Regular readers will be aware that we’ve had the first chick in decades hatch here at Oldfarm recently. I am like a doting Auntie with it 🙂
As soon as it hatched, I went into ‘how do we feed it’ mode? I hadn’t thought about it before. Well, it was my first time being a chick auntie.
Mammy hens don’t breast feed – so how do I feed it????
Mammy hen had been sitting on 8 or 10 eggs but only one baby emerged.
Off I went in search of chick feed.
Firstly, it only comes in 20 kg bags! I have only one chick!
Then you read the label on the 20 kg bag – it is full of really really bad stuff.
So thank God for google. There I am standing on Main Street, Birr googling home-made chick feed!!!! I told you I was doing my doting Auntie bit.
And I came across this recipe from Garden Betty – check out her amazing site. She gives a very good breakdown of the proteins, etc. in the various ingredients.
home-made chick feed
Birr isn’t exactly the place to be trying to source some of the ingredients but I improvised.
Here’s my recipe for home-made chick feed:
- 4 ozs Porridge Oats
- 4 ozs Wheat Germ
- 2 ozs Linseed
- 1 oz Lentils – I used red just because that was what I had
- 1 oz Sesame seeds
- 1 oz Poppy seeds
- 1 oz Sunflower seeds
The first evening I made up the mix I did blitz it down in the mixer, but I needn’t have bothered. If you watch closely Mammy Hen actually breaks down any big bits for chick… and the chick is well able to swallow the whole porridge oats.
How long will the above mix last? Less and less time as the chick grows and eats more! The first time it lasted a couple of days – now I am making it almost on a daily basis.
Needless to say it has gone from the lovely cutsie look to the gangly teenager look already, and it is just coming up on one month old.
It definitely does seem to be thriving, hopefully it will continue to do so.
Does anyone else make their own feed?
A Year In Redwood 
Being a Red Hen, I should know more about this, but I don`t. And I`ve given up on figuring out what my gangly teens will eat anyway! Your mix looks good enough though to serve up to your human guests for breakfast!
I know, I was looking at the photo and thinking that would probably make a nice granola type breakfast!
That is one lucky chick!!
Sure is well fed teenager for sure!!!!
[…] When we had our chick born here last year I enquired locally about buying chick feed – the technical term is ‘chick crumb’ – the smallest bag I could get was huge! And was full of gm maize and corn so I resorted to making my own. […]
Will this mixture work for all age chickens including ones laying ?
I think so…. I am currently feeding it to Mums and chicks…. the Mums love the pumpkin and sunflower seeds… and I’ve also added split peas to my latest mix and they are loving those too!