Complete Guide to Feeding Chicks and Young Chickens

If you’re a soon-to-be proud owner/parent of some chicks, you may be wondering what and how to feed them.  While driving to a store, buying some feed with a chicken picture on it, and tossing it to your new chicks sounds like it should be simple enough, there are some things to know and consider.

Buying the right type of feed for the age of your chicks is, of course, very important.  But you’ll also need to make decisions such as what brand of feed you want to get, whether to get medicated or non-medicated, and choose between different styles of feeders etc.  Not only that, there’s also various supplements that can be provided for your chicks, table scraps for snacking, and yards for foraging. 

I hope this guide will help answer whatever questions you may have regarding feeding your chicks!

Feed for Baby Chicks

There are many different types of feed available for chickens, but from 1 day old to about 6 weeks of age chicks should be fed a starter feed.  Starter feed comes in a crumble form which is easier for chicks to eat and digest and is specially formulated with the proper vitamins and nutrients that chicks need to grow.   

Differences in Chick Feeds

• Starter, Grower, Starter/Growers (combo), and Flock Raisers – These are the four most common feeds you can give to your chicks and young chickens.
  •  Starter Feed – the first type of feed you should give to your chicks starting from day 1.  Has the highest percentage of protein.  Is typically fed to chicks until about week 6 to 8 but can be fed to them until they’re 3 months old.  Most bags of feed will come with a recommended age range.     
  • Grower Feed – at about 6-8 weeks of age chicks can be switched from a starter feed to a grower feed.  Has less protein than a starter feed, but more than regular adult or layer feeds. 
  • Starter/Grower Feed – a combination of both starter and grower feeds.  Instead of beginning with starter and then switching to a grower feed, the combo feed can be fed from day 1 and continued up until your chickens start laying eggs after which they should be changed to a layer feed if they are all hens.    
  • Flock Raisers – this type of feed is ideal if raising several different breeds of poultry together such as chickens, ducks, turkey etc.  These feeds come in both crumble and pellet form; however, it’s best to use crumble for very young chicks since it’s easier for them to eat.  
• Protein Content – Feeds for chicks and young chickens will be formulated with higher levels of protein which are essential for young growing birds.  Typically, you’ll see around 18-22% protein with 18% being the most common.  20%+ protein is often used for game birds such as turkey or quail which need high levels of protein – however, these higher levels of protein won’t hurt a young chick.  Different brands of starter and grower feeds may have different protein level contents, but all should be suitable levels for growing chicks. 
• Medicated vs Unmedicated – All chick feeds will come as either medicated or nonmedicated.  Medicated feeds have small amounts of Amprolium added in the formula which helps prevent coccidiosis.  While medicated feeds will always be labeled as such, nonmedicated feeds may or may not specify that they’re unmedicated.   Usually if your chicks have received a vaccine against Cocidiosis then they should be fed regular non-medicated feed.  If they have not received the vaccine, then you may want to consider feeding them medicated feed.  However, it’s entirely up to your own personal preference which you would like to use.

• Crumble vs Pellet – Chicken feeds typically come in a crumble form or pelleted form.  Crumbles are suitable for chickens of all ages but are essential for young chicks that are small and can’t eat the larger pellets.  All chicks should be started on crumbles and can eventually be given pelleted food once they’re eating grower or adult feeds.  However, you could also continue to give your adult chickens crumble food instead of pellets if you so choose.  [LINK – Pellet vs Crumbles] 
• Organic vs Non-Organic – There are organic feed options available on the market if that is your preference.  Typically, the feed won’t have any affect on your chickens whether it’s organic or not; however, if you’re wanting to raise your chickens as organically fed and sell organic eggs or meat, then you would want to stick with the organic brands which are made from organically grown plants and grains.  

Chick Feeders (what holds the feed)

Now that you know the different kinds of feeds available and their differences, you might be wondering what to put the feed in. 

When deciding on a feeder you will want to consider the number of chicks you’re feeding, what’s available to you to purchase, how soon you need it, your budget, how often you’re able to refill the feeder, etc. 

The best feeder is one that is easy for the chicks to access, is safe for your chicks to eat out of, easy to clean, easy for you to refill, and will limit the amount of mess the chicks are able to make. 

What type of feeder to get

For chicks, it’s best to start out with small feeders that are lower to the ground and easy for them to access.  There are specific feeders geared towards chicks and these make a great starting option, though you’ll eventually need to switch to something bigger. 

