When Can You Give Chicks Bugs/Table Food, Etc.?

[taffers]

My chicks are only a day old, but the kids have been saving crickets and june bugs for them and are dying to feed them! Can I give them bugs yet or is it too soon?

Also, I read that mashed up hard boiled eggs are good for them- starting when?

And then when can you start giving them table scraps?

Thanks!

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Too soon. Wait until they are 6 weeks. But you can feed them soft foods such as oatmeal and eggs now.

 

[JodyJo]

a bit soon....but, if you imagine them with their mothers, they would be foraging for everything...she would be showing them what to eat...chick starter dissolves, they don't need grit to digest it like other foods...if you offer something else, you will have to offer chick grit as well...1 day old is too young, in my opinion, to be giving them anything else but the chick starter...plenty of time for the fun stuff later!

 

[taffers]

Thanks! So I have been mixing chick grit into their medicated food- do I not need to give them grit??

 

[JodyJo]

medicated? hmmm, never used it...I prefer not to....its your choice...some people don't want that in their chickens systems...and when they start laying, it may be in the eggs as well....

I have a dish of sand in with my younger chicks, my older ones free range....so they get it in the dirt. They do not need grit if they are only eating chick starter. The bugs should be fine to feed in a week or so, like I said, my mama hens were showing their babies bugs to eat as soon as they could walk around....just don't over do it.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Thanks! So I have been mixing chick grit into their medicated food- do I not need to give them grit??

Chicks only need grit when they eat things other than their chick feed.

 

[taffers]

Oh really?! Ok because the mypetchicken.com site and a few other things I read said you need to put a bowl of grit in with baby chicks in addition to their feed for proper digestion, but I'd be happy not to give it to them because it's expensive!

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Oh really?!  Ok because the mypetchicken.com site and a few other things I read said you need to put a bowl of grit in with baby chicks in addition to their feed for proper digestion, but I'd be happy not to give it to them because it's expensive!

Yes. But once they are outside and / or eating other foods then they need grit. However, are they eating their bedding? Then they defiantly need it now.

 

[taffers]

The short answer is, I assume so?

I originally had construction sand from home depot as their bedding because I read that sand is the best bedding and construction sand is better than play sand. So I know they were eating that. But we lost a chick this morning, then I started hearing what sounded like pop rocks in the brooder- a couple of the chicks, one in particular, sounded like their stomachs were growling really loudly- it sounded exactly like pop rocks. So I freaked out (even though that had nothing to do with the chick we lost- she was sick from the moment we got her) and decided that it must be the sand because I looked at the bag and it says something like "this sand has chemicals that have been known to cause cancer" or something like that. So I immediately dumped it all out and got pine bedding. I've seen them pecking at it but not necessarily eating it, although I assume that they are.

Their current feeder has feed mixed with grit so at least until this one runs out, they will be getting grit.

 

[CollegeChicken]

sand should NOT contain chemicals of any kind...even the cheap construction sand from home depot is Non Toxic so I have no clue what kind of sand you got..................I have 5 chicks that have been free ranging with their mom and they eat everything and anything they can get their little beaks on....for brooder chicks: hard boiled eggs mashed up and maybe some oatmeal but thats it....if you want to offer bugs, etc, wait until they are 7 days old and just offer a small amount of grit ( parakeet grit is good too ) grit is NOT expensive so Im not sure where youre buying your grit either lollll... I wish you lots of luck with your beautiful babies!