Many livestock breeders, especially beginners, are interested in how to feed their chicks in order to get good chick growth. Indeed, it is proper feeding that contributes to the health of birds. Food for chicks must comply with all established norms. If the care is carried out poorly, then there is a risk of diseases of the chicks, as well as their death. This article will talk about what kind of grass can be given to chickens.

Feeding chicks

Feeding small chickens is not a difficult task, you can buy or prepare feed yourself. It is important that the diet of the chicks changes significantly with age. In stores you can find compound feeds intended for all ages of birds. In addition to him, babies need to be given fermented milk products, cereals and always herbs.

What grass can be given to chickens

Monthly chicken feed should consist of:

  1. Cereals. In this case, the grain should be crushed and rid of the top film. If a wet mash is given, then it is made on the basis of sour milk or skim milk.
  2. The diet of future layers should include such products as: whey, reverse, cottage cheese, yogurt. Thanks to them, chicks receive the calcium necessary for bone growth, a complex of vitamins and minerals.

Important! Fermented milk products should always be fresh, so as not to provoke the development of intestinal diseases. Instead of water, chicks should be given whey.

  1. The bird menu should also include greens. You need to feed it in every season. If the grass is no longer there, then it can be replaced with sprouted cereals, grass flour, nettle, dried hay. In order to feed the chicks with greens, you need to prepare a hanging feeder.
  2. Vitamins must be added to the feed. It is especially important to consume vitamins such as E, A, D. With their help, you can prevent the development of pathologies such as rickets, lameness, weakening of blood vessels. The only condition is not to overdose in any way.

After the chick is born, at least twelve hours must elapse before the first feeding. Babies need to be fed eight, nine times a day.

You need to feed such products as:

  • small groats of millet, corn, oats;
  • hard boiled egg;
  • cottage cheese;
  • onions and dill.

Frequent chick feeding should continue throughout the first week. After that, the number of feedings decreases.

At the same time, they add to the diet:

  • seashells,
  • fine river sand,
  • flour,
  • eggshells,
  • charcoal.

Is it possible to feed chickens with grass

The opinions of poultry farmers differ on whether or not it is possible to feed the chicks with grass. According to the first, chopped greens should be given directly on the first day. The latter prefer to feed the chicks with greens only when their feathers grow.

What grass can be given to broilers

Greens are essential for chicks during growth and development, as they contain a large amount of vitamins, minerals, proteins and organic compounds. Without them, it is difficult to raise chicks healthy and strong.

Feeding young animals with grass should be carried out following all the recommendations of experts, depending on the age of the chick.

Is it possible to feed chickens with grass

You can feed babies with grass after the first three days. Nettle is used first for this. It needs to be crushed and mixed with the main feed in a ratio of one to five.It is this herb that contains a large amount of nutrients, such as proteins, carbohydrates that provide energy. In addition, it contains iodine and iron, potassium, magnesium, zinc, manganese, which promote growth and development. The vitamins found in the plant prevent the development of diseases.

What grass can be given to chickens

In addition to nettles, chicks can be fed with herbs such as:

  • Bird Highlander;
  • Sprouted grain;
  • Dandelion;
  • Purslane;
  • Millennium;
  • Meadow clover.

What types of grass can be given to chickens

In addition, farmers often feed their pets with tops of the following vegetables:

  • Cabbage;
  • Radishes;
  • Beets;
  • Sorrel;
  • Carrots;
  • Luke;
  • Salad;
  • Garlic;
  • Parsley;
  • Jerusalem artichoke;
  • Fennel.

The tops should be washed, chopped and mixed with the main feed. It is customary to dry it for the winter. Thus, the birds receive nutrients throughout the year. But the most important thing is to know when to feed chickens with grass.

When to feed chickens greens

Grassy chicken feed begins to be fed in the first month of life. It is necessary to introduce greens into the broiler's diet gradually, since a large amount of new component can harm a duckling or chicken. Before giving nettles to chickens, you need to carefully monitor the stools of babies. A slight upset is acceptable on the first day of complementary feeding, but then everything should return to normal. If the diarrhea persists, then the herb should be eliminated from the diet immediately. Grown chicks will graze themselves over time.

