Chickies a week old, when do i give them grit for their crops?

[pochovilla]

Hey there - Not sure when to start offering grit for my week old chickies....? Also, when to start offering non-crumb food like kitchen scraps? And, composting red worms (not to be confused w/ reathworms) - are these okay to feed to chickens now and then?

Thanks!

 

[bigstack]

Im not sure of the correct answer. But I started lightly sprinkling some onto the feed of mine at 2-3 weeks. I do it about 1 time a week. I will be following this thread for the correct way to do it. Hopefully some one will answer soon. As for the other questions I wish I knew that aswell. LOL

Good Luck and God Bless!

 

[Imp]

Quote:
You can start feeding treats now. And give them grit when you do start treats. As long as they are only on chick starter they don't need the grit. Kitchen scraps and red worms are OK as treats. Remember treats should not replace their starter. Also post pix of your chicks.

Imp- I think there is a pix rule.

 

[AndreaS]

I'm new to keeping chickens, but thought I would share a mistake I made to save you from doing the same!

I wanted to be able to give my new chickies treats, so I put out a small tray of grit in their brooder. I had read that they would Peck at it as needed. No such luck" they went crazy for it like it was a treat and ate it all within minutes. They all ended up with hard, swollen crops for a few days. Apparently they don't have much discretion without momma hen showing them how much to eat!

In the future, I will just sprinkle a little on their food. Also, I had read to give them parakeet grit, but have since read on various threads that might not be best.

Those swollen crops scared me to death! They are all back to normal now.

Good luck with the little ones!

Andrea