I am sorry this may be a totally stupid question and normal chick behaviour but I am a newbie and it's bothering me.
Is it normal for chicks to eat their own droppings on a regular basis? They still eat the chick crumb but the quantity must be reduced as they eat their droppings so much.
They are now 7 days so I have transfered their bedding from puppy pads onto wood shavings which I thought may help as the droppings won't be quite as obvious but it hasn't. I only have 2 chicks and when they were on the puppy pads I cleaned them out twice daily but now they are on the shavings I am doing it just once.
They have a large quantity of chick crumb always available from a long chick feeder and it doesn't really get much bedding in it so it's not like it covers up the food or anything like that.
When one picks up a bit of dropping it runs about with it cheeping like it's the juciest worm ever and the other one chases it to try and get it for themselves.
I have thought of scattering the food on the floor in the shavings as this may just be a foraging behaviour but I am then worried about encouraging the dropping eating.
I have seen coprophagia in horses and this is so the foal ingests the beneficial bacteria that will help aid digestion. Does this also occur in chicks?
Please help somebody, I am worried that I am not meeting all of my chicks requirements.
Is it normal for chicks to eat their own droppings on a regular basis? They still eat the chick crumb but the quantity must be reduced as they eat their droppings so much.
They are now 7 days so I have transfered their bedding from puppy pads onto wood shavings which I thought may help as the droppings won't be quite as obvious but it hasn't. I only have 2 chicks and when they were on the puppy pads I cleaned them out twice daily but now they are on the shavings I am doing it just once.
They have a large quantity of chick crumb always available from a long chick feeder and it doesn't really get much bedding in it so it's not like it covers up the food or anything like that.
When one picks up a bit of dropping it runs about with it cheeping like it's the juciest worm ever and the other one chases it to try and get it for themselves.
I have thought of scattering the food on the floor in the shavings as this may just be a foraging behaviour but I am then worried about encouraging the dropping eating.
I have seen coprophagia in horses and this is so the foal ingests the beneficial bacteria that will help aid digestion. Does this also occur in chicks?
Please help somebody, I am worried that I am not meeting all of my chicks requirements.
