Feeding chicks earth worms.

[Dogfish]

Looking to give the chicks some treats to warm them up to me a bit more. Maggots and meal worms are not readily available, but I can get worms everywhere.

Anything I need to know before I give them some treats?

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

I believe I have read on here that earthworms can harbor some sorts of parasites and aren't the best treat for chicks.

Mine do eat them on occasion when I'm digging in the garden, as I can't even begin to stop them. One of my girls sure ate a belly full of them today while I was planting potatoes!

I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will chime in shortly.

 

[Dogfish]

They are getting medicated feed daily, a vitamin suppliment daily in their water, and some Tetracycline every few days in their water, so would this help them battle nematodes?

 

[easttxchick]

I just wouldn't give them the worms yet. If you want to give them a treat, give them a mashed up boiled egg or a bit of yogurt. Earthworms can cause gapeworm(even for adult birds) so to me, it's just not worth it.
Enjoy the new chicks!

 

[dntd]

Most pet stores sell mealworms, That being said earth worms can make even reptile sick if it's from a bad source.

 

[gallusdomesticus]

I concur with the above sentiments. Giving chicks earthworms guarantees they'll get intestinal worms. I would wait until they're adults and you have them on a worming schedule.

 

[silkydragon]

i feed mine red worms and earthworms i find under bricks and wood all the time i completly free range my birds and it would be impossible to keep them away from that stuff i dont use medicated feed or vitamins and havent had a problem yet on rainydays when worms are all over the sidewalk my hens are there to clean them up pretty fast with the weather being so wet lately they have barley touched there laying food becouse they are so full from eating worms and otherbugs but i usually waite until they are a week or 2 old before i feed them anything besides turkey or chickstarter

 

[keeko]

3 weeks ago (when I first got my chicks) I would have said: go to town!! they'll be getting earthworms when they're out free ranging anyway, it's only "natural" and let chickens be chickens.

Then when they were just over a week old, a friend of mine (who shared the order of chicks with me) told me about how fun it was to watch the chicks go crazy over some earthworms she had found. I did the same thing, and they loved it. Then a few days later, it was noticeable that one of her little Barred Rocks stopped eating, drinking and stopped growing. This was the only BR in the flock and my friend specifically recalls seeing her eat the majority of the earthworm. When the chick finally died, it had been panting and breathing very hard. Upon further research, it turns out that earthworms DO carry gapeworms, and they kill chicks by suffocating them, which explains the behavior shortly before death.

Luckily, my chicks are still alive, and I did not lose any to the parasites that could be in earthworms. Maybe I'm lucky, as it seems so many other people out there are. Maybe my friend and her little BR were just unlucky. Maybe it has to do with the soil? Maybe it's the geographical location? I don't know, but honestly, do you want to take chances like that with such a tiny life?

There are many other treats you can give them that they'll love. I give my blueberries and grapes, and they go crazy over them! They're not too fond of strawberries, but someone else once told me that cucumbers were a huge hit with their flock.

And just from my research, it appears that gapeworm can lay dormant in young birds for as long as 4 years, so maybe the 2 or 3 in my flock that got an earthworm are still at risk. I really don't know, because I'm figuring all this out as I go along. But my friend losing one to gapeworms was a wake-up call. I certainly won't go digging up every earthworm I find so my chickens DONT eat them, but why take the chance and give them earthworms voluntarily?

Just my two cents. And for the record, I still think you should let chickens be chickens. But they ARE domesticated animals (no matter what anyone says), and rely on us to keep them safe from all sorts of things. Why take the risk?

Good luck!!

 

[fargosmom]

Just an observation about an earlier OP post - you mention that you add tetracycline to their water "every few days". This is really not a good practice with any antibiotic, since it is not a sufficient dose over a sufficient time to really kill any particular bacteria, plus you're not really targeting any particular infection so it doesn't serve much purpose, and could lead to your birds having an antibiotic-resistant infection later on when that tetracycline might actually be your first line of defense. Over-use of antibiotics is rapidly leading to their loss of effectiveness; we should reserve them for when they're really needed and only when used on appropriately sensitive bacteria.
Just my two cents. . .

 

[felidaet]

I noticed you did not mention if you were giving them grit. They need grit if you are feeding them anything other than chick start feed.