we always fed them chops, chopped up corn, and some basic chick feed.
I have also heard of feeding them cat food, but never tried it.
When we had a mix of young and older ones, we went ahead and gave them a combo of chops and laying pellets, and even some protien feed.

Chick starter, or starter /grower(preferally medicated with Amprolium to build cocci resistance) can be fed right up to egg laying. Layer rations are not designed for growing young birds, it is designe to make the most eggs with most cost efficiancy. too much calcium for young is but 1 reason. Too much fat is also a result which can lead to other problems.

Enjoy your chickens! :) What kind are you getting, and are they going to be for meat, eggs or as pets?

Good advice on what to feed from shelly & fanci. Avoid layer ration for youngsters of course, and remember that chickens are omnivores--they can eat practically anything, just like you and I. For goodies you can offer raw corn on the cob, diced tomatos, diced grapes, raisins, leftover pasta (cut up into non-chokable lengths), scrambled eggs, that last bite of two of your cheesburger, etc. Really the only non-nos are raw meat (can carry harmful bacteria) and chocolate (toxic to birds). Everything else in moderation is good. Cat food is high in ash and salt and so can damage the birds kidneys, so offer it as a rare treat and in very small amounts. Chickens LOVE live mealworms, you can get some at your pet store (kept refrigerated, so ask at the counter).

Make sure to keep your chicks very well protected in the tractor, predators are VERY patient and clever about getting a chicken dinner, especially at night. They are adept at tunneling under wire and reaching through it, or just plain ripping through things like chicken wire, which is NOT designing to keep chickens safe (it's not strong enough).

If you click on my 'My Page' link, there is a link there to my chicken info site, which has tons of chicken information (and pictures finally, yay!) that may help also. :)

Velvet ~:>

Thanks for the great advice about the chicken wire! We were thinking about going with that because the tractor itself turned out very sturdy and we really didn't think we'd need to add any more rigidity with sturdy wire. I didn't know those rotten 'coons could kill the birds right through the stuff. Between that and my sweet corn, I swear...