Chickens won't eat anything but crumbles

[KaileyBrown]

I have been giving my chicks Dumor crumbles and now, at a month old they won't eat anything but those crumbles and oyster shells. Any fresh food is ignored, they don't pick at grass or bugs when outside. Have I ruined my chicks for free ranging? I offered raspberries and collard greens today and they haven't even pecked once.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Why would you be giving one month old birds oyster shells? It's a calcium supplement meant only for birds that are laying eggs. Your normal chick feed/grower/all flock all have enough calcium in them for normal nutrition and growth. It's not good to over dose calcium.

At a month old they like bugs and will take to a small worm, really far to young for "free ranging". I don't even change them over to pellet size feed to save on waste until they are going on 3 months of age. But long before then they are out scratch and eating everything from grass to flying ants. Actually funny watching young birds jumping and running catching the flyers.

 

[KaileyBrown]

It's not oyster shells, it's chick grit, my apologies. As for the "free ranging" they have a completely enclosed run at the moment with open access to the grass and bugs and such and they don't go after anything. They just wait to be fed. They don't scratch in the dirt, they will go after a lizard if it ventures into their house but that's it. Edited to add: eventually I was hoping to let them have free run of a fenced back yard during the day and reduce the amount of commercial feed they get. But they don't eat anything!

 

[Den in Penn]

Different breeds tend to take to alternate food differently. Chicks raised in a brooder also tend to take longer to try different foods. They learn what to eat by seeing what everyone else is eating. Give them time for their curiosity to get them to try different things. Don't give up hope that they will eat other things, it just may take longer.

 

[KaileyBrown]

Thank you very much for your reply. I give them chopped fruit and veggie scraps (sometimes the dry pulp from our juicer) nearly every day and they've yet to even take a peck. Although they will peck my nail polish.

 

[Den in Penn]

I worry a bit about unbalancing their diet with too many treats at a young age anyway, so them being slow to try new things may not be a bad thing. You could try putting a little of the treat on their dry food where they will peck at it to get to their regular feed. Finger nail polish. Humm Would it happen to be be red.?

 

[KaileyBrown]

My nail polish is chipped black. It looks terrible but the chicks love it. One just got away and I crouched down and wiggled my fingers and he came running from about 15 feet away and tried to peck me to death. If I put anything in their food they scratch it out or peck around it. When my polish was light colored they didn't peck at it at all. When it's dark and shimmery it makes them crazy. They won't eat anything out of my hand, not even their own food. I have somehow created tiny, feathery divas.

 

[DanEP]

they will learn to forage it just takes them longer to learn on their own if mamma doesn't show them. Young birds are afraid of everything new but they'll learn just give them time. Start with oatmeal, just leave about a tsp some where they can watch it for awhile and sooner or later somebody will get brave enough to try it and pretty soon everybody wants it. That's when you get them to eat out of your hand when they want to beat everybody else to the oatmeal and never give them enough always leave them wanting more. once their getting spoiled you can feed them different things just be patient they will have to study everything new. It really helps if you have older chickens they can learn from.

 

[rainbowhatchery]

I would bet they eat other stuff when your not looking, you cant watch them 24/7 and if they free range and wander around Im sure they are eating other stuff as well.