Chicks and chickens of all ages like to scratch and will scratch their food out of the feeder and all over the place if it’s easy for them to access.  Feeders with the round access holes will help contain the feed and prevent your chicks from wasting too much of the feed – I assure you though, they’ll still be up on their feeder scratching out the feed and making a poopy mess of it.  

How big of a feeder do you need: Most feeder designs come with holes or openings for your chicks to access the food.  I recommend getting a feeder that has at least 1 opening available per chick, but more is better since some of them are going to fight over the same areas no matter what – the more choices there are the less likely they’re to fight over the same areas. 

What Material: Plastic vs Metal: I personally recommend going for a plastic feeder instead of a metal one.  While the plastic ones tend to break more easily (if stepped on etc), they are also easier to clean and a safer option for both you and the chicks.  Metal feeders often have sharp edges which can cut into your hand when you go to open them to put in more feed (speaking from experience that was followed up by a tetanus shot).  Plastic feeders are also a better choice if you like using vinegar to clean and sanitize things since vinegar has negative reactions to several metals (can dissolve and discolor) but is safe to use on plastics. 

Feeder Color: The color of the feeder doesn’t really matter that much, but it is a question that’s often asked. Chicks are naturally attracted to the color red which is why you’ll often see feeders that are red colored; however, you can get any color of feeder that you want.   

Where to buy:  Feed stores that have chicken supplies should have a selection of feeders for chicks and chickens.  You can also sometimes find supplies like this at big box stores like Walmart or Target in the pet/animal sections.  However, shopping in person your options might be limited.  Online stores will offer you a much bigger selection. 

You can always DIY a simple feeder for your chicks or buy one at your local feed store or online. 

How Much do Chicks Eat

For the first couple weeks chicks will usually eat about 1 oz worth of food per chick each day.  After about a month they’ll be eating close to 2 oz per chick a day, and then about 3 oz per chick a couple more weeks after that.  An adult chicken will eat about 2-3 LBS worth of food per chicken per week. 

You’ll want to make sure you buy enough chick starter feed to last your chicks until they are about 6-8 weeks of age and then after that switch to a grower feed.  If using a starter/grower combo feed, then you can continue to give them the same feed up until they start laying eggs – usually this is around 18-20 weeks old but a hen can start laying earlier than that or they may not start laying until they’re over a year old.

How Much Chick Feed You Will Need

The larger bags of feed are often about 50 LBS.  There are 16 oz a pound, so about 800 oz in a large bag of chick feed.  The smaller bags you see are typically 5 LBS (80 oz) or 8 LBS (128 oz). 

Example:  Chicks typically eat about 1 oz of feed per day for the first month.  If you have 20 chicks, then that’s 20 chicks x 30 days x 1oz = 600 oz of feed or 37.5 LBS worth of food for the first month.  You’d probably end up going through 1 large 50 LB bag of feed that month after accounting for wasted food etc. 

Below is a chart with some chick starter feed amounts.  Keep in mind these are just estimates since the amount of food a chick will eat, the amount of food the chicks waste, and other factors can vary. 

	Weeks 1-4 (1 oz/chick)	Weeks 5-8 (2 oz/chick)	Amount of Starter Feed Needed
5 Chicks	10 LBS / 150 oz	20 LBS / 300 oz	30 LBS / 480 oz feed
10 Chicks	20 LBS / 300 oz	40 LBS / 600 oz	60 LBS / 960 oz feed
20 Chicks	40 LBS / 600 oz	75 LBS / 1,200 oz	115 LBS / 1,840 oz feed
50 Chicks	95 LBS / 1,500 oz	187 LBS / 3,000 oz	282 LBS / 4,512 oz feed

Remember that after 6-8 weeks they should be switched to a grower feed, not a layer one. The chart above is specifically pertaining to chick starter feeds and not starter/grower combo feeds.

As you can see, a small number of chicks 1 large 50 LB bag of feed would be more than enough to feed them for the first two months.  If you have a larger group of chicks, say 50, then you’re looking at needing about 5-6 50 LB bags of feed for the first two months. 

You can of course cut down on feed amounts (up to 10%) by supplementing with kitchen scraps and snacks.  Their main chick starter feed should always account for about 90%+ of their main diet.    

How Much and How Often to Feed Chicks

Generally, your chicks should have 24/7 access to food.  Most bird have very high metabolisms and need to eat often throughout the entire day, especially while young.   

There is usually no need to measure out food for your chicks.  Most chicks will eat some feed and then go do other important things like taking a nap.  Very rarely will they ever overeat. 

