Giving Insects to baby chicks?

[GreenSpirit Hydro]

I have 12 healthy 2 week old baby chicks and was curious if I can give them crickets to start snacking on? Can they eat them ,will they eat them, or am I just a sick SOB? Will they not eat critters when they are eventually put in the back yard coop?

 

[gritsar]

Two weeks old? Go for it. They'll have a blast chasing them if nothing else.
You might want to offer them a little grit when you give them the crickets. Plain parakeet grit works fine for this.

 

[TXmom]

My chickies are 4 weeks old and we've bought the small crickets from Petsmart 3 times. In fact, we gave them some last night...they LOVE them! Those crickets last maybe 10 seconds in the brooder

When a chick grabs a cricket, she starts running in circles making sure no one can steal her treat

I also give mine parakeet grit, but I saw "chick" grit at TSC the other day so I might buy that when I run out of parakeet grit. Oh, and they think the grit is a treat too!

 

[TheRidingLibrarian]

I bought some of the small crickets from TSC today without thinking...are mine still too young for them? They were delivered from MM on Monday, so still not a week old yet. I do have the baby grit to sprinkle over their feed if needed.

Thanks,
Patti

 

[debakadeb]

Something to think about when giving your baby treats -- they really need the starter food that has the right mix of nutrients more than anything else. Chicks have not yet been taught to overeat so if they fill up with the treats, they may not be getting everything they truly need. I would wait until they are 4-6 weeks old before giving treats.

 

[TheRidingLibrarian]

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