did they give me the wrong food?

[sheeshshe]

the chick starter I got is chick starter crumbles. it just looks too big for them to eat. is it the wrong thing? do I need to get a different food?

 

[emilyweck]

No, if it's Chick Starter it should be fine. They'll peck them into smaller pieces. How old are your chickens?

 

[TXmom]

I have Purina Start and Grow, and I think it was too big for my chicks when they were tiny babies, especially my day-old Silkies. I put the crumbles in my Magic Bullet (little blender) and ground them up smaller, almost to a powder, for at least a week. I've also heard some people put the crumbles in a coffee grinder. Some brands of starter food come ground up smaller, but some don't.

 

[sheeshshe]

yeah, they are just a few days old. I thought about grinding it up... I think I will... they were picking at it but not eating it ya know? it looked too big

 

[noitulover]

soaking it in a little bit of water will soften it and make it more palatable.

 

[TXmom]

Quote:
Yep, that's what I noticed....they would pick at the food and then drop it because it was too big. When I ground it up smaller, they ate like crazy! It made me feel better

 

[sheeshshe]

I ground some up but not all of it ground in the food processor... I didn't have a coffee grinder... so som eof it is ground smaller and some isn't.. I put it back in and they ate some of it... not a lot but a little. now they are sleeping

 

[Superior Chicks]

I also found the crumbles of my starter/grower too be too big and they were having trouble eating. So, like many others here, I put them into the chopper and ground them up..........about 10 seconds per two cup load. Then they started to eat pretty good, and it just got better each day.

Now they are 3 1/2 weeks old and are having no trouble with the crumbles as is right from the bag. But I did grind for the first 2 1/2 weeks.

Ma