Feed and Water in the Brooder — Starter Crumble, Grit and Clean Water
From Hatch to Coop: Raising Strong, Healthy Chicks — Part 4
Warmth keeps a chick alive through its first weeks. Nutrition is what turns it into a strong, well-grown, healthy bird. The good news is that feeding chicks well is not complicated — there's a right feed for the job, a few habits that keep it working, and a handful of common mistakes worth sidestepping. Get those right and your chicks grow evenly, feather properly, and move toward the coop in great shape.
In Part 3 we ran the temperature schedule. Now let's fill the feeder and the drinker properly.
Start With a Proper Chick Starter
From their first feed, chicks should be on a chick starter crumble — a feed formulated specifically for the first weeks of life. It matters for two reasons: the protein level (typically 18–20%) supports the rapid early growth and feather development a chick is going through, and the fine crumble texture is sized for a tiny beak and digestive system.
Don't be tempted to feed adult layer pellets to chicks. Layer feed is built for hens producing eggs — it's lower in protein and, critically, much higher in calcium. A chick's kidneys can't handle that calcium load, and long-term it causes real damage. Layer feed is for laying hens; starter is for chicks. Keep them separate.
Medicated or Unmedicated?
Chick starter comes in two types, and it's worth understanding the choice.
- Medicated starter contains a coccidiostat — usually amprolium — which helps protect chicks against coccidiosis, a common and often deadly gut parasite that thrives in warm, damp brooder conditions. It doesn't treat an active outbreak; it helps chicks build resistance while their immune systems mature.
- Unmedicated starter is exactly the same feed without the coccidiostat. It's the choice if you're vaccinating against coccidiosis (the medication would cancel the vaccine), or if you simply prefer to manage coccidiosis through scrupulous brooder hygiene instead.
One important note: if your chicks have been vaccinated for coccidiosis — some hatcheries do this — you must use unmedicated feed, or the medication will undo the vaccine. If you're raising unvaccinated chicks in a backyard brooder, medicated starter is a sensible, widely used safeguard. We cover coccidiosis and brooder health in full in Part 6.
How to Offer Feed
On the first day, scatter a little crumble on a paper towel or a shallow lid. The scattered grains and the sound of pecking teach chicks what food is — they learn fast by imitation. Once they've got the idea, move to a proper chick feeder.
A good feeder does one main job: it stops chicks standing in, scratching out, and fouling their food. A trough or a base-and-jar style feeder with narrow openings keeps feed clean and cuts waste dramatically. Chicks are enthusiastic scratchers, and an open dish of crumble becomes a fouled, wasted mess within hours.
Keep starter available free-choice, around the clock. Chicks eat little and often and shouldn't run out. Top up rather than letting the feeder empty and refill in big batches, which encourages them to gorge and waste.
Water — Clean, Shallow, and Always Available
We touched on water in Part 1 because it's the first thing a chick needs. Through the whole brooder period the same rules apply, and cleanliness is the one that gets neglected:
- Use a purpose-made chick drinker, never an open bowl. A narrow trough gives chicks access without letting them walk through, foul, or drown in it.
- Refresh water at least twice a day. Chicks foul water constantly, and dirty water is a direct route to gut disease. This one habit prevents a surprising number of losses.
- Raise the drinker slightly as chicks grow — sitting it on a low block or brick keeps bedding and droppings from being scratched into it.
- Room-temperature water. Cold water chills small chicks.
Clean water is the cheapest health insurance in the brooder. It costs nothing but attention, and it prevents more problems than any supplement.
Do Chicks Need Grit?
This one confuses a lot of new hatchers. The rule is straightforward:
- On chick starter alone, they don't need grit. Crumble is fully digestible and doesn't require grinding.
- The moment you offer anything else — chopped greens, a mealworm treat, scratch, anything beyond the crumble — chicks need fine chick grit. Birds have no teeth; they grind food in the gizzard using grit. Without it, treats can cause a dangerous gut impaction.
So if you're feeding starter and nothing else, skip the grit. If you're giving treats, offer fine grit in a separate small dish, free-choice, and the chicks will take what they need. And a related caution: go easy on treats generally. It's tempting, but treats dilute the balanced nutrition of the starter. A little chopped greens is fine; a brooder full of scratch and mealworms produces poorly grown chicks.
A Word on Supplements
Healthy chicks on good starter and clean water usually need nothing extra. Where a supplement genuinely helps is in specific situations — a stressful trip, a weak or slow-starting chick, or after an illness. A poultry-specific vitamin and electrolyte supplement in the water for the first few days can give a shaky batch a helpful lift. Products from ranges like Vetafarm are made for exactly this. Use them as a targeted tool, though, not a daily crutch — the foundation is always good feed and clean water.
Moving Off Starter
Chicks stay on starter for roughly the first 6–8 weeks, then move to a grower feed with a slightly lower protein level suited to steadier adolescent growth. They should not go onto layer feed until they're close to point of lay (around 16–18 weeks) — that calcium issue again. Feeding layer too early to growing birds is one of the more common and avoidable nutrition mistakes.
What Goes Wrong With Feed and Water
- Feeding layer pellets to chicks. Too much calcium, too little protein — damages growing birds. Use starter.
- Dirty or empty water. The most common preventable cause of gut disease and setbacks. Refresh twice daily.
- Open feed and water dishes. Fouled and wasted within hours. Use proper chick feeders and drinkers.
- Treats without grit. A fast track to impaction. Grit whenever anything but crumble is offered.
- Too many treats. Dilutes balanced nutrition and slows growth.
- Moving to layer feed too soon. Wait until near point of lay.
Practical Tips for Feeding Chicks
- Start on chick starter crumble (18–20% protein) from day one.
- Decide medicated vs unmedicated based on vaccination status and your hygiene approach.
- Scatter feed on paper for day one, then switch to a proper chick feeder.
- Keep starter available free-choice, around the clock.
- Refresh clean water at least twice a day in a shallow chick drinker.
- Add fine grit only when feeding anything beyond crumble.
- Keep treats minimal; save supplements for chicks that genuinely need a lift.
- Move to grower at 6–8 weeks; hold off on layer feed until near point of lay.
What's Next?
In Part 5, we cover the problems every hatcher should be able to spot early — pasty butt, splayed leg, chilling, dehydration and the warning signs of coccidiosis. Most chick losses are preventable when you catch them in the first day or two, and knowing what to look for turns a potential loss into a five-minute fix.
If you're unsure which starter to use, or want the right feeders and drinkers for your hatch, we're glad to help you sort it before the chicks arrive. 1300 771 457 or info@uneekpoultry.com.au.