Enrichment for Baby chicks?

[FluffyChickensM]

Hi, I was wondering if anybody has got any good ideas for enrichment for baby chicks? I got these ideas for enrichment for chickens on a website but I was wondering if these ideas would be suitable for baby chicks:

• Perches, tires, benches or chairs (for the chickens to stand on, everything would be secure)
• Tie spinach leaves to posts
• Let them peck at cooked spaghetti because they think it's a worm
• Dig shallow holes for them to get in and have a good scratch
• Plant small trees and bushes for them to climb
• Scratch in gravel
• Low shelters

Hope these are ok and here is the website I got the ideas from: http://www.woodgreen.org.uk/pet_advice/423_chicken_enrichment

 

[applefalls]

I'll let some of the more experienced chicken experts comment on the foods for enrichment; personally, I stick to chick crumbles only with my chicks. The enrichment for the older chickens is great, and they love a good cabbage hung high, but I don't know much about feeding treats to the babies.

About the exercise, I think perches of various height are a good idea. Chicks are great at flying and jumping, so they'd love some things to practice perching on. The holes or dirty areas are also a nice idea.

 

[BirdyMe]

My chicks are about 4 weeks old, and they just started showing a slight interest in treats. My younger ones could care less. Spinach leaves sound okay to me, but I would wait till they were about 3-4 weeks old before I gave them spaghetti....seems like it would be kind of sticky for them. I'd be worried about them choking. But then again, I could be wrong about that.

However, as already mentioned, the chicks would love some perches to climb on!

 

[aoxa]

The earlier you start with treats, the less fussy they are. Mine started with greens at 1 week old (plenty of chick grit available to them at all times) and they are easily enticed by pretty much anything I offer them. They are raised by a broody, so she often finds them scratch grains. Apparently scratch is not good for chicks, but I can't help what she gives them. I wouldn't want to keep them secluded when they are having such a great time being integrated with my entire flock. They are a couple days shy of 6 weeks.

They love to fly/jump/perch. I found that the younger they are, the more appreciative they are of stuffed animals. I gave my little ones a tigger stuffed toy right up until 4 weeks old. They loved curling up in the fur. Perches wouldn't really be beneficial until they were at least 2 or 3 weeks old. Mine didn't enjoy flying up to perch until 4 weeks old. Though they loved perching on their mom.

They love dust-bathing. They start that at a couple days old, so a dust bath spot would be really nice for them. They will dust bathe with shavings, but part sand/dirt/DE would be best.

 

[AQHAchick22]

I put a couple branches into the brooder when my chicks were about a week old. They LOVED them. I placed two kind of close together and they loved jumping from one to the other. It was and still is funny watching them try to climb up the branch. They rest on the ground so they can climb up them and there is one a little higher up for the braver ones.

You can also buy a chick "farmers helper" I believe it's called treat thing. It's soft and shaped like a log. It has a string attached to it so you can hang it up and they love to peck at that. It's essentially the chick starter only shaped into a log...

 

[FluffyChickensM]

Thanks for the help guys!