Are you raising baby chicks? If so, one of the things that you will need to think about is what you feed them. There are many different options for chick starter feed. However, it is important that you make sure your baby chicks are getting the attention and nutrition that they need. By doing so, you will be able to make sure your chicks grow to be healthy adults. You should also keep in mind that not all baby chicks are the same. If you try one type of chick starter feed and your baby chicks won’t eat it, you can try another.
Clean Water
Before looking into the feed that you should give your chicks, it is important to know more about raising baby chicks. You need to ensure that they have clean and fresh water all the time. Water is important because it helps to ensure that your chick’s body is functioning properly. It is also important to know that baby chicks are chickens will need to consume double the water that they get in feed. If they don’t, this could negatively affect their health.
One of the things that you should know about storing water for your baby chicks is that it shouldn’t be kept in plastic containers. Many plastic containers are breeding grounds for bacteria. If your baby chicks drink the water from these containers, they could get severely sick. It is best to give your baby chicks water from other sources. A metal trough would be a great option.
Chick Starter Feed
Now, onto the food. You may want to start your baby chicks offer with chick starter feed. Most of these starters will have all the nutrients that your baby chicks need to have, so they can develop into a healthy chicken. For most chicks, they will eat the starter feed for about 8 weeks. However, some of these feeds are made for chicks up to 18 weeks.
Don’t want your baby chicks to have starter feed? There is another option that is just as nutritious? You can give your baby chicks oatmeal and eggs. You will need to hard boil the eggs and then mash the eggs into the oatmeal. However, keep in mind, if you have many baby chicks this process could become too much. The starter feed would be much quicker. Once your baby chicks get older, you can feed them grower feed for chickens.
Importance of Protein
You need to make sure that your baby chicks are getting enough protein. They should be getting animal and plant-based proteins. Protein is going to make sure your baby chicks organs, muscles, and tissues stay strong. Many baby chicks like worms which are great protein. The rest of your baby chick’s diet should be filled with vitamins, fats, and carbohydrates.
If you make sure that your baby chicks are getting all of these things in their daily diet, you won’t have to worry so much about health issues.
Getting Grit
Most chick owners want to know if baby chicks need grit. If you are going to be feeding them chick starter feed, they probably won’t need grit. However, if you are adding kitchen leftovers into their food or giving them a lot of treats, they will need some grit to help them with their digestion. If you live in an area where your baby chicks are out grazing a lot, they are probably getting enough grit on their own.
Many first-time chick owners think it is not healthy for their baby chicks to be eating dirt and tiny stones from the yard. However, this is grit. Eating it is the way that your baby chicks improve their digestive system.
Making Baby Chick Food
Another option if you don’t want to get chick starter feed is to make your own baby chick food. By doing this, you are going to know exactly what your baby chicks are eating. However, this does take up quite a bit of time and it can be tough to get all the ingredients that are needed.
To make baby chick food, you will need beans, rice, potato, crushed wheat, and stale bread. You will cut the beans up in tiny pieces. About 1 large spoonful would do if you have 6 chicks. You will then put in 1 spoonful of rice. Cut your potato in half and mash it up. This will help everything stick together. Finally, you will put the crushed wheat and stale bread in the mix. Then, you are going to mix everything together.
If you want to find other baby chick recipes, you can do a fast search online to find what you are looking for. There are many recipes with various ingredients in them. Just make sure you are fulfilling the nutritional needs of your baby chicks when you are making your own baby chick food.
Amount to Feed Baby Chicks
There is no exact amount that you should be feeding baby chicks. They are almost always going to be hungry. Most of the time, you can keep giving them food until they aren’t hungry any longer. Raising baby chicks can be a tough job, but it is rewarding at the same time.
Now that you know more about the nutritional needs of baby chicks and how much they need to eat, you might have some further questions related to raising baby chicks.
What do chickens eat?
What to feed chickens?
What do baby chicks eat?
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