A Couple of Questions About My Baby Peeps

[ChickLit]

Good morning Everyone! I hope you all had a safe & happy 4th celebration

I have a couple of questions that I haven't been able to find the answers to, so I apologize if I'm repeating subjects already covered...

When will my baby RIRs be able to really use those baby wings and fly? They are a week old today, and for the past couple of days they've been running across the floor of the brooder flapping and I swear a couple of them have caught air...just for a second, but still...

Also one of them took a jump toward the top of the box and was really close to the edge, so they're obviously getting stronger. (I do have an open mesh screen over the top.)

And I am terribly confused over whether I should be giving them grit. So far, the babies are eating only medicated starter feed. I'd love to give them a tiny bit of a treat such as yogurt, but I'm afraid to in case they need to have the grit...

The hatchery we got them from says I should be giving them chick grit, sand or parakeet/canary grit. Husband went to the farm store, but the bag instructions said "Do not feed to chicks under 10 weeks old." (I think what he had was regular big-chicken grit.) Confused by that, he asked the clerk, and she confirmed that you don't give them grit until 10 weeks.

Some folks say yes, some say no...

What say you?

 

[musson]

If you only feed starter feed and other soft things like yogurt you do not need grit. If you feed them meal worms, vegetables ... then you need grit. You also need to use only "chick" grit, it is smaller than the regular grit.

My chicks could fly pretty early, don't remember exactly when but at 4 weeks they could fly out of the box I put them in when I cleaned the brooder.

 

[joedie]

If I remember correctly, I think mine were flying to the top of the brooder by 4 wks. You can get chick grit (it's ground much finer) if feeding treats. I gave mine treats around 2 weeks old such as yogurt and cottage cheese and oh ya, worms!

 

[RendonRoo]

First of all Welcome to BYC.

Yes they have started to fly. At 3 weeks they will be able to jump/fly 18" or more. I had 2x4 wire on my brooder and they were jumping up thru the wire and out. They didn't know what to do once they got there. LOL

I start mine on a pinch of grit in their crumbles at about 4 days. You can get small grit from the pet stores. Yogurt is fine without grit as is mashed up boiled eggs(a favorite treat). After sprinkling just a little grit in the food for about a week i give them a few more treats like pieces of fruit or veggies. Just remember that treats are just that and should be given in small amounts so they won't fill up and not eat their balanced feed.

Hope this helps and don't forget these little critters are a whole lot tougher than we think.

Enjoy and good Luck

 

[cmom]

A chicken's food goes, as is, into the crop, where it is slowly funneled into a very small " stomach" for some digestive additives--then to the Gizzard, where it is 'chewed', that is, ground into material that can be digested as it moves into the intestines and so on. The Gizzard is best able to break down whole grains and other chunky bits that they eat when full of grit. Longest lasting grit is Granite, that lasts well. Chick grit is fine Granite, as soon as they are given anything besides Starter Crumbles. All other rock and stone is so much softer, that it wears down fast and that is why granite grit is best choice, works really well for best utilization of feeds. My baby chicks are given free choice chick grit and they choose it with pleasure, Their tiny gizzards are at optimum function at an early age. I first give my chicks some treats around 3 weeks old with a dish of free choice Chick grit. I get my chick grit at TSC.

 

[ChickLit]

Thank you all so much for your advice; you've really helped clear things up for me...I feel a bit more confident now

I'll start giving them a little grit to get those gizzards in shape...I can't wait to see them with their first treats (which will probably be this afternoon ~ a bit of plain yogurt!)

 

[ChickLit]

Aw ~ I was so excited to give my babies their first treats...I thought they'd go wild and be all

over the little dish of plain yogurt (just a teaspoon) and a bit of finely mashed hard boiled egg.

Only 3 of the 6 wandered over to check it out...2 of them poked at the yogurt a bit, and one tried the egg but they didn't seem impressed at all. Maybe the treats will grow on them...

Ah well, at least the dogs liked it

 

[Chicken Ninja]

The feed that my chicks started with was both medicated and included the grit they would need as young chicks. It was nice not having to worry about giving them something else

.

My oldest chickens are currently 2 months old (got 'em on Cinco de Mayo), and they have turned out just fine. Hope that helps.

 

[ChickLit]

I bet that was nice having the all-in-one feed! I didn't know there was such a thing

but learning more all the time thanks to everyone on the board! I'm still a bit nervous about doing the right thing for my babies, but you all have been a great help.

I'll start mine on a bit o' grit tomorrow when I get back from town...now if I could only get them interested in treats!

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

I think some people would say a week is young to start treats. I gave mine yogurt mixed in with their starter - just enough to kind of clump the starter - at a week because we were dealing with Pasty Butt. They LOVE it.

I would say mine were "flying" or at least flapping, at 3 weeks and leaping up on top of their feeder and the edges of the brooder. They are a bit over 4 weeks now and will flap down to the ground from a 3 or 4 ft. height.

I put some playground sand in their brooder at about 2 weeks, which I've been told constitutes grit. I also spread some parakeet gravel in their run when they're out there. I've fed them grated cheddar at 2 weeks, meal worms at 3 weeks and gave them some chopped up hard-boiled egg today. They love it all! It's so fun to give them treats - but the "experts" caution against upsetting the nutritional balance of their starter by giving them too much other stuff.