Baby chicks

[workindog]

I got 11 baby chicks today. So excited because they are my first ever chickens!!! I got several different ones, silkies, sebrights, wyandottes, brahmas and maybe a couple different ones. I forgot lol

Anyway, they have their feed, water with electrolytes, (clamp lamp of course) i gave them a few live fruit flies (i have dart frogs so i culture wingless fruit flies) it was cute watching them! Can i offer any other kinds of foods at this age? Only greens i have in the fridge right now is raw cabbage. I just dont know when to start introducing different foods.

Ty

 

[Glitterchicks]

I got 11 baby chicks today. So excited because they are my first ever chickens!!! I got several different ones, silkies, sebrights, wyandottes, brahmas and maybe a couple different ones. I forgot lol

Anyway, they have their feed, water with electrolytes, (clamp lamp of course) i gave them a few live fruit flies (i have dart frogs so i culture wingless fruit flies) it was cute watching them! Can i offer any other kinds of foods at this age? Only greens i have in the fridge right now is raw cabbage. I just dont know when to start introducing different foods.

Ty

I just gave mine chick starter for the first couple of weeks. Then scrambled eggs... they LOVE those!

 

[Criticalicious]

Make sure that if you're giving treats, you also give chick GRIT.

 

[workindog]

Oh i didnt think about that. I will definitely get some. Tho im pretty sure the fruit flies without grit wont cause an issue. They are super squishy.

But what at this age can i start introducing them to? Or do they have to be a certain age?

Ty

 

[Fishkeeper]

I'm surprised they could catch the flies! Those things are bouncy. I used to raise them, too- had D. tinctorius. In case you didn't know already, don't let the two wingless species get mixed together. If they breed, the resulting hybrids can fly! And, yeah, grit probably isn't necessary for a few flies. I'd provide it anyway, though. Grit won't hurt anything.
What darts do you have? I had two of the standard tincs for awhile, then one died of what seemed to be old age, and I got one of the blue tincs. Both were males so they couldn't interbreed. I had to rehome them a couple years ago because I was too busy to take proper care of them, but they made really cool little pets. I kinda wish I'd chosen a species whose song I could hear, though. I couldn't hear them, but I could tell when they were singing, because the cats would go over and stare at them through the glass.

You can introduce them to treats at pretty much any point. If they were outdoors being raised by the mother, they'd be finding worms and such right now. It's best to stick to the really nutritious treats right now, so egg and the occasional shell-less insect. Wait for them to get to a few weeks old before giving them any 'junk' like lettuce or other things without much nutrition.

 

[Criticalicious]

Mine refused treats like fruits and veggies until they were more like 4 to 6 weeks old, and even then they were picky. Even now as adults they don't like bread. They have very few taste buds. Around 2 weeks, I went to Petsmart and bought a container of live mealworms. When the chicks were big enough I would sometimes get small live crickets. They went nuts for both of those treats.

 

[chickens really]

I would stop the electrolytes in the water. It's hard on the heart due to the salt content. Fresh water is all they need.

 

[workindog]

Ok i will stop the electrolytes when i get home from work.

And fishkeeper, i have 3 species of darts i have 0.3 super blue auratus, 0.2 bakhuis, and a breeding pair of chazuta imitators. The imis are breeding machines. Lol to slow them down, I've stopped taking their tadpoles. I just actually sold 1.5 of their offspring last month. Im have another viv set up, just waiting for the right frogs to pop up for sale. Im also waiting for some super blue froglets from someone, i need a male. Super blues are a female heavy species. My 3 girls are 4 years old and ive now given up on looking for an adult male. Going to buy a small group and hope for the best. I love my frogs, so beautiful and peaceful. Oh and yes, i do know hybrids can produce flying ff's. I have m. & h. Fruit flues. I have photos if you're interested

I will get some grit today and will start offering tiny amounts of scrambled eggs. If i grind up the egg shells into basically dust, would that be ok to offer them?

 

[workindog]

Photos of my frogs lol not the fruit flies hahaha

 

[spryng]

Mine are 4 days old and go crazy for egg yolk, just boil the egg then mash up the yolk...I sprinkle the grit right on top like pepper so I know they get that too. As far as shell, at this age they don't need that added calcium but once they are layers the shell is great to add back in