Chic diet

In limited quantities you can start right now. Finely chopped greens, meal worms or other bugs, and that sort of thing. Just don't give them more than they can clean up in a few minutes once per day. They need to be getting most of their nutrition from their balanced ration.

My brooders are in an open bay of my workshop. This time of year the brooder lights draw night bugs. No need to introduce them to the chicks. They've already met! A big beetle or moth gets in while I've got the box open and it's Jurassic Park all over again.

This is good to know, thanks for posting. My Chicks are only 1 week old. I'm only feeding them the Chick Starter food, should they be eating Grit as well???

 

What A.T. Hagan said.

 

I give mine small amounts of finely minced veggies from the start.

 

Chick grit is used for grinding up the food, in the gizzard. Kinda like teeth.

It is needed whenever you start feeding anything other than the starter feed.

 

Imp- bugs are yummy

 

Edited for clarity- chick grit is not needed if the chicks are only eating starter. It is soft enough.

 

Edited a second time to welcome housemama23 and GSDBESTK9 to BYC.

Edited by Imp - 4/9/12 at 11:27am

Awesome!! Thank you! :)

 

 

I have introduced several soft foods to my 4 and a half week old chicks since they were 1 week old.  Some went great, others not so much.  Eggs (scrambled and hardboiled) and apples were a no go.  Romaine lettuce shredded, yogurt, Silver Hills Squirley bread, steamed mashed carrots all went good.  We give them very small amounts every other day.

My chicks were just over a week old when my b/f gave them a big fat june bug. They went nuts! I wouldn't have thought they could eat something that big, but they figured it out. There was running, peeping, tug-of-wars - it was hilarious! Good thing I had already started giving them a little grit sprinkled over their food. They are three weeks old now, and had their first cricket yesterday. Similar reaction. :)

So as soon as I start giving them other food, I have to make sure they have access to Grit right? And where do you all get the worms from???

Yes, as soon as they start eating things other than their starter feed. they will need grit.

but sometimes for the first time with grit ...they might think it is food and eat too much. just watch them and take it away for bit.

 

Some people dig worms or grow their own. You can do a search at the top of the page for Earthworms or mealy worms. there is a lot of info here on BYC about worms.