Chicken food... stages, changes and ages.

BigFishLittleFish · **Posted:** Sun Apr 01, 2012 11:06 am

ok so i have been trying to find this answer... but keep getting different answers... (thanks google for such a contradicting answers from all around the world.)

I know baby chickens start on crumble... which is what my girls have been eating... BUT we literally have just ran out !

then what do they move on to next? and what age.... and then when they are older is there another change of food??? and what age is that ?!?!?

My girls are 9 week old isa browns.
they have been living off crumble, chopped up vegie scraps and sometimes boiled eggs with the shells mashed back into them. also they started free ranging finding whatever they could in the yard for just a few hours a day.
(well until they started their antibiotics, it's just chicken crumble for now)

Sorry if the answers are already on the forum somewhere. But i couldn't find them. Still learning how to navigate this thing....... lol

Also at coles when i do my grocery shopping, i seen a poultry mix there... it looks like bird seeds mixed with pellets. is this good for them ? it looks more yummy than just pellets. But hey i'm no chicken, i could be wrong....

BigFishLittleFish · **Posted:** Sun Apr 01, 2012 12:49 pm

I think i found the answers.....

pullet grower is the next feed bag i should be buying ?!? What the heck is pullet grower ??? never seen it before.

then when they hit around the 20 week mark. Layer pellets. i do know of these. see the big ass bags at the store all the time.

Living in the city has it's disadvantages . most pet shops cater for cats and dogs and fish mainly.
We have nearly every chain store pet store around here.... but to find a feed store is harder and anything with poultry is even harder. The feed store i go to is actually a 'dog butcher'. makes quality dog food....lol... but they sell lots of bird seeds in smaller plastic bags. i think they buy it in bulk and bag it into smaller bags and also make their own mixes for parrots. So probably the best i will get thats convenient around here... but who knows whats in it.. it isn't labelled only has written in permanent marker on the front "chicken crumble- then the price"-
does anyone recommend a large chain store that sells a quality chook food for my girls i can find here ??

Hens and Hobbits · **Posted:** Sun Apr 01, 2012 1:19 pm

Hello,

You already beat me and answered yourself.

They can be weaned on to pullet grower as they still need food that has a higher protein content and that they can digest.

Here are the links to the Barastoc Chook Book PDF version, has all they feeds they produce and their nutritional value breakdowns
http://www.ridley.com.au/newsletters/Br ... k-Book.pdf

Here is another brand of pullet grower that we have used from Lauke Mills, mostly grain and not crumbled pellets.

http://www.lauckemills.com.au/poultry-pullet1.html

http://www.lauckemills.com.au/

I don't use layer pellets solely on their own, it is a personal choice.

Our stockfeed is similar in bagging smaller bags, best advice it pays off buying the bulk bags, storage can be a pain, put you can get those metal bins with lids from The Reject Shop with lots of hungry beaks to feed and growth spurts, I'd imagine that your babies will be very hungry as their health improves, also you know what brand you are getting and the breakdowns.

The free range mix at Coles is too expensive, they actuall come in 20kg bags for about $20, good as a treat but not as a regular diet for growing pullets.

Do you have a Petstock in the Newcastle area? If you become a member they have loyalty discounts and good sales throughout the year.

http://www.petstock.com.au/store-finder

BigFishLittleFish · **Posted:** Sun Apr 01, 2012 1:39 pm

thanks
yep theres a pet stock right near here.

I get my hay from there... but i am thinking to just use wood chips until they start laying... as the mice have discovered little seeds in the hay and are tearing the bag apart and pulling all the hay out of it on to the floor or my garden shed.... GRRRRRRR. and i am sure they would be in the coop doing the same in the next boxes if they are in the shed which isn't too far from the coop.

seed is stored in giant hard plastic bin so they don't get the food, just the hay. Stupid rodents !

I've notices at pet stock and pet barn (very similar stores) they have more than one brand though ? which one do people use from there that is considered good ?

Petite Poulet · **Joined:** Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:17 pm **Posts:** 5219

Once again it comes down to personal choice using either the Barastoc pullet grower or another brand or a combination of both brands, it depends where you live and what you can access, but pullets do need a more protein rich specified diet to grow so they don't have more health problems at POL or later.

I stopped using hay as it retained moisture and got mouldy that ended up with Boss Chookie catching a cold this time last year with a cold wet snap and battling all through winter with colds etc Non toxic pet friendly wood shavings and straw are much more absorbent. Have to be careful with wood chips and mulch and toxicity, chooks being chooks peck at anything...

Rodents aren't stupid, they are are crafty little so and so's, they can gnaw through hard plastic storage containers and get to the feed if they were very desperate and hungry enough, as if they can't find anything else to munch on they can make holes in the storage containers :shock:

, our chook feed is kept secure in the laundry, hoping nothing sneaks in...

Hope that your girls make a full recovery.

BigFishLittleFish · **Posted:** Sun Apr 01, 2012 3:57 pm

I'm sure they can find plenty to eat around here... nearly every yard has an aviary (including mine) and have kept bird seed in these bins for ages with no problems (unless someone forgets to put the lid on!)

thanks for the tip. i'll look for straw later on and will use wood chips from now on. I will use the rest of the hay though. i am cleaning out the boxes every morning (because they sleep in them) so shouldn't take long to finish the huge bag.

Ok so protein rich chicken food.... i'll see whats available at these stores.

thanks for the tips and advice.

Elle Jay · **Posted:** Sat Apr 07, 2012 12:20 pm

We use Red Hen chook food and have been very happy with it, currently using Red Hen Free Range Scratch Mix. They have others suitable for growing pullets, here is a link:

http://www.lauckemills.com.au/images/la ... -lores.pdf

We bought a VERY thick, heavy plastic feed bin from the stock feed place, and it keeps the food dry and protected (the bin is outside, next to the chook house), it has a sturdy screw-on lid and there's no way any rodents could get into it. It was fairly pricey but worth it, we've had it over two years, and the weather hasn't affected it at all.

Our girls also sleep in their nesting boxes and we use straw and clean any dirty straw out daily. Keeps them warm and dry and we haven't had any rodents in the chook house. A small bale is cheapest, but difficult to store, so I often just buy bags of pet straw from the pet shop. It's more expensive, but it's nicer straw, not dusty, and it's easier to store.

BigFishLittleFish · **Posted:** Sat Apr 07, 2012 5:14 pm

good tips... thanks !

i think i will just buy small bags too... too hard to store big ones and takes too long to get through it all... even though the price is just as much as a big bag... but thats ok. 5 chicks dont go through that much hay anyways.

JAYT · **Joined:** Sun Apr 08, 2012 8:02 am **Posts:** 2

I also use red hen made in SA and also very happy with it

buffy the sussex · **Posted:** Wed Apr 11, 2012 2:01 pm

Hi, what I did was I gave my chicks some seeds (only the small ones), and let them peck at a couple of corn cobs, which when tied to a string and waved around can give them a feed and let them be entertained, also they had a complete supply of quick cooking oats, they suprisingly enjoy eating it, hope that helped
buffy the sussex

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