Feeding chickens at home

Raising chickens isn't difficult, as they're easy to care for. The main challenge is feeding them in the first days of life at home, as the farm has everything necessary for this. In this article, we'll cover all the fundamental aspects that really need to be taken into account. The experience of many small poultry house owners shows that the best feed is, of course, natural products.

What does a bird need in the early stages of growth?

After hatching, chicks begin feeding immediately. In the first few days of life, they are fed boiled eggs as their primary diet, as this is the best option. Later, their diet is varied, with the introduction of different types of millet, ground grain, and so on. Newly hatched chicks require special care in the first few days of life. The key to proper care is:

• maximum comfortable conditions, lighting, appropriate ambient temperature;
• proper nutrition;
• timely prevention of diseases.

In fact, feeding chickens in the first days of life at home, if they are kept with a broody hen, doesn't require any intervention. The hen will provide food for her chicks on her own. Of course, don't forget that during this period, you should feed them crushed grain mixed with whole grain. What should you do if your hens lay small eggs? The answer to this question can be found here. Here.

Optimal conditions

As for creating comfortable conditions, in this case there are two ways to raise chickens:

1. Under the watchful eye of a mother hen. This is an adult hen who cares for her babies herself. When they need warmth, she does so, and she'll call them for another meal. She'll shelter them from the rain and protect them from the cat.
2. It's a different matter if they're the result of artificial hatching. That is, the birds were hatched in an incubator using the incubator method.

Given that they are heat-loving and prefer the most comfortable conditions, they require appropriate care. There are many recommendations. The most important ones should be:

• warm;
• dry;
• there is no draft;
• good nutrition;
• protection against cats, magpies and crows has been created.

Creating the right conditions is simple, but feeding, prevention, and treatment are much more complex. Their development, strong immunity, disease susceptibility, growth rate, and so on depend on how they eat. So, what should be the diet for chicks in the first days of their life?

The chick emerges very small and very wet. First, it needs to dry off. During the first day, the chick is still weak on its legs and can barely walk. It won't eat much, as it lacks the strength or desire to do so. Skill and experience in this area develop on the second day.

On the very first day, as soon as the chicks are dry, they need to be given something to drink. This is very simple. Take a small, shallow saucer, fill it with water, and place it in front of the chicks. They'll find the water themselves and figure out what to do with it.

Many pet owners sprinkle millet on top of their chicks' down. This is what grandmothers and mothers did. However, given that millet can sometimes cause diarrhea, it's best not to overdo it. It's best to feed chicks a ready-made starter feed in the first hours of their life, which can be purchased at any specialty store.

If you can't buy ready-made feed, you'll have to prepare it yourself at home. There are many videos online about feeding chickens in their first days at home and what to do in certain situations. Visual aids will help you raise your birds as efficiently as possible.

The food should be complete. It should contain all the vitamins necessary for healthy development. A mixture of several types of grains can be used as food.

For example:

• wheat groats;
• barley;
• Arnautka;
• corn grits.

All of these grains are excellent food for babies from the first days of life. However, there's a secret: all the grains can be mixed in equal parts and poured into a feeding container. You can create a complete diet by following a few tips:

• To prevent the food from being too dry, you can lightly moisten it with water and mix it thoroughly;
• To ensure the feed is not coarse, all available grains should be passed through a grain crusher or a grain processor, using a fine-mesh screen first. This will produce a uniform, finely ground feed.

In addition to grain-based feed, they need calcium and vitamins. The results of feeding grain-based feed alone are significantly different from feeding feed with various additives. It lacks all the components that affect growth rate, immunity, feathering, and overall health of chicks. It is recommended to buy ready-made supplements and mix them with the grains fed to the chicks.

How to prepare a supplement to the main feed?

For your convenience, you can create a feeding chart for chickens during their first days at home, outlining all the key nutritional aspects. This guide is quite easy to use. Many ready-made supplements of essential vitamins and microelements are suitable for young chickens. In our case, we'll be preparing our own. For good muscle and bone development, you need:

• bone meal 0.5 grams per 1 kilogram of finished feed;
• fish oil, 5 grams per 1 kilogram of finished feed;
• preparations containing calcium, even if you take the usual preparation calcium gluconate at the rate of 1 tablet per 1 kilogram of finished feed.

In addition, during the first day of life, chicks need the nutrients found in the egg, including the yolk and white. However, it's important to remember that, although chicks love hard-boiled eggs, it's important not to overdo it. Otherwise, they'll develop diarrhea, which is very dangerous for young chicks.

Should or should not greens be given as a vitamin supplement to a chick's diet during its early years? Greens, as a supplement to the general diet, are just as essential for normal development and good health as vegetables and fruits.

At first, they can't pick leaves from the herb stems on their own. Therefore, all greens must be finely chopped beforehand. The most beneficial herbs for chickens are:

• you're spitting;
• alfalfa grass;
• onion greens;
• sorrel;
• yarrow.

All these herbs are rich in vitamins, which enter the body along with food:

1. They improve the immune system, meaning chickens are less susceptible to various diseases. And if they do get sick, they recover more easily.
2. They have a preventive effect against diarrhea.
3. Onion is an anti-infective agent.
4. Alfalfa greens promote muscle mass development.

Freshly squeezed 2% cottage cheese is a good addition to a healthy diet, but it should not be overused, as too much can cause constipation, which, like diarrhea, can lead to the death of chickens.

Peculiarities of proper feeding

The diet must be balanced. Chicks need the same nutritional needs as humans, taking into account the specific characteristics of the feed, supplements, their combinations, and indications and contraindications. Cottage cheese and greens should not be combined. In this case, the supplements should be alternated. One day, feed cottage cheese, and the next, only greens. This is necessary to prevent the chicks from becoming diarrhea-prone.

In fact, feeding broiler chickens in their first days of life at home is no different from feeding regular chicks, as they don't even differ in any way at this early stage. Use the same feeding method. However, as broilers mature, their growth accelerates, and at this point they require more food.

When feeding chicks, take your time and watch carefully how they eat, and whether they eat at all. If they appear restless, and especially if you feel their crop is empty when you pick them up, change their food immediately. Perhaps they don't like the food you're offering or it's unsuitable.

Recommendations and advice

Disease prevention is especially important. It should be carried out within the first three days after hatching. Feeding ratios are also crucial during the first days of chicks' lives at home, as they should always have fresh food in their feeder.

You can usually buy chicken medicine at veterinary stores, which already stock all the necessary preventative medications for chicken diseases. These should be prepared according to the instructions and given to the chicks. The dry medication should be mixed with prepared feed, while the liquid medication should be opened and added to their water for three days.

If you can't afford a first aid kit, an excellent solution for preventing and strengthening chicks' health is the well-known antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory antibiotic, chloramphenicol. It's used at a rate of one tablet, crushed into powder, per three liters of plain water. The chicks should be given this solution for three days. The chloramphenicol solution should be prepared daily to ensure it stays fresh and doesn't spoil.

In the future, you won't have any questions about what to feed your chickens in their first days of life at home. Clear requirements and recommendations will help you prepare the appropriate diet for your birds. A properly balanced, healthy diet is the key to a healthy generation of future hens.

https://youtu.be/gYQvYfRRxwg