So you’re welcoming a new batch of baby chicks into your flock, how exciting!! Maybe they’ve hatched in your backyard coop or maybe you’re swooping by your favorite local feed store to scoop up a few (or a few dozen) chicks. Wherever you’re getting your baby chickens this season you’ll need the proper setup and supplies to start them off right on a happy, healthy journey through life. A clean, warm brooder and plenty of water are vital, as is a nutritious diet that is perfectly formulated for the specific needs of growing chicks.
The Scratch and Peck Feeds Chick Starter Kit makes caring for your new chicks as easy as 1-2-3! It’s the perfect trifecta of supplies to get you and your new chicks off on the right foot (or, feet?).
Let’s take a deep dive into our Chick Starter Kit to see exactly what it offers…
Naturally Free Organic Starter – Nutritionally Complete Chicken Feed
Our Naturally Free Organic Starter is a Non-GMO Project Verified and Certified Organic blend of regional grains grown by family farms. We mix these grains with organic flax meal, wild-caught fish meal, and necessary vitamins and minerals to make our Naturally Free Starter organic poultry – the best natural feed solution for chicks, ducklings, and turkey poults. (See our online feed guideline for additional protein requirements for poults.)
Our feed formulation gives your young flock enough protein to jumpstart their growth and plenty of vitamins and minerals to provide them with the tools they need for healthy development from chick to hen.
We believe a healthy diet and a clean environment are the most important things for your birds’ health. Starting your chicks off right with healthy flock management methods will help your chicks throughout the first few months of life. As our feed is medication-free, we recommend adding a few drops of (apple cider vinegar is a natural anti-bacterial) as a great natural preventative to help ensure your little hens stay happy and healthy.
5 Star Review of Organic Starter Feed from a happy customer:
After a lot of research on the different products available, Scratch & Peck was a no brainer”. The ingredients, the nutrition … everything is awesome, plus our chickens LOVE IT!!! We use both the starter and the grower, and we have healthy, happy, active chickens. Thank you!
Cluckin’ Good Organic Herbs
Our Cluckin Good anic Herbs are an excellent choice as a natural remedy and immune booster for young flocks. Herbs have been used throughout history to support digestive and circulatory health. The xanthophylls found in the calendula flower deepen yolk coloring in eggs, and nettles have been known to increase eggshell strength when used regularly. The herbs in our organic mix have been carefully selected for their known beneficial attributes and natural preventative properties.
Common benefits associated with the herbs in our blend:
Cluckin’ Good Poultry Grit
Chickens swallow their food whole. The food then travels from the crop, through the body to an organ called the gizzard. The gizzard is a second stomach that grinds the food up using small rocks and bits of insoluble material they’ve swallowed for further digestion. In nature, chicks and chickens instinctively swallow sand and small rocks for this purpose but your backyard flocks need this to be supplemented in their diet.
This is where grit comes in. Grit is necessary for the healthy development of a chicken’s gizzard and it comes in various sizes formulated for chickens at various stages of their life.
Scratch and Peck Feeds offers grit in three sizes – Chick, Grower, and Layer. We recommend Cluckin Good Chick Grit from hatching to 8 weeks, with our Cluckin Good Grower Grit being the appropriate size from 8 weeks to 20 weeks and Cluckin Good Layer Grit for chickens aged 21+ weeks. Broilers should switch directly from Cluckin Good Chick Grit to the Cluckin Good Layer Grit at 4 weeks of age.
Made up of insoluble crushed quartzite and/or granite, grit remains in the bird’s gizzard to help with digestion. Grit is an essential part of your chicken’s diet and should always be provided, especially if there is no access to small rocks. Sprinkle in a pinch Cluckin Good Chick Grit into your chicks feed.
Have more questions about chick care and raising a healthy, happy flock? You can always contact us on social media, email us at hello@scratchandpeck.com, or leave a comment on our blog!