A tiny sprinkle of probiotics in their feed is always beneficial. A sprinkle of freeze-dried kelp can also be an excellent edge to a good start.

Got them by mail? - Chicks arriving by mail have been stressed pretty heavily. Give them feed and water as if you hatched them yourself, and watch them closely. If they take to the feed and water quickly, you may not want to bother with anything else. They should be fine.

If they do not take to the food and water, you can help them along by dipping their beaks. You can also peck at the feed with your finger, it stimulates them to eat.

If they are still not responding, put marbles in the waterers. Show them how to peck, and keep their attention. Once you get a couple chicks to eat and drink, the others will quickly follow. You may want to add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar to each quart of their water. Electrolytes will also help get them back on track. We are very proactive when it comes to shipped chicks. We take great care in offering everything we can to get them over the stress of shipping. Because of all the extras, we've never lost a chick that has been shipped to us, and have brought many back that were in really rough shape.

If problems persist with feeding, or you want to give them a quick pick-me-up, you can feed them some mashed hard boiled egg yolk in addition to the crumbles and supplements.

Are supplements or medications necessary? - Necessary? Maybe not. Beneficial? Absolutely.

Medicated Chick Starter has a mild Coccidistat (usually Amprolium), and that's all. It supplies complete nutrition for growing chicks. Antibiotics, Probiotics, kelp, super-grow supplements and the like are just not absolutely necessary. Some things are very beneficial. It is easy to over-use medications and supplements, and it is likely that you will do more harm than good. Read instructions carefully and follow them to a "T". Ask someone "what they think" who has lots of experience with the supplement or medicine you are about to use.

We never use any medications, wormers, or anything else as a preventative measure. We use them when it's beneficial to our bird's health. We don't consider it a good practice to give our animals anything unless it is totally necessary, then it is important to do things "by the book".

What do we feed them when they get older? - This is another matter of choice. You can feed Chick Starter all the way to 18 weeks if you like. Then you can put them on Egg-Layer, or Egg-Producer. Egg-Producer is intended to be used with scratch grains in order to provide total nutrition. We use Egg-Layer pellets, supplemented with a little bit of cracked corn in the winter, or scratch feed for a treat. We also feed them greens, or anything that comes from the garden, when we have it. From a production or breeding standpoint, any treats or snacks are bad things.

Kelp and Probiotics are always beneficial to the birds on a number of plateaus. As with any other supplement, you need to learn everything you can about it before you use it.

Table scraps? - My wife insists on table scraps for the chickens. I don't like it, but I'm sure you all know who wins out on that point. The only things they should NEVER get are large amounts of salt, raw potato peels, or chocolate. Table scraps may or may not be good for them, but they sure do love them! It definately affects how well they lay. It slows them down a bit, but it makes them happy!!! Free ranging through the yard is beneficial as well, and allows them access to bugs, stones, dirt, leaf mold, and other nummies that they crave.

There are some scraps that are always good for your birds. Veggies are King. Salad scraps are excellent. They love pasta, and I think it's a good treat. Pasta is loaded with carbs and turns straight to fat in birds, so you need to be careful.

The key to treats is this...

Give treats as treats. Treats are not a meal. Use them just as you would use treats with children. There's nothing wrong with a bowl of ice cream after dinner. There's a lot wrong with a gallon of ice cream FOR dinner. Used in the right fashion, Treats are very beneficial for your birds. They add joy to their day and heighten their spirit. Treats are a spot of sunshine in their day. Used sparingly, you'll be doing them justice.

What brand of feed? - I don't think it really matters. We are currently using Agway feeds. They have provided us VERY good results. We have used QF&F feeds in the past, and they also gave us very good results. Just remember, the cheapest solution is probably not the best solution. A good, quality feed costs a certain amount to produce, and if you find a feed that is 1/2the price, you can bet it's old, not complete, or someone's ready to go out of business. The couple extra bucks spent are definately worth it when it comes to feed.

How much do feed my chicks? - Give them feed free-choice. That means to keep it available at all times. Broiler chicks are treated differently. They will overeat and develop problems, so feed is sometimes withheld for certain periods.

I have some numbers from my feed bag, and I will post them, although I have found that chickens will eat however much they need, and they really don't care what the bag says.

If you feel that your birds are eating "too much", there's a problem. You can get the best value out of the bird's diet by maximizing their feed efficiency. Probiotics are the answer to that. Keeping your birds free of worms is answer number 2.

Weeks of age Type of Feed Feed consumption for time period

More on Snacking... You can choose all the options; organic feed, scraps, supplements, grains, cracked corn, and free-ranging, and have good results. Just become aware of what certain things do for the birds. Commercial feed is wholly nutritious, and all the birds need it to thrive. A bucket full of lettuce or corn is not wholly nutritious, but will put put some color in their eggs and body. Free ranging will do them a world of good as far as appearance is concerned, but can also cause problems such as exposure to worms and bad bacterias. A little of this and a little of that each day will not harm them, but too much of a good thing can. Treats can and will set back their development, but will not hurt them. They can be a good thing if they are used as part of your carefully planned feeding program. Choose a level that is acceptable to you. If treating them daily sets their egg laying development back a month or two, you can live with that and you enjoy treating them, by all means, Do It!!!

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