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Learn how to take care of a Chicken, recommended diet and habitat setup. Find the right food, supplies and equipment at your neighborhood Petco.
Updated on October 23rd, 2025
Learn how to take care of a Chick, recommended diet and habitat setup. Find the right food, supplies and equipment at your neighborhood Petco.
Updated on October 23rd, 2025
Do you have questions about what to feed your chicken(s)? Petco has the answers! Visit us to learn about chicken dietary needs.
Updated on October 23rd, 2025

Discover how to choose the best supplements for your pet’s health, from essential vitamins to joint support and digestion aids. Learn age-specific and seasonal supplement tips for cats and dogs.
Updated on October 23rd, 2025
Read more about keeping chickens. If you’re considering them as pets, they can be relatively easy and inexpensive to maintain.
Updated on April 2nd, 2026
If they are egg layers, feed a layer feed. For chickens raised for meat, feed a grower feed. Vitamins can be added to food or water. Medications should only be administered on the advice of a veterinarian who has physically examined them.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Choose a commercial pelleted diet labeled as "all flock" or "flock raiser". This is a complete diet for most chickens. For the hen, you will need to supplement calcium, especially if she is a layer. You can offer her crushed oyster shells freely. Do not use a layer diet for both. The calcium levels would be too high for the rooster leading to potential health issues for him. The website www.backyardchickens.com is an excellent resource for information regarding the husbandry and feeding of domestic chickens.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
A commercially prepared laying formula (pellet or crumble) that is 16-18% protein is the best nutritional diet for hens that are laying or of laying age, as well as roosters. If a commercially available diet is not available, you can put together a decent ration with these grains and dried vegetables: cracked corn, lentils, split peas and whole or rolled oats. The homemade ration may be better suited for free-range chickens that can also eat live plants and bugs to supplement their diet. I do not recommend a commercial diet that contains any medications (such as a Coccidiostat) for hens that are laying as people should not be ingesting this in the eggs that are laid.
Updated on December 4th, 2025
Hello. Some feed co-ops will have their own brands that they mill themselves, & there are regional graineries as well. Nutrena is a well known national brand, as is Dumor. Personally, I use Purina & Nutrena, altho in a pinch, I will pick up the brand made by a nearby grain mill. So yes, Purina is an excellent brand. Thanks for using Boop by Petco.
Updated on December 4th, 2025
Hello. It is very common to see reproductive disease in chickens including salpingitis & egg yolk peritonitis. If you could bring her indoors where it is a bit cooler, feed her nutritious foods such as cornbread, cooked eggs, even a bit ( not much ) of canned cat food & see if she perks up. Many of these birds are actually in quite a bit of pain, so if there is any way to have her seen by a vet, this would be best. X-rays are often taken in these cases to evaluate the internal organs or see if she is actually egg bound. There is a lot we know about chickens, but sometimes not much we can do to save them. Hope you can have her evaluated soon. Thanks for using Boop by Petco.
Updated on September 24th, 2025