What to Feed Chicks & Hens
Chicks
I feed babies Purina Medicated Chick Starter which protects them from Coccidiosis — a nasty parasite that can take your darlings from healthy to dead in two hours.
Speckled Sussex Chicks at Flower Feather Farm
Juveniles and Adults
When they are older, I ferment Natural Farm Feeds which I buy via Natural Farm Feed Buying Co-op a Facebook Group. Fermenting doubles its volume and adds nutrition. I start offering fermented chicken starter as soon as they go outside. If you don’t like Facebook, you can still buy from through the co-op through the Natural Farm Feeds Group Buy part of this website.
When they are at point-of-lay or when they join the adult flock, I switch to fermented Natural Farm Feeds Premium Layer.
Fermenting
SCOBY: symbiotic culture of bacteria & yeast.
Fermenting cuts my feed bill in half. We fill a five gallon bucket 1/3 full of water and add feed until the bucket is 2/3 full. Stir well and leave out for a day or two, depending on how warm the weather is.
We don’t cover it as the fermenting process relies on airborne yeasts and bacterias to form the SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). The SCOBY will form on the top of the bucket and will look like a slimy mess. It’s all good. When the SCOBY has puffed up and has a tangy smell, like sourdough, we stir the scoby into the feed and serve it to our birds. They love it and it is so healthful for both them and for our budget.
We usually have two to buckets going at a time for 90-100 birds, depending on weather. Bucket one was made day-before-yesterday and will be served today and refilled. Bucket two was made yesterday and will be served and refilled tomorrow. In the winter, we have to add a little heat. You can read about Preparing Your Chickens for Winter here.
