Chicken Feed Uses

Chickens are not the only animals that eat chicken feed. Many birds and other animals can eat chicken feed exclusively or supplement their diet with it. If feeding chicken feed to any bird or animal, you need to know whether the feed is medicated because some animals do not need to eat medicated chicken feed. Chicken feed made for different stages of a chicken's life have different nutritional values. Keep the original packaging so that can remember what kind of chicken feed you have before giving it to an animal.

  1. Feeding Chickens

    • Chicken feed comes in three types: mash, crumbled and pellets. Mash is fine, pellets are compressed mash and crumbled is broken up pellets. Feeding baby chickens with chicken feed requires a feeder; use starter feeder until their feathers come in. Starter feeder is chicken feed that has the proper amount of nutrients for young chicks. Feed them maintenance feed until they begin to lay eggs. While laying, chickens also need egg booster and scratch. Medicated chicken feed is good for the first few weeks of life, but afterward is unnecessary. Chicken feed with antibiotics is more expensive, and some growers do not feel it is worth the extra money.

    Feeding Ducks

    • Ducks can eat chicken feed unless it is medicated. Medicated chicken feed can cause illness or death in ducks. Fine, powdery chicken feed may choke the ducks, so pellets are safer to use. The chicken feed should have 15 percent to 16 percent crude protein to be a healthy duck diet. They should also be allowed to forage for additional nutrition.

    Feeding Geese

    • Geese thrive on chicken feed. Gooslings do well on chicken starter feed until they are about two to three weeks of age. Then they should be put on grower chicken feed. You can supplement the chicken feed diet with grains. It is not necessary to use medicated chicken feed, though it is not dangerous as it is to ducks. After five to six weeks of age, the chicken feed diet should be supplemented with adequate foraging.

    Feeding Wild Birds

    • Wild birds love to steal chicken feed. Giving wild birds their own serving in a bird feeder may prevent some of the chicken's food from being stolen. Bird feeders can also serve as feeders for baby chickens. Chickens sometimes steal food put in bird feeders for wild birds. It does not hurt the chickens but this is not a sufficient diet. They should get plenty of well-balanced chicken feed.

    Growing Mealworms

    • Chicken feed pellets are a good substance to use for growing a colony of mealworms in a plastic tub or litter box. Ironically, much of the commercially produced chicken feed is made from mealworms. The box is filled with chicken feed and fresh food, such as fruit and vegetable peels, are added for nutrition. The effect of medicated chicken feed on mealworms is uncertain, but growers usually avoid potential danger and use chicken feed that is unmedicated.

    Growing Snails

    • Chicken feed is often used by snail growers to make up the 20 percent of a snail's required bran diet. The other 80 percent of their diet is vegetable. Snails only feed from April until October and take another break from eating during the summer. They stop eating when they mate and resume after the eggs are laid. Supplements of calcium are added to the chicken feed and vegetable diet.

    Unique and Alternative Uses

    • If you have extra chicken feed lying around and you need to use it up, get creative. Chicken feed can be used to create bird feeder. Get the kids together and have a crafty afternoon by taking an old toilet paper or paper towel holder and punching a hole in one end of it. Then string some yarn through it. Finally, roll it in peanut butter and then again in the chicken feed. Hang it for the birds. They will eat it and then use the scraps to build nests.