Chicks here for all of two hours... Need help, please!

[newbie donna]

Thank you! *laughs* I'll begin to have fun as soon as I have some confidence that I won't kill them. Words can't describe what sweet, soft babies they are. I've only had them for a few hours and I'm entirely in love.

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

As far as 'clean' goes, I clean the brooder in the morning, and again in the evening.. whatever they do to it between those times, is their responsibility. relax. when they're a week or two, people usually start giving treats, which range from small chopped apples/watermelon/grass (DON'T FORGET GRIT!!!) to worms or bugs... but there are a lot of 'chick treats' threads, so I'd search through a couple. have fun and good luck!

 

[CKMom]

Most of your questions have been answered. As far as treats, don't go crazy. I started giving mine scrambled egg and yogurt at 2 weeks. Later I tried mealworms and fresh greens. I chop them small and also have grit available.

 

[bibliophile birds]

Quote:
i started giving mine treats at just a few days old. the worry with giving treats to young chicks is twofold: 1) that you aren't LOWERING their protein and 2) that they have grit.

to keep the protein up, i stayed away from fruits and veg until they were a few weeks old. they got mealworms about every other day (we're talking maybe 5 mealworms cut into 1/3s for 22 chicks), a couple spoonfuls of yogurt (get the live culture kind for healthy tummies) with Cheerios mixed in (mine wouldn't eat plain yogurt but they loved the softened Cheerios) 2 times a week, and some rolled oats with flax seed oil 2 times a week.

you will want to give them grit BEFORE you start giving them treats. they will eat all the grit you provide them, so just give them a little bit every couple of days. eating too much of it won't hurt them, but it's not cheap and excess grit won't benefit them at all. for chicks, get the finely ground grit for parakeets and finches which is available at most pet stores or Wal-Mart.