Baby Treats?

[Tinka]

Can anyone tell me if baby chicks like treats? and what kind? Seems kinda boring to be eating the same feed day in and day out. My babies are about a week old.

 

[brit868]

I was wondering the same thing. I have 4 one week old chicks and 2 three week old chicks. When can I start giving them fresh veggies or fruit or any other type of treat? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Albanese07]

I've been giving my babies dried mealworms and bean sprouts since bringing them home a one week . Just make sure they have grit. I'm using finch grit because it's smaller.

 

[felidaet]

You will find many threads here on BYC about feeding treats. Even thought it seems boring, their chick starter feed is the best thing for them. It is a balanced diet formulated for their growing bodies. If you be give treats they should b no more than 10% of their daily diet and less than 5% is better.

If you feed them anything other than chick starter than you do need to provide then with CHICK grit. You can also use grit from pet stores that is for house birds but read the label first. Some of it has calcium added. This extra calcium is bad for them at this age,

I usually put a container of chick grit in the brooder when they are about 1 week old. A day or two later I will feed the first treat, which is usually crushed Cheerios. A few days latter I will start expanding to other types of treats.

 

[gapeach717]

mine LOVE corn from the can, they will lose their minds over it. They also like caterpillars (eww!), and crackers crushed up in my hand. I tried a strawberry but you would think I tried to kill them! They also like to play with earth worms!

 

[LilMissChz]

I gave mine several treats. However I also gave them some sand with it, which that alone they went out of their minds for!!

I gave them viola flowers. Completely edible blossoms that are easy to digest and makes a fun game of keep away between the peeps.

I gave crushed up corn bread. They love this! I've done it twice now and they just love the treat.

Alfalfa sprouts is the other treat I gave them. Another fun game of keep away ensued and they love the treat.

I've had no digestive issues and I have now replaced their small bowl of sand with a larger box which they not only scratch, peck and snack on... but now dust bathing has become a fun recreational activity for them.

 

[3LilBirds]

Mine like bananas, scrambled eggs and whole oats.

 

[dulcimer lady]

I've always given baby chicks cream of wheat, oatmeal (both of those cooked, of course), yogurt -- things like that. They love it.

 

[78Vette]

This is good stuff. I am new to chicks so I love the info. Keep it coming. Thanks

 

[mamahenkatie]

What kind of sand are y'all referring to? Do you have to provide sand with any type of treat? I just got my first chicks, 5 Silver Laced Wyandottes. I have only given them chick starter and a chick cake thing from Tractor Supply, which they go crazy over when I put it in for a few hours..
Any info is helpful!