When to feed chickens greens

What grass can be given to chickens

As soon as the kids get used to the new component, they begin to give the grass to the chickens in its pure form.

Important! Greens for chicks should always be clean and finely chopped.

Greens are given to pets based on the following norms:

  • from 0 to 5 days - 1 year;
  • 6-10 days - 3 years;
  • 11–20 days - 7 years;
  • 21-30 days - 10 g;
  • 31-40 days - 15 years;
  • 41-50 days - 17 g.

A week-old chick may already be eating boiled potatoes. In this case, you need to make sure that you do not get a green tuber, since it contains a poisonous substance called solanine.

Not only are nettles important for chickens, you need to know how to give them other greens as well. For feeding chickens with dandelion, it is recommended to take only leaves - the stem contains juice that has a bitter taste. It contains vitamin A, due to which the plant has medicinal properties.

Green onions for chickens are useful in high amounts of vitamins.

Care must be taken when adding beet tops to feed. Since it contains a lot of juice, it can cause intestinal upset in babies, and they will develop diarrhea.

It is very important to give duckweed to chickens, since it contains a large amount of vitamins and microelements. Thanks to them, the chicks begin to grow quickly and build muscle mass. It can be fed both raw and dried, since all the beneficial qualities are preserved either way.

After seven days, the chickens are released for walking in the pen. Such corrals can be made from a chain-link mesh. Chickens will not only peck at the crushed grain, but also nibble on the grass. As soon as the need arises, the aviary can be moved to another location.

When preparing feed for chickens, you need to add safflower cake in an amount of five to ten grams per head. With the help of such components, babies quickly develop and grow healthy.

Tips from experienced poultry farmers

What grass can be given to piglets

In large poultry farms, the chicks are fed professionally created compound feed.

It's worth noticing! Preparing such a composition is within the power of not only professionals. At home, the poultry farmer can combine the diet of the chickens on his own.

For babies to grow up quickly, they need vitamins and minerals.

Tips from experienced poultry farmers

The main components for compound feed are:

  • vegetables and fruits;
  • corn;
  • waste food.

In addition, professionals recommend adding boiled potatoes and other root vegetables to your food.

It should be noted! It is much easier to give this food to chicks at home, since it is grown in the garden. It contains a large amount of nutrients, you can significantly save money on the purchase of feed.

In order for chickens to build muscle mass, they need to be fed with components that contain protein.

These products include:

  • Milk and its processed products such as cottage cheese, whey and return;
  • A fish;
  • Insects such as the May beetle or Colorado potato beetle.

Chicks love to eat greens.

Chicks love to eat greens

Therefore, in their diet, it is imperative to include foods such as:

  • Nettle;
  • Spurge for chickens;
  • Peas;
  • Alfalfa;
  • Clover.

These plants will bring the chicks a lot of pleasure, in addition, they will supply vitamins, minerals and other useful substances to their body. In addition, chickens also like to peck fruit. They also contain a large amount of micronutrients. By combining the diet of the chicks in this way, you can be sure that the poultry farmer will subsequently receive a healthy and strong bird with excellent quality meat.

To prepare a feed mixture, you need to take twenty-five percent of wheat and the same amount of barley, ten percent of peas, twenty percent of soybeans and corn and five percent of sunflower meal.

To these feeds should be added:

  • Fish meal;
  • A piece of chalk;
  • Vitamins;
  • Yeast;
  • Shells.

You can add vegetables:

  • Grated zucchini;
  • Pumpkin;
  • Potato waste.

Necessarily - greenery, it is best to make sure that the kids constantly have access to it. For this, a small structure is built that can be easily moved from place to place. Such an aviary will serve for more than one year for growing poultry at home.

Chicks need to be fed intensively at any age. Be sure to adhere to all recommendations and tips. This is especially true for monthly chicks. Thus, it will be possible to grow large chickens, whose meat will contain many useful qualities.