Chicks have an easier time with powder

[Chicken_Little_AGray]

My chicks have a hard time eating the chick starter I am feeding them. I’ve resorted to using the Cuisinart to make their crumbles powder. I’m wondering if this is bad.

I have 3 Rhode Island Red chicks (2 weeks old) and 3 Barnevelder chicks (1 week old) they both seem to have a hard time eating the chick starter I give them. It’s nothing special, just a general medicated chick starter crumble. I don’t want to switch feed because I already bought a 50lb bag, and I’m not going to waste it. It takes 3x as long to get them food compared to just filling up the feeder. I have to put it in the Cuisinart, wait for it to grind up the food, then put it in the feeder. I don’t know if they are incapable of eating bigger chunks, or if they just like the powder better. I didn’t ask what they were fed at the store where I bought them (mistake on my part) so I don’t know what they were eating.

Im thinking they wouldn’t sell feed that is too big for chicks, so I’m wondering if I’m doing the right thing by grinding it up. Could this hurt them in any way?

If anyone has suggestions, please let me know.

 

[WhiteCollarWeezy]

Hey if they like it better...let em have it. I raise "button" quail which are much smaller than your birds...but I have to grind their food when they hatch..because they are sooo tiny .just maybe try grinding half and the other half leaving as is.

 

[rosemarythyme]

They shouldn't need it ground down unless the crumble/ground feed is unusually large. Powder is usually a pretty wasteful form of feed, since anything they kick out of the feeder can't be picked up and eaten. Have you tried serving it wet or fermented instead? It breaks down the crumble without need to grind it, and some chicks find it to be quite a treat even though it's just regular feed.

 

[Gax000]

Have you tried adding water to the crumbles to make a mush? Our chicks loved it so much we started calling it chick crack. It would take you less time to add water than powdering the crumble.

 

[Penpal]

I also add water to the baby food. They love it. I went from that to buying whole grain and fermenting it when they got bigger.