What and How To Feed Chicks
As soon as you have the chicks inside your chicken brooder, it is very important that you get them some water. Place it in a heavy and low bowl so that the water does not tip over. A heavy bowl or ashtray can do the job. Make sure that the chicks have water all the time and that it is clean.
Take each of the chicks and tip its beak in the water bowl. Wait until the chick puts its head back and opens and closes its beak. They should have learned to drink by then. After this, they should start to look for food by instinct.
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No food is given to the chicks for the first 48 hours except for some grit like bone or oyster shell. This will clean the digestive organs of the chicks. On the third day, they can have stale bread moistened with sweet milk and pressed almost dry. In the next two or three days, small quantities of stale bread crumbs and fine oatmeal make a good portion. It is best to feed the chicks in small helpings but frequent intervals.
After three days, you can also feed the chicks with a chick starter feed and some grit or you can give them oatmeal, flaked instant cereal and other 
whole-grain cereals. Blend these whole grains slightly in a blender. Make sure that there is food for the chicks all the time. No need to worry about over feeding, they will stop eating when they are full.
Watch the chicks closely and if they don’t take the food and the water, you can help them by dipping their beaks. Try to peck at the food with your fingers and put marbles in the water containers. Show the chicks how to peck and if you are able to get some of them to eat and drink, the others should follow.
When the chicks reach six weeks old, you can start giving them pullet grower feed. Pullet grower feed should be given to smaller breeds for the next 20 weeks. Larger breeds can be fed the same for 25 weeks.
Still, many chicken raisers choose to feed crumbles, which are actually crushed pellets, to their chicks. These feeds are formulated to give the nutrition that the chicks need in each stage of their development. In addition, most starter feeds are medicated to prevent serious diseases in chicken flocks.
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