A chicken’s dietary needs change from the time it is a cute little fluffy chick to the time it is fully mature and reaches reproduction age. Knowing what to feed growing chickens is important for the overall health of the homestead flock! Protein needs change, digestive systems become stronger, and additional dietary elements need to be introduced as your chicks grow and mature into happy, healthy adult chickens. Not to mention what treats, table scraps, snacks, and supplements can be introduced at the different stages of life! I enjoy adapting my flock’s diet as I raise them as naturally and sustainably as possible on the homestead! Let’s take a look at what growing chickens need to be fed!

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Choosing a Natural Diet

Now, there many ways you can choose to start your homestead flock off on a natural, sustainable diet. For the sake of clarity, I’m going to assume that you are choosing to start your chicks off on a controlled diet. Meaning you are not solely relying on pasture and forage to feed your chicks. Instead you must choose a formulated mix of ingredients to provide the essential nutrients and vitamins the chicks need to grow.

There are several ways you can go about this, including buying a pre-formulated chick feed, having a custom blend made at a local feed elevator, or mixing your own feed. If you choose to buy feed, you have even more options including choosing from pellets, mash, whole grain, or a mixture of those feeds! To top things off, you also need to decide if you are going to feed your chicks an organic diet or a non-organic diet.

To simplify things, I am going to outline what I consider to be a natural diet for the homestead flock (aside from pasture-raising). These diet principles will stay consistent throughout the growing stages of your chicks.

Homestead Poultry Diet Guidelines

• Choose Organic- Organic feeds and feed ingredients are more natural and more sustainable.
• Whole Grain Feed– Use a feed that consists of whole grains and other feed ingredients in their natural state. You can buy pre-formulated whole grain feeds, mix your own feed, or get a whole grain feed mixed at a local feed elevator.
• Mash or Mix- The second best choice to a whole grain feed is opting for a mash (the feed ingredients have been processed into smaller pieces but have not been pelletized) or a mixture of whole grains and pellets.
• Forage & Free Range- Allow your flock to free-range or forage in pasture as much as possible.
• Supplements– These are dietary elements that you periodically add to the diet to achieve a specific result. They are used for a certain amount of time and with a specific purpose. Supplements need to be seasonal and age appropriate.
• Treats– These are foods that are randomly fed to your flock. They can include table scraps, store-bought treats, and homemade treats. They should not be a daily part of your flock’s diet and should not exceed more than 10% of the diet at any given time.
• Snacks– These are healthy treats that can be fed on a regular basis. They are not quite supplements, but they do add nutrition and benefits to your flock’s daily diet. Snacks can be seasonal and should be age appropriate.
• Table Scraps– These are treats that include leftovers from meals, seasonal or imperfect produce, compost items, garden scraps, and any additional foods would otherwise be wasted or thrown away.

To learn more about feeding the homestead flock a natural diet, make sure you check out Choosing the Right Feed for the Homestead Flock and Feeding Chickens a Homestead Diet.

Nutrition Based on Age

Okay, we are almost done laying the groundwork! I just have a few more things I want to discuss before I outline what growing chickens should be fed at the different stages of their life. If you follow the guidelines mentioned above, you should be all set for feeding your chicks a natural, sustainable diet. However, you also need to be aware of the different nutritional needs and digestive development of your growing chicks.

The homestead poultry diet should be based on age, stage of life, and environmental factors. A chicken’s age affects everything about its diet. What foods can be eaten and how much of a food will be determined by the chicken’s age. How susceptible the chicken is to dietary imbalances or how prone it is to digestive issues can also be determined by age.

As a general rule, the younger the chicken the simpler the diet must be. A chick’s digestive system is still developing and is just kicking into gear for the first few days of its life. The nutrients provided by the foods the chick does eat are important for proper growth. Anything that dilutes the overall nutrition in a chick’s diet can cause imbalances or deficiencies in the diet. Since chicks are so small and the amount of food they eat is limited, they are more sensitive to overconsuming certain foods or nutrients.

As the chick grows, the feed consumption to body size ratio will even out, allowing more new items to be introduced into the diet without the risk of causing an imbalance. Once full maturity is reached, a chicken can consume a varied diet and make its own decisions about what foods to consume in the right ratios.

Changing Feeds

Different dietary needs also change at different stages of life. Protein is the major dietary element that varies depending on the development of the chicken.

For the first few weeks, baby chicks are growing and developing fast! They need to strengthen their bones, grow in insulating feathers, and still keep up with normal body growth. Protein is an extremely important element in a chick’s diet. That is why chick starter feeds contain the highest percentage of protein.

