Chick Treats

[CowboyColby]

What are some good chick treats you guys use? Mine are 2 weeks old. Should I just wait till they are older? They are only getting chick starter currently.

 

[gritsar]

My two week old chicks are eating bugs (grasshoppers & crickets), wild strawberries, cheerios and chopped hard boiled egg. Keep in mind that they will need grit once they are eating things other than their chick starter. For now I'm using parakeet grit, the kind without added calcium. Once they are going outside on a more regular basis I know they will find their own grit.
Oh and I also occassionally dig up a clod of dirt and throw it in the brooder for them to have fun with. I remove any long roots that they may choke on.
I forgot - expect them to be afraid of new foods. Just leave it in there with them for awhile and they'll overcome their fears. Also, another great treat that my big chickens enjoyed as chicks was millet strands (the kind sold for parakeets). I started taking the seed pods off the stem though after one little piggie tried to eat the whole stem.

 

[cterbizan]

you can give them organic yogurt, vegetables, scramble eggs, etc.

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
Ooooh! I see these at the feed store and remember giving them to a parakeet I had about 3 millennia ago.... and I've wondered if they'd be suitable for chicks and/or chickens. Thanks!

 

[CowboyColby]

So before I feed them anything but the starter I need to give them grit? I'm guessing my feedstore has this?

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Some feedstores sell chick grit. Others only sell the grit suitable for adult birds; much too large for chicks. If you can't find chick grit at the feedstore, just check the pet section of your local walmart. They'll have parakeet grit which works just fine. Just read the label to make sure it doesn't have added calcium.

 

[Morgan7782]

one more thing to add about chick grit. Don't be put off by the color. The chick grit my feed store sells is AQUA blue, and it looked more like fishtank pebbles then anything. I was worried when I saw the color, but all is fine, not sure how they get the colors.. But my girls are still alive so must not be dangerous

 

[CowboyColby]

Thats funny. blue grit never heard or seen it.

 

[Dora'smom]

The chick grit I buy at Wilco is pinkish-red and smells of anise. I think they use that for chicks to act as an attractant. You can also use play sand if you have it around.

 

[4theloveofhens]

do you have to give grit if they are 6 weeks or older? i'm stubborn and not really wanting to buy "grit". my 4 week old chicks are treat-less unless the occasional ant get's lost and enters the halfway house of doom...