Chicks hate new food!

[tommboy1973]

My chicks are almost 4 weeks and the feed store recommended I switch them to chick grower. The grower is a crumble, and they hate it. I mixed half and half to get them used to it but they ripped up the newspaper looking for the chick mash. They pretty much ignore the crumble I admit the mash smells much better, the grower has almost no smell. Is that normal? Do they add something sweet to the mash to get them to eat (my dog loves it too)? Yesterday I gave just grower, thinking they would get hungry and have to eat it but it hardly looks touched, and I'm worried they will not eat enough?

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Mix 2 parts old feed to 1 part new feed. Maybe they just need it more gradual than half and half. After a week add a bit more of the new, until they have all new feed.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Chickens do not like change and are suspicious at first of many new things. Keep mixing the two feeds half and half until you are out of the old feed. They'll start eating the new stuff.

.....Alan.