a couple of questions

[kwhit]

I have 6 almost 3 week old chicks and want to know if I can start feeding meal worms as a treat to socialize the babies. I have been doing this with their regular feed already but want to try something new.
Also I want to know when is it ok to start feeding a little grit now and then.
I also wanted to add a bowl of sand in their cage for bathing, but is it too early to do this?

 

[sumi]

You can feed them some mealworms, yes. And when you feed treats or anything other than chick food you should feed them a little grit to help them digest it. You can add a bowl of sand/soil to their brooder for dust bathing and they will probably eat some of it too!

 

[TOP KNOT]

Hello my chicks are the same age. I have been giving them alfalfa leaves, ground spinach greens, and hard boiled egg yolk. I ,at first would sprinkle the chick grit on their crumble like salt. Now they have a saucer with grit. I see no reason not to give them treats, but they will need grit to digest them. A mother hen feeds them anything and everything, and they pick up their grit naturally off the ground.

 

[kwhit]

What is grit? Where do you get it? Is it just sand that I can buy at Home Depot?

 

[sumi]

I bought some chick grit at our local pet shop. You can use coarse, clean sand instead, if you want. As long as they get some roughage to help them break down the food. Sprinkle it over their food, like salt.