Good treats for baby chicks?

[HouseOfGiles]

Brand new to chickens, just got babies from the store yesterday. I adore them and am looking around my house for treats they can have. Can they have peeled kiwis? I have a feeling I have just stepped in to a black hole of chicken love. Sucked right in and already planning more!

 

[liveluvride]

First of all, you should start adding grit to food when they are about 3-4 months old. Feeding them a little bit of grit as youngsters wont hurt them but try not to use it more than twice a week. Also, grit should be added to things with grains, corn, seeds, ect. The grit does not need to be used with spaghetti or other soft foods because they do not have to grind that up in their gizzards. Normaly when you buy grit of even food, the instructions on the back give you some tips on using the grit. I hope this helps and good luck with your chicks!!!!

 

[liveluvride]

I think the kiwis would be alright but you may want to look around just to make sure they are safe. Chickens are like little fluff balls that fill up that little space in your heart and never leave

p.s. You might want to try chopped up strawberries too. My chickens love those and they work great for bribing them back in the run when they escape

 

[maae]

This is great, my chicks are only 4 days old now, I will probably wait till next week but I'm gonna try some of these suggestions. I'm so glad I'm here! This was a fantastic tread btw. There is always an answer to my question without me asking it, heehee. Thanks everyone.

 

[Marce705]

When my chicks arrived they really didn't want any treats...I tried yogurt, eggs, berries...after about a week they liked crickets...yep live ones. It was a riot watching them run around after them. Their baby food gives them everything they need though. As much as I wanted to give them every imaginable treat they really weren't interested. At about 2 weeks I chopped up some greens. Made them very very small and they were sort of into that. I found that they loved the grit so you have to be careful how much they actually get. They'll fill right up on it. I only gave them grit when I gave them crickets and greens. Have fun with them!!! I loved it when mine were babies. XOXOXOX

 

[PerseyPoops]

I'm new to this and trying to be as prepared as possible when the chicks arrive. I have a few questions about treats for baby chicks. I'm going to be tempted to spoil them right away and I want to do it in a way that won't harm them!

1. Is it better to wait as long as possible, at least to a week? I know things like hard boiled eggs have good protein, is that ok to give sooner?

2. Is it better to start them on soft treats that don't need grit, like yogurt and hard boiled eggs? What's the rule of thumb for what needs grit- if you could eat it without teeth, they can eat it without grit? Anything you'd give to a baby without teeth? Can they eat spaghetti without grit?

3. When's a good time to introduce foods that do need grit, and the grit itself?

4. When feeding yogurt, does it have to be a plain variety? I've seen pictures of adult hens eating what looked like blueberry yogurt. Can it be flavored? would chunks of fruit require grit?

Any more suggestions for favorite treats, and do they need grit, or not? I know about hard boiled eggs, yogurt, spaghetti and bugs (which do need grit, i know). I know people suggest oatmeal- is this cooked or raw?

I am assuming you do not have a mama hen with them and that is my only experience so some of my answers might not apply in your case.



With my babies we gave them raw millet, raw oats, and raw amaranth grains from the beginning. They didn't seem to like it as much raw at first as when we put some water on it so it softened then they loved it. Also fed them little bits of banana, papaya, and other fruit. Whatever you can break up into small bits for them is helpful because that's what mama hen does...pecks things and then drops it or they jump up and eat it from her mouth.

I would say boiled egg broken up in smaller pieces would be fine from the beginning, no need to wait.
I would also say most foods that can be mushed up easily enough with your fingers would be fine before they gave grit in their crop.

Also one way to get the babies to eat would be to tap the food with your finger nail or even scrape it and allow them to peck it out of your nail, like they would a mamas beak. You might even try making short clipped clucking noises (you might be able to get sound bites somewhere online) to mimic the mother hen and so they know the food is something for them to eat.

They also don't seem to like foods that stick to their beaks at first such as cooked grains but the raw form or soaked raw is fine.

Based on educated guess any kind of yogurt will do, the fruit in it is fine but I wouldn't give them anything with super high amounts of simple processed sugars while they are young. I don't believe fruit requires grit for them to digest...think of a baby person, they can swallow small pieces of very soft fruits no problem.

As for grit itself, they get it naturally from pecking at dirt and tiny bits of rock so my guess would be either put them outside in an area where that is available and watch them for a while, or bring some of that to them and see if they peck at it.

That's all I can think of, hope that helps.

 

[patgn]

I give my chickens watermelon rinds and watermelon itself. Also cantelopes. They are crazy about it. Also veggie peelings and excess garden stuff. Beautiful happy healthy barred plymouth rocks

 

[Crimson Clover]

This is a great thread! My chicks are between one and two weeks and was holding off on the treats because I thought they were to young. I can not wait to make them a nice treat dish tomorrow! Thanks for all of the great info and ideas! I really learned a lot!!

 

[brood mother]

Wow! Now I am really excited! I will try boiled egg today and see what they do! How much, th whole egg? I have 10 chicks. But let me get this straight, I nee to give them grit for stuff like mealtimes,cricket,grass clippings etc. Is that right? Fruit also?

 

[Sonya9]

Wow! Now I am really excited! I will try boiled egg today and see what they do! How much, th whole egg? I have 10 chicks. But let me get this straight, I nee to give them grit for stuff like mealtimes,cricket,grass clippings etc. Is that right? Fruit also?

Not if the fruit is soft, squishy and ripe. Think of grit like teeth, super soft foods that don't require teeth/chewing don't require grit.

Having said that pick some up when you get a chance and offer it, stick to soft foods until then. If you decide to put them on the lawn from some fun in the sun you will want to have grit available by then as they will likely eat grass and the odd bug if they find them.

(PS mine also love cooked oatmeal, I add a bit of water to it after cooking so it stays soft and they go crazy for it!)