Has anyone ever done a Treat Chart for baby chicks?

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

I think one of the best things I've run across on BYC is the awesome Treats Chart. I am very thankful for all the time and effort that went into it.

My issue is this - I'm a newbie with 3 young chicks - they're about a week and a half old. I am spending a lot of time on the "raising baby chicks" forum and I've found tons of newbies, like me, who are navigating the world of new chicken ownership with a book in one hand and BYC in the other.

I'm constantly seeing questions like "when can we start yogurt?" and "when can we start scraps?" and "When can we start hard-boiled egg?" etc...

It IS hard to know when it's appropriate to start these treats. I've seen answers from yogurt at 4 days to yogurt at 4 weeks - to scraps at 2 months... to people feeding chopped up apple at 2 weeks.

So this leads me to the subject of this thread... Has anyone ever done a chick treat chart? Are there any written guidelines showing when all the tasty treats from the Treat Chart can be introduced to your chicks?

My girls are only 1.5 weeks old and so far have only had yogurt. I bought grit today with the hopes I can feed it to them along with some treats soon, but figuring out which treats to serve when is tough when you haven't developed any chicken common sense yet.

Thanks everyone!

Edited title to show I mean "baby chicks" and not full-grown chickens.

 

[rigagirl]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-Treats_Chart

 

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

Right - I know about the regular treat chart... but I'm looking at specific treats for baby chicks. I know I can't feed my 10 day old chicks the things on the Treat Chart - but I know a lot of us newbies with new chicks are dying to know what we can feed to little-little chicks and when we can feed it to them.

 

[Blue_Myst]

I'm really curious about this, too, so thanks for asking this question!

According to the 'Raising Chickens 101' page, greens are a big no-no for a while, but says after the first week or two you can give them a bug or two to play with. Since you have grit, I would think that it would work out fine. That's the extent to what I've been able to dig up, though.

 

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

Blue_Myst - I gave mine some mashed up banana with their yogurt today, but I'm not sure they liked it. The whole time I'm thinking... am I making them happy with a fun new treat...or am I screwing up their digestive system with this spoonful of banana?

I wish I knew... I hope a bit of mashed banana isn't a bad thing.... they seemed to be sorta weirded out by it and stuck to the yogurt. I'll go and check on them after dinner and remove whatever's left.

 

[okiehen]

I give my chicks with a broody (hen raising them) any time, with out a broody ( me raising them) at about 3 weeks on
scrambled egg
bread
grass
cooked oatmeal
cooked white rice
mac n cheese
cooked pasta
mashed potatoes
green beans
cucumbers
tomatoes

 

[Bridgette1221]

Ok whats the "with the broody and without the broody" mean? I too am a newbie and personally have gave mine who are 4 days old boiled eggs finely chopped which they love (and fight over, sooo funny!) and yogurt. I am wanting to know when I can give them a few small crickets? I think they would have such fun trying to catch them, ok maybe its me wanting the fun but still...when can they have something like tiny crickets?

 

[guesswhatchickenbutt]

I'm glad so many other newbies have the same questions... the raising chicks threads are full of these "when can we feed our young chicks ____ (fill in the blank)" type questions.

I'd be forever indebted to a seasoned chicken owner if they put down a list of treats by age....

And Bridgette - crickets? Are you planning on buying crickets for the brooder? I hadn't thought about doing that. Sounds like a fun idea... I wonder if mine are old enough for that???

 

[Bridgette1221]

Yea I read somewhere that the loved them. I use to have bearded dragons that ate them and I know they come in small (very tiny) size... I just dont know if they digestive systems can handle them right now. I'm guessing they could.. I mean as babies with their mothers they would be eating whatever they found outside which would include bugs... I think! lol I just wanted a more "chicken savy" person to verify it for me before I do give them some. Now I'm just tryin to figure out how to love all 12 of them and not leave someone out! They are sooo darn cute!

 

[Pampered Hen]

Just keep in mind that with every treat you give your baby chicks they will eat less of the chick grower which has all the nutrition they need.
So, be mindful of that and keep the treats at a minimum during the first weeks of their lives. They will suffer no deprivation by living off the balanced feed.