, beans, avocado peels, nuts, potato products, or spoiled foods, as these are toxic to chickens and may kill them.
Provide grit for your chicks as they develop to stimulate digestion of treats. Grit is found in small rocks, dirt, and other hard, non-digestible things that help chicks digest treats at early stages. Don't add it to their starter or grower feed, as they can digest their normal food just fine — but, whenever you give a chick a treat, follow it with some grits. You can find grit at farm supply stores or online. Get sand-based, dirt-based, or small stone-based grit for the most effective and natural option, and use the recommended amount listed on the package. In nature and free range environments, chicks will get this naturally from food they eat off of the ground, but in a pen you have to provide it.
Feeding Broiler Chicks
Feed your chicks medicated broiler starter feed for the first 10 days. Broiler starter feed is specially formulated feed for new broiler chicks. It contains 22% protein and all the essential vitamins and nutrients that chicks need. You can find it at any feed supply or tack store. Select a feed medicated with coccidiostat to keep your chicks healthy. Typically, each chick will eat about 0.55 lb (0.25 kg) of food per day the first week and 1.0 lb (0.45 kg) of food per day the second week.
Swap out the starter feed for medicated grower feed after 10 days. Grower feed contains less protein to keep the chicks from putting on more weight than their bodies can support. Remove all the starter feed from the enclosure and provide grower feed formulated for broiler chicks that contains 20% for the next 2 weeks. Again, be sure to choose a grower feed that contains coccidiostat. Expect the chicks to eat 1.55–3.25 lb (0.70–1.47 kg) of food per day between 3 and 6 weeks.
Provide a finisher feed after 24 days. A finisher feed will provide your chicks with all the nutrients they need from day 24 up until you take them to the slaughterhouse. Select a commercially-prepared finisher that contains 16-18% protein from a feed store. There's no need for the finisher to contain coccidiostat, so you don't have to get a medicated feed this time. After 6 weeks, the chicks may eat 3.0–4.0 lb (1.4–1.8 kg) of food per day.
Feeding Egg-Laying Chicks
Feed your chicks a starter feed until they reach 8 weeks of age. Select a commercially-prepared feed from a feed supply or farm store. Choose a starter feed formulated for laying hens that contains 21% protein. You can also allow your chicks to graze freely outdoors as they may enjoy grass seeds, weeds, and grains like wheat and barley.
Switch to a grower feed when your chicks are 8 weeks old. A grower feed contains less protein and is made for older chicks. Select a feed with 14-16% protein after the first 2 months. Grower feed has a lower protein percentage and other nutrients meant to ease them into egg laying, whereas the high protein percentage of starter feed can make your adolescent chicks start laying eggs too early.
Increase the amount of protein and calcium in the feed after 18 weeks. When your chicks reach 18 weeks of age, switch to a layer feed with 16-19% protein. If your feed doesn't contain calcium, you can mix limestone or oyster shells into your chickens' feed. If your chick gets calcium too early in its development cycle, it could develop kidney stones which may shorten its lifespan. Do not give chicks calcium until they begin laying eggs.
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