4 month olds wont eat worms, why?

[Hiram]

They really wont touch worms. I've tried and tried. They just look peck then walk off. Also they seem to eat a lot of growing grass and small bushes. They scratch the ground and peak but when I look they aren't eating bugs. I think they're eating rocks. When will they start liking bugs? My mom has chickens and half the fun is turning over a big rock and watching hers go crazy.

 

[crossgirl]

Mine won't eat worms either.

 

[EncinoMan]

Man...I dropped an earthworm into my brooder when the chicks were just a week old. The carnivore switch flipped instantly and they fought and chased each other for the next five minutes...at one point two chicks stretched the worm between them until it snapped in two! All three eventually got a bite, and for the next few weeks we greatly enjoyed dropping all sorts of crawly treats in and watching the mayhem.

Sadly, bugs and chick mash seem to be the only thing they are interested in. They are now about 5 weeks old and have absolutely no interest in eating anything else. I've tried strawberries, carrot greens, oatmeal, dandelions, fresh cooked corn, scrambled egg, plain yogurt...they just peck at anything new a few times and then completely ignore it. I hope they grow out of this picky eater phase, as I'm counting on them to pre-process a lot of my compost materials!

 

[Hiram]

Serious, I'm jealous. Mine wont eat greens or fruit either. They just want grass and feed. It's killing me. What is a popular treat?

 

[ChicksterJo]

Mine won't eat worms either. I put some worms in the run for them and they jump back, squawk, peck at the worms a little, then walk away. When my first batch of chicks were younger they ate the worms like crazy, but as they got older they don't care for them anymore. They do like fruits, leaves, grass, sprouts, yogurt, mealworms and insects - just not earthworms.

 

[Allsardane]

Maybe it's that we feed them a high protein starter?

When my chicks were about 3 weeks old, I took a claw hammer and did my best "scratch in the dirt and find worms" impression for them. They loved eating worms out of my hand when I did this.

Seven weeks later I'm getting the "Good Sir, do you really expect us to eat WORMS? Who do you think we are?" look from them every time I try. They might just have a pool as to how many times the tall dumb human will dig holes in the ground with a hammer before he gives up. Jury is out.

 

[centrarchid]

In respect to earthworms, mine do not always eat them either. Some, especially the pinkish white ones, appear not to taste good. Mine when walking down lane at dawn will ignore hundreds of worms as they go but will pounce on a grasshopper or cricket or even snake same size or larger than worms. Same birds did consume worms while in brooder. Hen raised chicks seem to eat more worms but they are picky about which ones.

 

[classicsredone]

Once mine figured out what they were, they went NUTS. You might keep trying. Sometimes they just need to figure it out like human kids would.

 

[JoePa]

Maybe if they don't eat worms that is good - didn't I read that earth worms carry parisites that can get into the chickens -

 

[classicsredone]

Quote:
I've read that, too. I've contacted a well-known worm farmer and writer, as well as a couple professors, and they saw no reason to be concerned about parasites in worms.