babies and scratch

[jeannieo]

can 2 week old babies have a little scratch grain? they are scratching like crazy. They are getting chick starter and I gave them a little crumbled up corn bread this morning.

 

[Imp]

jeannieo,
Here's a link to a thread that may or not answer your question.

Imp- seems there's lots of opinions on this topic. Good luck.



https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=183856

 

[countrypreacher]

i start giving mine small amounts at 4-6 weeks as a treat....

 

[cschroeder]

I give mine a VERY small amount at about 4-6 weeks also as a treat only and so they will come to me when I'm out in the coop or pasture. You don't want it to replace their feed at all because it has far fewer nutrients...it's chicken candy basically. IMHO

 

[jeannieo]

thank you for those answers!

I will refrain from the scratch and just give them the chick starter and water. And thanks for the thread, Imp!

it gave me lots of good info!

 

[mechagrue]

I would add that just because they're scratching, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are sad because you haven't given them treats. Scratching is one of the pre-programmed chicken behaviors which is installed at the factory.

Would they be excited to scratch up some grain? Sure! But mostly, they're just scratching. I'm not sure they even know WHY they're scratching, when they're that young.