Can I feed worms to two week old chicks

[jlifton852]

Any advice on feeding treats to two week old chicks? I have a bin full of redworms.

 

[MontanaDolphin]

I'm not an expert, just started, but...

I gave worms to my babies at 3 days old. Since then they've also had: pill bugs (you know, the "roly poly bugs"...gray that roll up into a ball), moths, grubs, ant larvae, termites, and ladybugs (although I didn't give them the ladybugs...they fell in their brooder cuz my house is full of them...they didn't like those much though) from the insect world. Besides bugs they've had spaghetti noodles, yogurt, oatmeal, boiled egg, scrambled egg, steamed spinach, and steamed peas. They turned two weeks old today.

My grandfather (now 91) had chickens most of his life. He said that baby chicks hatched and raised with the mother hen had access to everything mama hen would eat. So feeding them bugs is a natural diet in my opinion, and his as well. I trust what he has to say.

 

[gimmie birdies]

you might want to cut them up. I gave a starling bird I found worms
, and eventually he didn't make it. I think the worms were just too big and hard to digest. but protein is good for their brains since they are growing.

 

[RyanFunFarm]

Pretty early. Are they on chick grit?

 

[missnu01]

Mine were a few days old when I started giving them bugs and worms I would find in the yard...They are chickens, and had they hatched with mom they would be eating bugs, and worms, and grass and dirt...just make sure that they have grit if they aren't actually outside pecking on the ground.

 

[aggiemae]

Its fun to watch your chicks eat, especially live worms, but it is really best for them to keep them on chick/grower feed (and MAYBE a spoon or two of active culture buttermilk or yogurt now and then) for the first six weeks.

As for worms specifically, worms and slugs carry parasites, including the larva for gape worms, so if your chickens eat them it's best to have treatment on hand, this goes for those of us who have free range chickens of any age)

If you decided to feed worms, you will need to provide grit.

 

[4cornereggs]

what are gape worms? And is it safe to give red wiggler worms to grown chickens?

 

[aggiemae]

Gape worms are parasites that incubate in a chicken throat, they are carried by worms and slugs. Our hens eat both so I keep the correct poison on hand just in case.

 

[aggiemae]

Gape worns: http://poultrykeeper.com/digestive-system-problems/gape-worm-or-syngamus-trachea

 

[Luke 13V34]

My four week old rooster just ate a couple really big worms, so now I am fearing for his life! Hopefully, he digests them without any problems or parasites!