Do Peachicks need to be taught to eat and drink?

[RedBugPoultry]

I have my first 2 peachicks and they are 2 days old. I do not see them eating but their food is disturbed. I have seen them drinking! Their dropping are the color of their food. They are not like turkey chicks are they and need another chick to teach them to eat? Please, should I be doing something different?

 

[kyeschicks]

I don't know about peachicks...but whenever I had chicken chicks (lol) I would put paper towels in their brooder and sprinkle their food (chick starter) and they would eat it

 

[RedBugPoultry]

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That is what I do with my chicks and keets but I just did not know with these peachicks. I have worked so hard to get them and I do not want to loose them.

Thank you, I do hope they are eating!

 

[Kedreeva]

Mine wouldn't eat much unless I "pecked" at the food with my hands- and then they ate like they were STARVING.

 

[Kev]

Some do, some sort of do, some don't. If you're worried then yes good idea to encourage them- peck at the food as above says, or wet finger then dip in feed, let them peck off your finger or give bits of cooked egg.

Can't do harm by putting a day old chicken with them. Chickens eat so much and their pecking around attracts peachicks into pecking at the same thing.

 

[RedBugPoultry]

Thank you for your responses~I have put 2 guinea keets with them now. Hopefully this will help. Keets are so hyper though, but all I have that small right now.

 

[natron96]

if they seem picky about there food just add a mashed up boiled egg yolk that is the only way i have ever gotten mine to eat

 

[Kev]

Been told keets can get real aggressive at pecking/biting chicks of other species, particularly the eyelids. Not sure how reliable that is, though.. anybody else?

 

[Kedreeva]

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They can be, and they're very flighty... can't possibly help keep the peachick friendly either, since they are SUCH visual learners.

 

[RedBugPoultry]

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They can be, and they're very flighty... can't possibly help keep the peachick friendly either, since they are SUCH visual learners.

Keets are very flighty after a couple of days but these are very young day olds. Keets are good eaters though and the peachicks seem to be pecking at the food more and drinking more this morning. I will try the egg with them this morning and see if I can get them to eat more.

On the note of keets being aggressive, if you do not keep a good supply of food with them they will start pecking at each other. You do not want them to run out of food for very long. I have raised chicks with them and the only real problem with that is the keets are so flighty and run so much that they bowl over the chicks. Plus, young chicks tend to sleep more in the first few days than keet and it is hard on the chicks in that way to be together. The keets are sleeping more than the peachicks in this case but I do not think I will keep them in there very long together.

Thank you all for you help on this! I really would like to keep these little peachicks since I have had to work so hard to get these two!