Can I Feed Bugs to My Chicks?

[TheAlarmCluck]

Are bugs OK for week-old or a couple days-old chicks?
Thanks

 

[Perris]

yes, assuming they are not too large or hard for the chicks to swallow, so mealworm yes, large cricket probably not. And obviously avoid anything toxic - which species are a risk will depend on where you live, if you're talking about giving them bugs from the garden.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Are bugs OK for week-old or a couple days-old chicks?

A broody hen would feed her chicks bugs, even at that age. She might break it into bite-sized pieces for them.

Before they eat bugs they need grit in their system. Chickens or chicks don't have teeth so they can't chew their food. So they swallow small rocks that go into their gizzard to help them grind things up. You should be able to get chick grit at the feed store or you can take them out to peck at the ground so they can find their own grit.

This assumes they will want to eat them. They don't always. You can offer bugs to the chicks but don't be too surprised if they don't eat them. That happens to me all the time, even with adults. I'll toss something into the run from my garden, often something highly recommended on this forum as a treat. They might eat it, they might not.

 

[Duckbreeder2020]

Are bugs OK for week-old or a couple days-old chicks?
Thanks

Yup! You could feed them mealworms if you chop them up to!

 

[Parront]

I start giving clumps of grass with the dirt on the roots to chicks that young. They learn to find tiny things they like! I give them aphids on rose leaves I trim, too. I just cut out a little square of lawn grass after it is mowed with a hand trowel. I give them some dirt from our yard in the brooder as bedding. Even young chicks like dirt baths!

 

[roheryn]

My daughter gave the lizards dead crickets to our week old chicks and the ripped it apart like raptors! Chicks running everywhere with a leg hanging out of a beak, others trying to steal it, hysterical!

 

[Tonyroo]

Chicks like small house moths, there softer bodied insects than mealworms. I gave those to my chicks, found a bunch infesting in my wheat bran for my mealworms. They were all over my storage room just caught them with a fly swatter.