Can baby chicks eat bugs?

[Echoes]

I just switched my brooder bedding from hay to pine chips and my 1 week old chicks keep digging around and pecking at the chips, almost looks like they are trying to eat it. I was thinking they are just looking for bugs.

Is it too soon to start throwing bugs in there for them to find?

When should I start doing that?

What kind of bugs to start with?

Is there anywhere to buy them??

 

[kees]

I just found tiny, tiny ones in the yard and gave it to them. Nothing with biting pincers though. I don't think that they liked ants.

Suzy

 

[b.hromada]

I went to PetSupermarket and bought 2 dozen pin head crickets, once they figured out what they were, they went crazy for them!!

 

[PurpleChicken]

Most pet stores sell small worms or small crickets that chicks can start
eating around 3 weeks.

Feed them some noodles. They think they are worms.

 

[nicodemuschickenfan]

You can buy meal worms and the like at most pet stores. Petsmart now has a rather good selection of canned bugs and live bugs for sale. Don't know though if chicks would like meal bugs though...

 

[Echoes]

Awesome!! I didn't even think about PetSmart. I'll go there tomrrow and pick out some little bugs for them.

It's okay for 1 week old chicks to eat them though?

 

[welovechickens]

I fed my 1-week-old chicks earthworms (small) from my garden. They went berserk for them, once they figured out what to do. LOL

 

[Echoes]

Haha. GREAT!! I'll have to try that too.

 

[amarook]

Mine will be 3 weeks old tomorrow. I've been giving them meal worms, crickets, and cut up earth worms for the past week and 1/2.

They LOVE them. They go crazy chasing each other around. It's fun to watch.

 

[Katy]

If they were with a mama hen wandering the barnyard they'd have been eating bugs from the day they left the nest....so basically day one.