Okay...I got them to eat as much of the chick mash as I could, then let them have some string bean, a strawberry top and some hard boiled egg to get them as full as I could...still not like the chickies outside but you could feel a lil' acorn size lump.
I turned off the light, scooted them into the warm box, covered the pen with towels (my husband likes to sleep with the doors open at night).
This morning they were huddled in a corner, out of the warm box (not sure how long but they seemed ok), they went over and pecked around at the chick scratch and I put in their fresh mash. The pecked a little then wandered over to the warm box.
Now in contrast, I went out and let the brood hen with her babies out of their box, they immediately started eating the chick scratch I was putting down and even 10 minutes later they were all still pecking and scratching around the nursery pen eating what they could find.
I have had a lot of chicks (inside and outside) and never ones that were not interested in chick food. They get all excited at a blueberry, strawberry tops, dried mealworms and other non-chick foods (I was getting desperate when their crops were so empty and couldn't get them to eat any chick food), I leave them with their mash and scratch to eat...I only give them the "treats" after they seem uninterested in eating anymore and they don't have a noticeable crop.
I have a chick scratch w/probiotic in a little cup that I see them peck at periodically through the day, I have a dirt box they love to roll in and peck at the dirt, and I keep food in the pen all the time which they stroll over and peck at here and there.
My husband says, they are growing, have happy peeps and are active so he said I shouldn't worry....
