Help - have run out of chick crumble - now what?

[Chookychook]

Hi everyone,

We have 4 X five week old Autrolorp chicks and will have to wait 12 hours before we can get more chick crumble (last of crumble spilt and unrecoverable) - is there an alternative?

We have 2 year old Isa Browns that are on a mixture of pellets and an oganic grain mix, can we pulverise their food or can the chicks wait twelve hours overnight?

Thanks in advance,

Chookychook

 

[dianneS]

I would pulverize the food you have and the chicks should be fine. I have had day old chicks eat their mom's scratch grains and what bits of cracked corn that are small enough for them, and they were fine. I also free range my chickens and have had baby chicks only a few days old, out scratching for whatever they can find, bugs, seeds, you name it! Those free range chicks usually grow faster than any of my chicks on store bought feed!

 

[eggsrcool]

Hard boiled eggs mashed up

If I run out its what I use

 

[pattypenny]

old timers feed oat meal. corn bread will work.

 

[Mahonri]

all great suggestions... and then keep an inventory and plan ahead

 

[Ridgerunner]

Others have given good suggestions. For an emergency, straight cornmeal will work but I would not make a steady diet of it for them. With most of these, I'd make sure they have grit. If you don't have it but you can find sand, that will work well. If you have a gravel road or driveway, you can probably get sand and fine rocks there, but don't use that if your road has been salted for ice or snow. Too much salt is not good for chicks or chickens.

Good luck!!

 

[Chookychook]

Thank you everyone for your help - we whizzed up some of the older girls pellets and grains and they were very happy - off to the feed store to get crumble now - my babies thank you

 

[txredneckmedic]

The last babys I had I was feeding them scratch grains. They were doing fine till they found a hole in the fence and the cats got them