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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 March 5th, 2026
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 March 5th, 2026
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 March 5th, 2026

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 March 5th, 2026
Read more about keeping chickens. If you’re considering them as pets, they can be relatively easy and inexpensive to maintain.
Updated on March 5th, 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 November 25th, 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 November 25th, 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 November 25th, 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 November 25th, 2025
These foods can be fed to poultry but they may not include all the nutrients necessary for optimum health. It is good that the potato is cooked because a raw potato can cause health issues for chickens. Depending on the type of whole grain offered they may not be getting enough protein. Usually chickens are fed a grain mixture, called scratch grains with a pellet or crumble made for the age of the bird. For example, we feed a growing ratio when developing when chickens are young or a laying ratio when the hens are old enough to lay eggs.
Updated on November 25th, 2025