Green gel for chicks?

[del gallinero]

Planning to get my chicks this spring and am looking at preparing food etc. Just a quick question about
this green gel the hatcheries and other catalogue suppliers are selling for their first few days. Anyone know
about that ?? I have seen Vital Packs with vitamin and electrolytes and Save a Chick -- same idea to put in water.
Does anyone recommend using any of these? Do you know if it is artificial green dye? Thanks for your input.

 

[SteveBaz]

The best diet to feed the your new babies is a medicated chick feed for the first 16 to 20 weeks. When giving them treats let it be proteins it helps the body grow and the digestive tract develop well. Offer them 3 grain scratch each day and in a rice or prepared oatmeal protein seeds like flax seed and other seeds such as black oiled sunflower seed also known as BOSS. Flax seed, linseed and other seeds are available. Offer greens veggies and fruits but no citrus. Add a water soluble vitamin, I like Vita Sol and also put a couple of table spoons of organic apple cider vinegar. That is a great basic diet and will sustain a very good flock if maintained. You do not need variety, they are chickens and it will be you that gets bored with the same old diet not them bc they are chickens. At 22 to 26 weeks start adding crushed oyster shells in a separate bowl to help with a lot of calcium for healthy eggs that they will be laying soon but you have a long way to go to 6 months old and summer time. Best of luck to you and

 

[Kelsey Cathy]

I did get the GroGel for my mail order chicks. They were delivered in Nov to my local post office and then I picked them up and brought them to my office. I had brought in my heat lamp and used an empty office to house them until I was off shift and could take them home. I knew they would have to be at my office for many hours so I used the GroGel to give them what they needed until I could get them home. They attacked the green goo and water I placed in their box.
I ordered 25 from Meyers and I received 26 (one just in case I think), But not one of them perished! I don't know if it was the GroGel or not but I would do it again for sure.
Good Luck

 

[chickensinwasillaAK]

I've used Gro-Gel on every hatchery order I've had because the trip to Alaska really stresses them out. The Gro-Gel is loaded with stuff to get the digestive systems going. I've never lost a chick in the first week so I'll keep using it. They go nuts eating it, I think it's the color that attracts them.

 

[del gallinero]

Thanks for the information. I think your experience with it helped me decide I will use it. How long did you keep giving it to them. Days? Weeks?

 

[Trefoil]

You just give gro gel the first feeding.

 

[Chainsawgrandma]

We just ordered a second bunch of pullets. The first bunch were red sex link and the second bunch is black sex link. We got grow gel with this second bunch and fed it to them as their first feed. Of course, my husband sprinkled chick feed and they took right to that. We lost 2 chicks. One was DOA and the second one died at day 2. All the rest are extremely vigorous and active. The Grogel we got with them is Grogel Plus B, by Dawe's Laboratories, Arlington Heights, Il. (www.dawesnutrition.com) and reading the packet, it is loaded with vitamins, fiber, probiotics, etc. I was concerned that it might be a steroid or something of that nature. Our chicks took to water, feed and immediately began scratching (so funny) for food in the little plate of dirt we gave them. (He used MY CERAMIC TART PAN! How could he??)

Anyway, I would give it a thumbs up.

BTW - we are 'rotating' our sex link chickens. Red one year, black the next, etc. Ours are extremely prolific layers and sometimes we get double yolks or more than one egg a day. I know some people don't believe this, but we do. So, they may slow down on their laying after a couple years...and you know what that means.

 

[write2caroline]

I would have it on hand. Can't hurt but they don't need it unless you cannot feed and water them upon pick up. Some companies ship it with the chicks. I wish they always did! If you have to travel from the post where you pick them up then it would not hurt to give it to them.

Caroline

 

[CJ of Okla]

Does anyone have a formula to make your own gel for new born chicks. I will hatch some and take to local sale but they sometime they set in a box for 12 hours no food or water. I was hoping someone had figured out a home recipe for making our own gel. I know I can buy it and one pack does 100 chicks (way more than I take to sale) We are talking about maybe 12 chicks.