Chick, pullet or layer? Feeding your birds through the stages

Chickens at all stages of life happily spend most of their waking hours scratching, pecking and gobbling. They’ve been described as “greedy, wanton feeders” – spot on if you’ve ever kept a flock before! But as chooks develop from chick to pullet to layer, they’re looking for something different in their diet at each stage.

Chicks need a softer consistency and more protein

If you’re raising your own chicks, hats off to you. It might be more work than buying birds that are close to laying age but the connection we develop with hand-reared birds is thoroughly rewarding.

The first rule of feeding chicks is to keep pellets designed for laying hens well away from them. The calcium content of layer pellets is too high for young chicks and can cause kidney damage and premature death.

Chicks do best on a soft “crumb” or “crumble” that has everything they need nutritionally and is easier to eat than harder pellets. During this early stage of relatively quick growth, young chicks need more protein in their diet to develop a strong frame and healthy bones and feathers. Our Chick Starter Crumble has a 19% protein content and all the essential nutrients they need for a strapping start to life.

Young birds of 4-16 weeks are most at risk of coccidiosis, one of the most common causes of poor health in chickens. For this reason chick starters (ours included) contain a coccidiostat, an antimicrobial that prevents growth of the protozoan parasite coccidia in the gut. Note that coccidiostats are toxic to other animals so ensure the feed is securely stored to prevent access.

There is also a withholding period for eggs and meat from birds eating feed that contains a coccidiostat, so keep this in mind as your chicks approach laying age.

From about 8 weeks of age, chicks become “pullets” and should move on to a grower feed.

Pullets require the right balance of vitamins and minerals for strong development

From 8 - 16 weeks, chicks are called pullets or growers. While they still eat best with softer foods, a pullet’s diet should contain less protein and more fibre. It’s often called a “grower feed”.

Because frames, bones and feathers are in growth mode, pullets need the right balance of vitamins and minerals for healthy development. Our Pullet Grower Mash is easy to feed and provides the ideal mix of calcium and phosphorus, with vitamin D for bone development and strength.

Make the introduction to a new food gradually by mixing the two over a few days. It’s best not to feed fresh greens to young birds as it can cause diarrhoea.

Due to the higher calcium content of layer pellets, never feed them to birds under 16 weeks of age. Once they reach 16 weeks, it is time to introduce them to a layer diet. As with chooks of any age, keep fresh, clean water available always.

Layers need less protein and more calcium

Once a chicken is 16 weeks of age, they’ll be getting ready to lay. This change is marked by their combs and wattles growing larger and changing from pink to red. This is the time to move them onto a layer feed specifically formulated with a balance of proteins, carbohydrates and fat.

A layer feed should have a protein content of 16-18% and a calcium content of 3-5%. There are a variety of textures available, each with its own benefits.

Mash is the most economical type of feed, with the grain ground to a powdered consistency and a blend of vitamins and minerals added. One disadvantage of the finer texture is that it can take birds longer to eat than pellets or crumbles and there’s a chance that they favour the larger pieces of grain while leaving the important ingredients, like the vitamins and minerals, behind.

Pellets provide complete nutrition for chickens, all conveniently squashed into a compressed and heat-treated form. The birds can’t selectively eat the grains, plus it’s quick and easy to measure out and feed.

A premium free-flowing blend like Scratch & Lay, combines grains, pulses, seeds, grit and high-protein pellets to provide optimal nutrition. Best of all, it encourages natural food foraging behaviour to keep chook minds busy.

Never forget that this is an animal with a sense of smell stronger than their sense of taste and primed to spend half their waking time foraging! Building a little challenge into feeding time makes for busy and happy chooks. 

The other important bits

When mature chickens have unrestricted access to a well-balanced and nutritional feed, and can help themselves whenever they want, they will be at their best.

Mealworms are a wonderful source of extra insect protein to scatter as a treat. They are highly popular with chooks and a good way to encourage natural foraging behaviour. The high protein content also helps to boost egg productivity.

If feeding anything additional to a complete feed, like table scraps, greens or single grains, it should be kept to 5-10g per bird. Chooks also need ready access to a dish of oyster shell grit to consume more calcium whenever they need it. Calcium is often consumed later in the day so it’s in their gut ready for egg production overnight. 

Needless to say, constant access to fresh clean water is a also must for birds of any age or stage.