Baby chicks that hatch out dont really take to eating or drinking water until about day 3..... they live off their soaked up yolk for a few days....
I still dip their beaks in water once or twice a day, and peck at food on the floor of the brooder and scratch it around with my finger... but im pretty sure they dont take to it until day 3 or 4... just wanted to verify...
Hi,
Ok this begs an answer from the new current nutrigenomics research I have been following in the scientific poultry journals. It flies in the face of that old advice. Here's how it goes. Ready for this? Proven by studies, you can look them up.
Ok,the chick hatches. During the1st 2-3 days it uses body reserves to run the "engine" which is digesting the residual egg yolk. Those reserves are the same foundational reserves used by the chick to help determine how much flesh it will lay on the keel bone when it is mature. If we feed the chick starting within an hour or so of it leaving the shell, it can use the nutrition from the feed to help run that engine and according to the studies can result in laying more flesh on the keelbone when it is mature because it has not used those foundational body reserves. Now for myself, I put 2-4ml per gallon of Bovidr Labs Poultry Nutri-Drench in the chick's water. My solution looks like
very weak tea. This emergency nutrional supplement does
not need digesting. It mainlines directly into the chick's bloodstream. Measureable in 30 minutes, all natural with 99%utilization. I do this because I want the chick's G.I. tract and immune systems to get off to a strong start. And they do. I also cannot be sure every chick will take to feed right away and I know they need this nutrition available to their body systems
immediately. http://www.nutridrench.com
Also, since the Nutri-Drench does not need to be digested it is supplementing the chick even while to chick is learning how to eat so there is no "empty period" when the neonatal chick is not receiving quality nutrition. This is very important, I
cannot stress this enough about no "empty period". The chick goes thru very rapid growth of the G.I tract in the 1st 3 days of life. You are never gonna get back this neonatal "window of opportunity". The Nutri-Drench makes sure the chick has a steady supply of readily available nutrition during this crucial time.
This is essential because the nutrients which the chick uptakes during this time feeds the maturation of many body systems. I have used these Bovidr Labs products on my collies and poultry for over a decade.
It really helps if you think of your chicks as walking G.I. tracts. How well the G.I. tract is supported, functions, and is given everything it needs to prosper
quickly and efficiently will have a large impact on the whole life of your birds. This feeding baby chicks is
not just a "baby age" thang.
The science of neonatal nutrition plus the maturation of the neonatal G.I. tract is not new to me. Back in 2002 after 4 years, and over 10,000 hours of research, I wrote a self-taught, evidence-based protocol for canine neonates which had the same aims. It was successful. I am working on fleshing out one for neonatal chicks now and should have it ready by early next year sometime.
Best Regards,
Karen
P.S. Yes, I am aware the definition (as follows) of nutrigenomics involves the genetic code; "Nutrigenomics shows a new way of working with nutrition and now, the knowledge of how food interferes with the genetic code and how the organism responds to these interferences and with the phenotype can be clarified."
The subject above ,while not concerning genetics per se, is but one ( tho an important one) aspect of the complete whole nutrigenomics program I am working on.