Once a majority of the growth spurt is over, protein is still needed for normal body functions, but additional protein is not needed since rapid growth has slowed down. Sometimes a grower feed is used during this time since it is often cheaper (less protein). However, most breeds do benefit from a diet high in protein right up until they reach reproduction age. That is why some chick starter feeds are also labeled as a chick starter/grower feed.

After the birds reach reproduction, most of the important growing has been completed and protein can be decreased in the diet. Protein is still needed for normal body functions and proper reproduction though. Thus, layer feeds should still contain a decent amount of protein, but not as much as a chick starter feed. Protein needs will also vary depending on the season and the weather.

To learn more about balancing protein in your flock’s diet, check out Balancing Protein in Your Flock’s Diet and Protein Sources for Chickens.

For now, let’s get onto how these basic principles can be applied to what you feed your growing chickens!

24-48 Hours Old

During the first few hours of a chick’s life its body is digesting the yolk that it absorbed while developing in the egg. During this time though, the chick should be introduced to life sustaining foods that will kickstart its digestive system and provide energy and nutrition for proper growth.

As a side note here, the first thing you should introduce your chicks to is water. First give them a sip of sugar water, then introduce them to their water source in the brooder. The calories in the sugar water will provide the chick with energy as it explores the brooder and finds the food source. Ensuring that your chicks are drinking before they are eating will help prevent pasty butt and dehydration. It will also help the digestive system function properly as it starts to digest solid foods.

Since the chicks are only hours old, you want to keep their diet super simple. The first food you should introduce is the chick starter feed that they will be eating as they grow and develop. Only after the chicks have learned where to find their primary food source should you introduce treats and supplements.

Diet

• Feed– 20-24% protein chick starter, organic
• Protein Needs- 20-24% protein
• Supplements– sugar water, probiotic water
• Treats- crushed whole oats, grass clumps
• Digestive Development– The digestive system is just getting started and foods must be kept simple and easy to digest.
• Imbalance Tolerance– All of the food that a chick is consuming at this age should be providing essential nutrients for growth. There is very little room for dietary deficiencies or imbalances. Avoid introducing foods that would take away from the nutrition the chicks should receive from their feed. Only foods that benefit the diet should be offered.

1-5 Weeks Old

After the first few hours of life, you will find that your chicks are eating and pooping machines! Proper growth demands energy, protein, and a nutrient rich diet. As your chicks grow and develop for the first five weeks of their life, their diet should be kept fairly simple and extremely healthy!

Over the course of five weeks, you can slowly introduce new food items to the chicks. The key here is choosing the right food items. Supplements can be added to the diet on a weekly basis or as needed. Stick with supplements that can either be added to the water source, offered free-choice, or are very mild acting.

Treats should be offered with moderation and should not overtake a major part of the daily food consumed by the chicks. Only healthy, helpful treats can be offered on a regular basis. When your chicks are closer to the 4-5 week age, you can introduce a few safe, beneficial table scraps. Your chicks can also be allowed to explore the outdoors (if the weather is appropriate) at any point during these first few weeks! Watch them as they develop instinctual foraging behaviors and sample outdoor goodies!

Diet

• Feed– 20-24% chick starter feed
• Protein Needs– 20-24%
• Supplements– probiotics, raw honey, free-choice garlic, free-choice herbs (check out these helpful supplements for chicks)
• Treats- crushed whole oats, crushed dried bugs, cooked egg, sprouts
• Table Scraps– cooked egg, cooked meat scraps, small amounts of fruits and vegetables
• Forage– Encourage your chicks to forage outdoors! Consider placing clumps of grass/herbs or safe weeds in their brooder for them to explore.
• Digestive Development- The digestive system is still developing, especially as new foods are introduced. However, it will continue to develop stronger and will be able to handle more varied foods. Make sure you supply free-choice chick grit along with any treats or table scraps to aid with digestion. Natural grass clumps with dirt attached to the roots can also function as a source of grit.
• Imbalance Tolerance– The chicks are still very vulnerable to diet deficiencies and imbalances at this stage. Only offer them foods that benefit the diet or add nutrition.

6-18 Weeks Old

Your chicks are still growing, however, they should be close to being fully feathered and some of their developmental growth will be slowing down during these weeks. At this point, you can switch to a feed that has slightly less protein if you so desire. Now, this is quite a range of weeks, so you must keep in mind that all these additions and changes to the diet should not be made all at once!

Make it a gradual process. Slowly introduce new foods over the course of these weeks and allow your growing chicks to choose what they want to eat and how much they want to eat of the extra foods you provide. Their main diet should still consist of a nutritionally complete feed, but a few more treats, supplements, and table scraps can be introduced. Closer to 10-12 weeks of age is when you can start adding in a daily (healthy) snack.

