You can learn a lot by watching a chicken. Those dirt clumps provide so many benefits, and I'm sure we really don't know just how many benefits they do provide. Ever held a wire worm in your bare hand for any length of time? Those monsters bite! And if baby chicks straight out of the nest can manage them, that in it'self is pretty cool!!! Some of the research re: fodder vs. sprouts does lean in the direction of sprouts having more nutrient than fodder. But either way, if it's green and growing, common sense says it's gotta be a good thing. It's so easy to provide green growing things for my birds in the winter, even if they have to grow in a jar on my counter. I've read some studies that say that simply the enzymatic action that is activated when a seed starts to germinate greatly increases the nutritional benefit of that seed, when all you've added is water. Add a bit of sun to activate the chlorophyl, and you've activated a nutrient factory.+1
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After raising three different batches of chicks in as many years, I now give my chicks a dirt clump as soon as I get them home and in their new digs.
twice I've had instances of Pasty butt in my chicks, each time after cleaning up the affected chick(s) the flock then got a clump of dirt. After the dirt was added there was no more pasty butt.
Also after watching my broody having her chicks scratching in the dirt on day two and eating wireworms(looks like a meal worm) straight out of the garden by day 4, I'm convinced of the usefulness of dirt clumps for very young chicks. In a way it's so funny, after letting a broody raise chicks this spring, so many questions regarding raising chicks were answered just by watching the broody with her clutch. I found myself responding to many questions on the Raising Chicks forum section with answers that started with "well, by day X my broody was doing xyz with her chicks"
I've only seen a couple of responses here the mentioned Fodder. I've read that fodder doesn't increase the nutrient level and may actually reduce it slightly. But regardless of the nutrient level of fodder, I do it through the winter to provide some fresh greens for the girls. Mine dont' get out to freerange much in the warmer weather as they will destroy the yard/garden. But when they do get out they all stop right outside the run and tear into the grass that was just out of reach when locked in the pen. This is the reason I feed fodder in the winter.
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