went to get some meal worms at store but they were out so i bought some baby crickets. is was like giving a limited amount of crack to a bunch of addicts. they were absolutely hilarious. i was hoping to get a few minuets of entertainment, was more like a 3 second blur. maybe next time i will get larger crickets. i also bought some parakeet grit, but was hi calcium so decided not to use it. instead i got some dirty old sand. first i microwaved it to sterilize it and put a little in there feed. and yes i will keep treats to minimum
They're so funny with the crickets. I actually volunteer to mow the lawn in the summer, just to get my chickens a bounty of bugs. Oh the things us humans do for those greedy little feathered pigs.
Isn't it funny to give them treats, I used to pick up worms from the driveway and watch them run around the brooder with them! They can't seem to eat and run at the same time and the treat always gets stolen!
I have to ask: How did you get the bugs by mowing the lawn? Did you bag it then pick them out? Or did you have the chicks follow behind in your wake like the gulls do when the farmers plow in the Spring?
I remember when every chick i had in the brooder last year had a meal worm and they were still running around trying to keep them away and steal from each other. The term chicken crack is soooo true.
Quote:When I was mowing the back yard I just took a plastic magarine bowl with me and grabbed the crickets that would pop up when the mower got close. We are usually overrun with crickets in the summertime. Note: It takes at least twice as long to mow the grass and catch crickets at the same time.
Last year my husband was very sick with the flu when we got our chicks and ducks. Still he'd go down with a container of meal worms and sit bundled up in blankets for an hour blowing his nose, coughing and feeding them treats.
Quote:I found your post AFTER I had given my 2 1/2 day old chicks some crickets (I have bearded dragons that I buy them for so I thought I'd give a handful to the chicks). I tossed in a handful thinking they gobble them right up, but I guess its hard for chicks to eat and run at the same time. Every chick that had a cricket had at least 5 or 6 others running after it trying to nab the cricket in its beak from it. I think because of the size of the crickets (mediums) it took at least a minute for the dust to settle. My chicks had never had live insects before, but I guess God has programmed them with what they needed to know. They sure went crazy!! I'm really looking forward to watching them 'graze' and catch bugs when they are older.