Like most growing kids, your young chickens may get very excited over certain new foods! Make sure you limit their consumption of these foods to ensure they are not compromising their diet by consuming more treats and less nutritionally complete feed. Treats and table scraps should not make up more than 10% of your growing chickens’ diet. The treats and table scraps you do offer at this age should be kept varied and should be highly nutritional.

Of course, foraging and free-ranging can be highly encouraged at this age too! If you have an older flock that free-ranges, the process of introducing the new flock members can begin through free-ranging them together.

Diet

• Feed– 18-24% chick starter OR 18-20% chick grower Or chick starter/grower feed
• Protein Needs– 18-24% protein
• Supplements- probiotics, free-choice garlic, herbs, kelp, brewer’s yeast, raw honey, apple cider vinegar, other natural supplements
• Treats- whole oats, seeds (sunflower, hemp, flax, chia), dried bugs, whole grains (millet, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat), store-bought treats, sprouts, fodder
• Table Scraps– meat scraps, fruit and vegetable scraps
• Forage– If possible, allow your growing chickens to free-range on a daily basis!
• Snacks– dried bugs
• Digestive Development– The young chickens’ digestive systems should be fully developed. Now it’s just a matter of slowly introducing new foods to prevent any digestive upset.
• Imbalance Tolerance– Of course, chickens can be susceptible to a dietary imbalance at any point in their life, but now your growing chickens are able to handle their own diet better. Being fed a homestead diet, they can choose what foods they need in more accurate amounts when given the choice.

19+ Weeks Old

Now your growing chickens are reaching their final growing stages! They are entering reproduction age and from here on out any dietary changes will be based on environmental factors and seasonal needs. At this point, you need to decide what the daily feed source is going to be for your homestead flock.

If you are not pasture-raising or mixing your own feed, you have several feed options available on the market. The most common feed is a layer feed. This feed contains all the nutrients needed by laying hens to keep them healthy and productive. While it is not ideal for roosters due to the calcium content, roosters can still consume a daily diet of layer feed (especially if it is a whole grain mix). Other feed options include a flock maintenance feed (which is harder to acquire), a breeder feed, or a show feed. Here’s a quick break down of the different feeds:

Feed Options:

• layer feed– ideal for laying flocks, usually contains 15-18% protein and supplemental calcium
• maintenance feed– ideal for mixed flocks, still contains 15-18% protein but without a high calcium content
• breeder feed– ideal for breeding flocks, higher in protein (18-20%), contains additional nutrients to support reproductive health
• show feed– ideal for show chickens, usually contains higher protein and additional supplemental ingredients to promote overall health

At this age, you will now need to provide an essential free-choice supplement of calcium. Hens need supplemental calcium once they start laying so that they can maintain healthy bone structure and still make strong eggshells. A free-choice calcium supplement source should be available to your hens at all times from now on!

Your flock can also be fed a homestead diet of treats, supplements, and table scraps. Supplements that promote overall good health can be incorporated into the diet on a weekly basis. A daily snack can be added to your flock’s diet as long as it is a healthy, beneficial food item. However, still ensure that the total amount of treats, snacks, and table scraps consumed in one day does not exceed 10% of the flock’s diet.

Use moderation and common sense from here on out when feeding your homestead flock!

Diet

• Feed– layer feed OR flock maintenance feed OR breeder feed OR show feed
• Protein Needs– 15-18% protein for layers, 18-20% for breeding
• Calcium Supplements- crushed oyster shells, crushed eggshells
• Supplements– garlic, herbs, probiotics, kelp, brewer’s yeast, apple cider vinegar, raw honey, other natural supplements
• Treats– any foods that are safe for your chickens to consume, check out this guide for buying store-bought chicken treats
• Table Scraps– check out this list of healthy table scraps for chickens and try to feed your flock a seasonal diet
• Forage– If possible, let your flock free-range on a daily basis!
• Snacks- dried black soldier fly larvae, sunflower seeds, whole oats
• Seasonal Needs– You will now be making changes to your flock’s diet based on seasonal needs. Important changes to keep in mind include high protein during the fall molt, protein and high-energy treats during the winter, and limited treats during the summer.

Knowing what to feed growing chickens doesn’t have to be complicated! Try to mimic a natural poultry diet as much as possible and give your chickens the option to eat what they want, when they want. The basic feeding principle to keep in mind is, “the younger the chicken, the simpler the diet”. Also, remember that growing chickens need more protein in their diet. Slowly introduce new foods to your growing chicks and always start off with simple, high nutritional foods. Stick to a natural homestead diet for your chicks as they grow and they will develop into healthy, happy adult chickens!

For more tips on raising your homestead flock, make sure you are a part of our weekly modern pioneer newsletter community! Reach out to us with any questions, we love helping fellow homesteaders raise their flocks naturally and sustainably!

by Alexa