tine434
In the Brooder
I got my chicks the day they arrived at the local feed store and Wednesday made one week they've been with me. I assume they were mailed at one day old and so they arrived probably three days old? I am not sure how that works, but that gives you an idea of how old they are. I purchased them chick grit a few days ago because I was excited to give them a little snack of leafy greens. I know they need 99% of their diet to be their chick starter, and trust me, THEY LOVE the stuff! lol. They didn't care for leafy greens at all actually. They ate some of the grit (it seemed a good bit, but I am not sure how much is enough) and then they just left it alone so I picked it up from their brooder for fear of them possibly over eating it (paranoid? Maybe!)
Well, DH went fishing with some fresh crickets and the crickets have been on our porch now for a few days and are starting to die off so we've been talking about needing to give the chicks one just to see what they'd do. I wasn't sure if the chicks needed more grit or not, but I did put some more in their brooder. They pecked at it a bit and then left it be (still seems like a lot was used this time for five little chicks, but they may have kicked some out too, I'm not sure.) if this stuff is "insoluble" should I leave it down all the time or only offer it every so often? I don't think I'd worry about adults, but for some reason as chicks I worry they don't "know" when enough is enough! Actually, I don't even know what is enough lol.
Anyway, we gave them the cricket. Well, one chick got it and they all began a wild chase, they had a blast. TBH, I did too lol. Long story short, we have 5 chicks and about 4 crickets ended up in the brooder (it helped all the fighting over who got what) They loved them, ate them up, and had fun, but I began to worry... Are they too young for crickets?? Have they had too much grit? Should I be watching for symptoms to make sure they're ok? Choking hazards? lol Maybe I'm a paranoid chick mom, but has anyone else given live bait to chicks this young? And does anyone know what a normal amount of grit is for this age?
Well, DH went fishing with some fresh crickets and the crickets have been on our porch now for a few days and are starting to die off so we've been talking about needing to give the chicks one just to see what they'd do. I wasn't sure if the chicks needed more grit or not, but I did put some more in their brooder. They pecked at it a bit and then left it be (still seems like a lot was used this time for five little chicks, but they may have kicked some out too, I'm not sure.) if this stuff is "insoluble" should I leave it down all the time or only offer it every so often? I don't think I'd worry about adults, but for some reason as chicks I worry they don't "know" when enough is enough! Actually, I don't even know what is enough lol.
Anyway, we gave them the cricket. Well, one chick got it and they all began a wild chase, they had a blast. TBH, I did too lol. Long story short, we have 5 chicks and about 4 crickets ended up in the brooder (it helped all the fighting over who got what) They loved them, ate them up, and had fun, but I began to worry... Are they too young for crickets?? Have they had too much grit? Should I be watching for symptoms to make sure they're ok? Choking hazards? lol Maybe I'm a paranoid chick mom, but has anyone else given live bait to chicks this young? And does anyone know what a normal amount of grit is for this age?
