Baby Chicks Need Something to Scratch For?

[AppleMomma65]

I have 12, 3-day old chicks and they are thriving! (I hope me saying that doesn't jinx anything). They are in a wire dog cage "brooder" with newspaper and pine shavings on the floor. They are eating the moistened chick-starter and drinking water. When they are really active, they run around, and scratch and peck at the ground so I'm wondering if I can toss in some regular (non moistened) chick food on the ground, too? I did crush up some dried meal worms for them but don't want to feed too many treats. Also, when do I stop adding water to their feed (i.e., no more moistened food)?

 

[GC-Raptor]

I've never fed moistened feed to Chicks,

only to pullets/hens in hot weather as a treat when egg production drops.
Chicks love to scratch around for any bits to eat.
It pays off as adults too. As my chickens eat the crumble under the hanging feeder. GC

 

[rosemarythyme]

Are you just wetting the feed or is it fermented?

I don't bother doing wet or fermented feed for young chicks as it's too hard to gauge how much they'll actually eat in a day, since they're so tiny, and I don't like leaving it out all the time.

I do feed fermented feed to my adults so once the chicks are old enough to start spending time with the hens they'll naturally begin eating the fermented feed I put out for the hens as well.

Should be fine to toss a little food for them to scratch around for but it's probably a tiny bit wasteful. You may find that you need to clean out the brooder more frequently if the food bits start molding in there.

 

[Happy Helper]

My granddaughter came in with a piece of sod with grass on top. My chicks are one week old today and they are loving it. We put it at the very end of their coop next to their water.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Make sure it's sod that hasn't recently been treated with anything, like fertilizer, herbicide.

Also if that tote is the entire brooder, your chicks are pretty crowded and will need more space very soon.

 

[Happy Helper]

Your correct, they sure grew in one week. I have a brooder in the chicken coop that they will be going into tomorrow. There is plenty of room there and then another coop waits for them in about 3 weeks that will give them access to the entire coop and outside.

The grass is not treated. You could say our farm is pretty much organic. No pesticides, or Roundup. Fertilizer comes from the Horses. I use landscape cloth to control weeds in the garden.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

I have 12, 3-day old chicks and they are thriving! (I hope me saying that doesn't jinx anything). They are in a wire dog cage "brooder" with newspaper and pine shavings on the floor. They are eating the moistened chick-starter and drinking water. When they are really active, they run around, and scratch and peck at the ground so I'm wondering if I can toss in some regular (non moistened) chick food on the ground, too? I did crush up some dried meal worms for them but don't want to feed too many treats. Also, when do I stop adding water to their feed (i.e., no more moistened food)?

View attachment 2072088

I never moisten the food.