Basic questions: At what point …

[Devorah]

Hi everyone!

At what point do I give my chicks

• Earth, grass, flowers etc?
• Grit?

My chicks are just about 7 days old. I actually gave them a pile of earth with grass and dandelions yesterday, but did not give them grit. Since they were about 3 or 4 days they have had some sand and love it.

Thank you for your replies!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi everyone!

At what point do I give my chicks

• Earth, grass, flowers etc?
• Grit?

My chicks are just about 7 days old. I actually gave them a pile of earth with grass and dandelions yesterday, but did not give them grit. Since they were about 3 or 4 days they have had some sand and love it.

One of the first things a broody hen does is take her chicks where they can peck at the ground. That's getting grit in their systems. If your soil has any rock in it they can get their own, you don't have to buy it. Play sand or sugar sand is too fine to act as grit but if it has any larger bits, sand is great.

Once they have grit in their system they can eat about anything. The grit allows them to grind it up in their gizzard. NatJ is right about size, larger pieces can get stuck in the crop, which is well before the grinding in the gizzard. @NatJ yeah one piece won't kill them. It's when there is enough to form a ball that it's a problem. And it is pretty rare, just another one of those things where it can happen but usually doesn't.

If you are feeding them a chick starter they don't need grit, it has already been ground up and will fall apart in their digestive juices. But if you give them about anything other than chick feed they should have grit. Chick feed contains all the nutrients they need, you do not need to feed them anything else. But if you do, try to keep those "treats" to a small part of their diet so you don't mess up the balanced diet they get with chick feed.

My chicks raised by broody hens eat some chick feed but for most of the day she has them out foraging for food. I'm sure what they forage is a large part of their diet and they do fine. But they forage on a lot of different things, not just one or two treats I give them so their diet is a lot more balanced than you might think.

 

[Kiki]

The Ducklings don't need the grit and will eat it when they get older from eating dirt and such. Thy might not eat it but they can have grass. Be careful with different kinds of flowers ( some might not be good ) Hope that helps!

I'd stop letting them eat sand. Keep an eye on their crops to make sure they're emptying each day because sand can cause serious issues with crop impaction.

You would be best for them to eat only a complete balance poultry feed.

 

[NatJ]

My chicks are just about 7 days old. I actually gave them a pile of earth with grass and dandelions yesterday, but did not give them grit. Since they were about 3 or 4 days they have had some sand and love it.

That sounds fine to me.

They may get some grit from the dirt. If they already had access to sand, that can also serve as grit. Providing grit would also be fine, and may be a good idea.

If the grass and dandelions are growing in the dirt, the chicks can probably bite off pieces to eat. But if the blades of grass are not attached to their roots, you should probably chop it into short pieces. Chickens cannot hold onto the grass to bite off pieces, so they can end up swallowing long pieces of grass. That sometimes makes a tangle in their crop and cannot move on through the digestive system. It needs to reach the gizzard before it can be ground up by grit.

So it's important for chickens to swallow their grass in short pieces-- either because they bite short pieces off the grass, or because you chop it up short enough. I think dandelions are less of an issue, because of the shape of the leaves (not long and tangly.)

 

[NatJ]

I had a brahma last year. I usally break the grass up some. But there was a few long peices. She ate one of the long peices and i had to pull it out of her beak.

Sometimes they eat a long piece of grass and are fine, other times not.

I've never personally seen a problem, but I have read of problems even with grass as short as lawn mower trimmings. So it is apparently not consistent from one situation to another.

 

[IvysAnimals]

The Ducklings don't need the grit and will eat it when they get older from eating dirt and such. Thy might not eat it but they can have grass. Be careful with different kinds of flowers ( some might not be good ) Hope that helps!

 

[SilverBirds]

If you are giving them plants from outside, chop them up so they are easy to eat. Clover and dandelions are good choices (as long as it is not treated with pesticide or weed/ant killer). Make sure the have ample amount of grit for digesting. I give my chicks dirt to dustbathe and peck at at 2 weeks old but a little earlier won't hurt I'd think.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

My chicks had dirt at 2 weeks. Then grass at 4
I always offer grit though.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

That sounds fine to me.

They may get some grit from the dirt. If they already had access to sand, that can also serve as grit. Providing grit would also be fine, and may be a good idea.

If the grass and dandelions are growing in the dirt, the chicks can probably bite off pieces to eat. But if the blades of grass are not attached to their roots, you should probably chop it into short pieces. Chickens cannot hold onto the grass to bite off pieces, so they can end up swallowing long pieces of grass. That sometimes makes a tangle in their crop and cannot move on through the digestive system. It needs to reach the gizzard before it can be ground up by grit.

So it's important for chickens to swallow their grass in short pieces-- either because they bite short pieces off the grass, or because you chop it up short enough. I think dandelions are less of an issue, because of the shape of the leaves (not long and tangly.)

I had a brahma last year. I usally break the grass up some. But there was a few long peices. She ate one of the long peices and i had to pull it out of her beak.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

One of the first things a broody hen does is take her chicks where they can peck at the ground. That's getting grit in their systems. If your soil has any rock in it they can get their own, you don't have to buy it. Play sand or sugar sand is too fine to act as grit but if it has any larger bits, sand is great.

Once they have grit in their system they can eat about anything. The grit allows them to grind it up in their gizzard. NatJ is right about size, larger pieces can get stuck in the crop, which is well before the grinding in the gizzard. @NatJ yeah one piece won't kill them. It's when there is enough to form a ball that it's a problem. And it is pretty rare, just another one of those things where it can happen but usually doesn't.

If you are feeding them a chick starter they don't need grit, it has already been ground up and will fall apart in their digestive juices. But if you give them about anything other than chick feed they should have grit. Chick feed contains all the nutrients they need, you do not need to feed them anything else. But if you do, try to keep those "treats" to a small part of their diet so you don't mess up the balanced diet they get with chick feed.

My chicks raised by broody hens eat some chick feed but for most of the day she has them out foraging for food. I'm sure what they forage is a large part of their diet and they do fine. But they forage on a lot of different things, not just one or two treats I give them so their diet is a lot more balanced than you might think.

I have sand and dirt in my run. So i know my chicks get grit. But as chicks before they go outside i give them grit.