Can I feed them fruit? Specifically strawberries watermelon & apples?

[grouse]

My neighbor runs a fruit stand in front of his farmhouse and he gives us the leftover fruit (still fresh) at the end of the day for free, so we always have too much of it to eat. I have a batch of 5 day old chicks in my brooder right now and was wondering, is it okay to give them any of the fruit? Right now we have a lot of extra strawberries, watermelons and apples, so I was thinking of giving them pieces of those three. I just want to be sure it won't harm them in any way first, though.

 

[usschicago1]

Quote:
Go for it !

My little bantams dont seem to have an interest in fruit until adulthood, but the standards love it at all ages i find. But it could be different for everyone.

 

[Matt A NC]

My chicks love to get the rinds and any leftover fruits. That is until the adult birds see it and wipe it out.

Matt

 

[grouse]

After doing a quick google search for it I found a bunch of places that say I need to also give them chick grit if I'm giving them treats like fruit. Would I sprinkle the grit on the fruit itself or just sprinkle the floor of their brooder with it? And either way, about how much should I use?

Oh yeah another question--I'm not sure if the local feed stores carry chick grit, but Wal Mart has this parakeet grit, would that work too? Thanks

 

[vnploveschickens]

Its got calcium in it. Try to find some with no calcium, maybe in feed stores.

 

[NeeleysAVLChicks]

Quote:
Yea, a lot of Parakeet grit has a pretty high percentage of oyster shell added, no good for chicks. If you can't find chick grit (I couldn't) I just gave them a little pan of clean pebbly sand.

 

[cptkracker]

Mine like tomatoes. I figure that's a good thing cuz they're healthy and my family eats enough of them that we always always have extras. I bet you its the color!

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Just make sure that you don't give them too much fruit, it will give them diarrhea, just like it would you if you overdid it. Try dark greens too, like spinach, etc...also, mine love peas...

 

[grouse]

Quote:
Ah, okay. I called the three local feed stores here; one didn't have any grit, one had "grower grit" and the other had "Manna Pro Poultry Grit"

Here's a link to the Manna Pro poultry grit:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/livest...feed/manna-pro-reg-poultry-grit-5-lb--1003027

The woman I talked to on the phone said it should be fine for chicks but it says on that product page:

"Feeding instructions:
Provide Manna Pro

Poultry Grit to poultry fed Scratch or other coarse grains beginning at 8 weeks of age."

What's the worst that could happen if I used this for 5-day-old chicks? I also have a blender that I could put it in to blend it into finer pieces if that would help.

The other thing I was thinking of was cracked corn; again, blended down into finer pieces. EDIT: nvm, just realized cracked corn is one of the things they would need grit FOR. Oops.

But let me know if the Manna Pro grit or the "grower grit" would work!

 

[ChooksChick]

Absolutely, and if you toss the fruit in the freezer, you can help them cool off as the day rolls on! http://goo.gl/Cgll

Regarding the Manna Pro grit: if you're mixing crumbles and real food, you can give this- their brand has small bits right for chicks. It's recommended for the 8+ weeks, simply because Manna Pro doesn't advocate giving them anything but medicated starter prior to 8 weeks.

I would allow some fruit, but not too much, and not fibrous at 5 days, and I wouldn't advise cracked corn but maybe chopped frozen corn thawed out- they love that!! They also freak out over scrambled eggs.