Egg yolk a good idea????

[FBMcrazy8]

So, I have given my chicks egg yolk, obviously fully cooked, off and on since I got them. More the first couple days. Now it’s more maybe once a week(so really only 2x since the first couple days). They are only 3 weeks. But they are REALLY liking it. To the point that I worry they are going to eat their eggs. I tried to give them mealworm and I kid you not, they pick it up out of my hand and drop it and look at me like “what the F*** is this?!?!” So I just put it on the ground for them and they want nothing to do with it.

Should I worry about them eating their own eggs? I don’t want to give them anymore because I don’t want them too but if I should worry, what can I do?

 

[nuthatched]

They don't know that what you feed is from what they're goung to lay. However, egg yolk is super fatty is should typically used on chickens under the weather for calories, it's not great to give them as a treat. They are too young for treats anyway since you don't want to subtract from their growth by giving them anything but they're chick feed. :]

 

[FBMcrazy8]

They don't know that what you feed is from what they're goung to lay. However, egg yolk is super fatty is should typically used on chickens under the weather for calories, it's not great to give them as a treat. They are too young for treats anyway since you don't want to subtract from their growth by giving them anything but they're chick feed. :]

I guess I shouldn’t have said treat….but I a few of them were sneezing, but no runny nose. I change their bedding often and it’s pine shavings that is dust free. So I was kinda giving it to them for that but didn’t want to give too much either knowing how much they like it.

Edit: I did just try the mealworm….only a few. It really wasn’t enough to amount to anything. Just to see what they would do. If it was gonna be the same as eggs or not. And since they weren’t interested in it made me wonder.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you are providing everything they eat you want the chick feed to be the majority of what they eat. The chick feed is a balanced diet of all the nutrients they need, if you give them too much of something else it can upset that balance. A general rule of thumb for chicks or grown chickens is that if they can clean it up in 15 minutes or less you are OK. You are not going to upset that balanced diet. You don't need to feed them any of that, they don't need it, but in moderation it doesn't hurt them.

If they are being raised by a broody hen and she takes them out to forage for some of their food you've lost all control over that. If you have older chickens and they forage for a lot of their food you've lost all control over micromanaging their diet too. Chicks raised by a broody hen typically do very well even if we don't micromanage that diet. In my opinion, people tend to overthink things like this.

Your chicks are not going to learn to eat their own eggs by you feeding them egg yolks. You can feed them the cooked egg whites without worry. People worry about that a lot, if it makes you feel better just crumble them up.

On the meal worms, I'll tell a story. One time I had about twenty 10 week old chicks free ranging. When I was preparing corn from the garden for canning I collected a small yogurt cup of corn ear worms. I dumped those worms in a pile near the chicks. Inch by inch, step by sneaky step the chicks edged closer. A worm wiggled! Run away! Run away! But they didn't run far. Very soon, inch by inch, step by sneaky step the chicks edged closer. A worm wiggled! Run away! Run away! They repeated this about four times until a very brave cockerel managed to grab one and eat it. That's all it took, those corn ear worms were all gone in a few seconds. It is stuff like that that makes chick TV better than anything on cable, satellite, or antenna.

It is not unusual at all for chickens to not eat something that you read on here is a favorite treat. I toss a lot of stuff from the garden to them. Sometimes they come running and devour it. Sometimes they ignore it, even if it is something they are supposed to love. Often they ignore it for a while, then one gets brave enough to try it. Soon they are all eating it. Just offer them the different things and be patient. If they want it they will eat it.

 

[BelovedBirds]

So, I have given my chicks egg yolk, obviously fully cooked, off and on since I got them. More the first couple days. Now it’s more maybe once a week(so really only 2x since the first couple days). They are only 3 weeks. But they are REALLY liking it. To the point that I worry they are going to eat their eggs. I tried to give them mealworm and I kid you not, they pick it up out of my hand and drop it and look at me like “what the F*** is this?!?!” So I just put it on the ground for them and they want nothing to do with it.

Should I worry about them eating their own eggs? I don’t want to give them anymore because I don’t want them too but if I should worry, what can I do?

They wont eat their eggs just for liking cooked eggs. They start eating their eggs for lots of reasons but it seems many just break them accidently and discover the tasty treat inside.
My ducks get eggs frequently, a large amount of their eggs are just fed right back to them, they love them-but dont go after their eggs after they lay them.
Its pretty safe. I know little about chickens, but I expect their eggs are a fairly healthy treat for them just like with ducks. Since they're babies, I would cut down though. It's really more for a health boost for unwell babies, or very occassional treat.