Fill up the feeder you have provided for them and see how long it takes them to get through it.  If there’s a lot of food left over the next day, you may want to lower the amount you fill the feeder the next time you refill it.  After that, you can gradually increase the amount each day as your chicks will be eating slightly more as each day goes by. 

You don’t want to have a lot of food left in the feeder and sitting as the longer it sits, the more likely it is to get contaminated, grow mold, etc. 

Meat birds, like Cornish Cross, that are bred to grow abnormally fast are usually the only chicks where you may want to limit the amount of food to some extent – keeping in mind the more they eat the more they’ll grow.  But you also want them to stay healthy and not gorge themselves silly.

Cleaning Chick Feeders

Chickens can be messy birds no matter their age.  Because of this it’s a good idea to deep clean the feeder at least once a day in order to get rid of poo and anything else that might be building upon the feeder.  This is one of the reasons why I recommend not getting a large feeder that holds several days’ worth of food (at least for chicks, for adult chickens this is generally no problem). 

To clean the feeder, start by emptying out any leftover food. if the food is not contaminated you can dump it in a bowl and then add it back in after the cleaning. 

Rinse off the worst of the caked-on matter on the feeders under hot water. 

Take the feeder apart and then wash with hot soapy water.  For scrubbing, I like to use a balled up paper towel so I’m not using my regular dish sponges. To sanitize you can spray or soak with a 50:50 white vinegar/water solution.  Diluted white vinegar has been proven effective in reducing bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli.

Dry the feeder well and then refill with fresh food and you’re good to go.  If you saved some food from before the cleaning make sure to add that on top so it gets eaten first (FIFO – first in, first out).    

Teaching Your Chicks Where their Food is

Newborn chicks are still learning where things are and how they work.  If you’ve just brought them to your home and placed them in a new brooder area, then they might need a little help figuring out where the food is. 

One way to do so is to point your finger and tap near the food.  This somewhat imitates a mother hen showing food to their young.  It’s best to make some kind of noise or say something like “chick chick chick,” while tapping so that they come to associate the noise and motion with food.   This is useful later on when you want to get your chicks to come to you when you call (they will almost always come running for food). 

Storing Chick Feed

All feed should be stored in a cool, dry place where it’s protected from moisture, being knocked over or infested by pests.

If you’re just using the smaller bags of chick feed or intend to go through it rather quickly, then you can leave the feed in the bags they came in and just cut the top of the bag open so you can access it to scoop feed out.  As long as the feed is stored in a place where weevils, mice, and other pests can’t access it, it should be safe as is without needing store the feed in a different container.    

Some of the smaller feed bags come with resealable zip-style tops, but most don’t.  If you’re worried about pests getting into the feed, then you might want to invest in a storage container of some kind.  Plastic storage bins, 5-gallon buckets, large metal trashcans, etc can all work as feed storage.   

What you want to avoid the most is moisture getting in the feed since it can cause mold which, if consumed by your chicks, can cause some serious health issues such as botulism. 

Transitioning Between Different Types of Feed – Chick to Grower Feeds

While it’s not 100% necessary, I like gradually transitioning animals from one feed to another.  When switching you may be going from a medicated starter to a non-medicated grower, you might be switching brands, the protein content may be very different, or you might be going from crumbles to pellets.  Transitioning between the two gradually will help mitigate negative reactions such as digestive issues that could potentially happen from switching feeds.

Begin mixing a little bit of the grower feed to their started feed for the first couple days and then gradually increase the ratio until it’s 100% grower feed over a months’ time.  I like to do these in quarters and have ¾ starter feed and ¼ grower feed for the first week and then increase to 50/50 by week two -or-  3:1, 2:2, 1:3, 0:4 ratios over four weeks.  (this is all approximate, no need to stress over it too much). 

There’s no need to waste the starter feed so if you have a good bit left over, just mix if in with the grower feed and continue to feed your chicks a mixture.

You can repeat the same process once your chickens start laying eggs and are ready for a layer feed.  

Chick Grit

If you’re planning on feeding your chicks snacks, then you will also want to provide them chick grit on the side.  Like the grit bought for adult chickens but smaller, chick grit will help aid in digestion and breaking up food in their digestive tracts. 

If you’ve never heard of chicken grit before – Chickens lack teeth which leads them to rely on consuming stones which are then stored in their gizzard.  The gizzard moves and contracts which moves around the stones causing a grinding affect on food while it’s stored in the gizzard.  Once the food particles are smaller they continue on through the rest of the digestive tract before eventually becoming poo. 

