Feeding Chicks

Where I live there isn't really a farming store and I haven't seen chick starter at any of the pet stores ive been too.


Is it alright to feed them:

Iceberg Lettuce
Really crunched up dog food. So its got incredibly small crumbs.
Shredded up boiled eggs?

Hi,

The egg and dog biscuits are fine, but if you can not get hold of chick crumbs, get some layers meal/mash.
Boil an egg and mix the layers mash with it to create a crumble mixture, use only a small quanity several times a day this mixture can go off very quickly in warm brooders.

Introduce green food after three days, as the chicks tend to get diarrhoea.

Derek.

You'll probably find poultry & game feeds online.

I found this on US eBay, OK you have to pay extra for shipping but at least the chicks are getting the start they need. Smaller amounts were avialable if you do a search .....

http://cgi.ebay.com/20-lb-BEST-Gamebird-Chick-Starter-Hatching-Eggs-Feed_W0QQitemZ130227163404QQihZ003QQcategoryZ46532QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Suz

http://www.food4wildbirds.co.uk/chick-crumbs-p-1907.html
this is where i got my 20kg sack from and its very fine and also very cheapest on the internet for 20kg hope this helps

If you don't manage to find any chick crumb, you can also use stuff you can buy in most supermarkets until you find a source for crumb. You can grind down all sorts of seeds (millet, canary/budgie seed mixes, niger seeds, cous cous) and pulses (lentils, soy crumb). This mix can work out more expensive than buying chick crumb, but I find it very satisfying as I like to know what goes into it.

As a general rule, avoid things that need to be soaked overnight (e.g. dried soy beans, kidney beans, mung beans, chick peas). These can contain enzymes
that interfere with digestion without proper preparation (soaking and prolonged boiling).

Also try to mix in things with high protein content; lentils, soy crumb and niger seeds are particularly high in protein. Aim for around 17-20% protein in your mix for chicks. The nutritional breakdown is usually displayed at the back of the packet. Whenever you switch food, try to phase in the new food gradually.

I've made a very unscientific comparison with my ducklings and found the ones I raised with my own crumb mixture grew a lot quicker and stronger that the one I fed purely on commercial crumb. I should try a more rigorous test with quail and duck later in the year.

omg i didnt understand what half of that meant but i kinda of get it lol thats quite good because i shows you in a way that how normal crumb has got many more less nutrients and things in it than your own good experiement.

I bought Lafebers Instant Nutri-Start Baby Bird formula. A few people told me this would be fine to feed the birds, However the women that sold me the eggs, Said no I couldn't but everywhere I look people say its fine. It can be mixed with water to feed hookbilled birds and it has 21% protein. It's a good powder so Im hoping it will be fine. Anyone think this isn't good?

I've not used it. I googled it an I think it's designed for nesting birds (birds that regurgitate food for their chicks) and normally mixed with water. You probably want to offer it dry to your chicks as it will go off too quickly once you've added water, but I can't see any reason you can't use it if it's the right sort of size. If it's good enough nutritionally for parrot chicks, it should be good enough for quail chicks.

Thank god!

I give my chicks CeDe eggfood formulated for parrots (higher protien than the usual chick crumb found over here) a few times a week and they love it ..... dish cleared in no time.