In a more naturalistic setting, a mother hen would bring her chicks around a yard and they’d peck at the dirt and eat small rocks from the ground.  If being raised inside or a more protected environment or if your yard is lacking in small pebbles, then you will need to supply the grit yourself in most cases. 

There are several brands on the market, and all are relatively the same; however, some brands come with the added benefit of probiotics to further aid in digestion. 

Grit should always be fed to your chicks separate from their regular feed and snacks.  I like to use small canary feeders for grit since they can be secured to the side of a wire cage which makes them harder to knock over. 

Most chicks will only eat the amount of grit that they need; however, if you notice your chicks eating less of their food, you may want to limit the amount of grit you’re providing them as they may be eating too much of it (this shouldn’t happen often). 

I recommend not giving grit or treats to your chicks until they’re at least a week old in order to make sure they’re getting enough nutrition from their chick starter feed and so you can get a feel of how much they’re eating in a day. 

NOTE – Chick grit and oyster shell are not the same and should not be confused.  Chick grit is meant for digestion help and can be given to chicks to aid in eating foods besides their formulated crumble feed.  Oyster shell on the other hand should only be given to adult egg-laying hens as it provides them the extra calcium they need for egg production.  Giving too much calcium to a young chick could be detrimental to their health.

Herbs & Natural Remedies

Chickens and chicks alike can be given herbs and other natural ingredients meant to be used as remedies.  However, like treats, these should be kept to a minimum so that the majority of their diet is their specially formulated chick feed.

Herbs such as mint, oregano, and sage can all offer some moderate medicinal properties aimed at preventing or even curing certain ailments. 

Apple cider vinegar is also commonly used to help provide beneficial bacteria to your chickens.  It’s used to help prevent and treat pasty (dried poo) bottoms as well as overall digestive health. 

Make sure to research the effect of various plants on chickens before giving them herbs and such.  While most herbs that are good for people will be beneficial to your chicks, plants from the nightshade family (such as tomatoes, eggplant, etc) can be poisonous. 

Terms & Vocabulary

• Amprolium – A thiamine analogue used as an additive in poultry feeds to help prevent coccidiosis in livestock and other animals.  Also marketed as Corid. 
• Coccidiosis – An intestinal infection that can occur in both animals and humans caused by parasites.  Most of the time is not deadly in animals or humans but can cause diarrhea or vomiting.  However, in chicks and other poultry, it can cause digestive issues and can even be fatal in severe cases. 
• Complete Feed – Complete is often seen on the bags of chicken feeds.  It just means that the feed itself has been specially formulated to include all of the basic nutrients that chicks and chickens need to grow and be healthy. 
• Crumbles – A form of chicken feed that is smaller and easier to digest than pellet-shaped feeds and is ideal for chicks and young chickens that might have difficulty eating the larger pellets. 
• Fortified – Fortified chicken feeds come with extra vitamins and minerals added into the formulated feed.  While not all chicken feeds may specify that they’re “fortified,” they should all come with similar ratios of these added vitamins and minerals. 
• Free Range – When chickens are allowed to wander a property without being penned or caged in and forage for food via plants or other ground matter. 
• Grit – Small stones given to chickens and other poultry that are ingested and then stay inside a chicken’s digestive tract.  They assist a chicken’s digestion by grinding and breaking food into smaller bits in lieu of having teeth.  
• Grower Feed – A kind of chicken feed formulated for young chickens that are not fully grown.  Usually after feeding a starter feed to a chick for the first several weeks, they will be switched to a grower feed. 
• Layer Feed – A kind of chicken feed formulated for adult hens that are laying eggs.  This type of feed has higher levels of calcium which are needed for egg production. 
• Lysine – An essential amino acid that can be provided as a supplement to diets.  Is often found in poultry feeds and is used as a protein supplement.  
• Medicated Feed – Chick feed that contains Amprolium to help prevent the adverse effects of Coccidiosis.
• Methionine
• Non-Medicated Feed – Chick feed that does not contain Amprolium.
• Pellets – Pellet-shaped feed that is larger than crumbles and ideal for larger adult poultry. 
• Pullets – Another name for a young hen or female chicken.  Typically, a young hen will be considered a pullet once their body is fully grown but they are not yet laying eggs and up to 1 year of age.   
• Starter Feed – A kind of chicken feed formulated for newly hatched chicks to chicks of about 6-8 weeks old.