How do you get your chicks to eat starter crumble?

[magicpigeon]

My hens are free range and only grudgingly come to eat pellets. Most of their diet is either grass fed or scratch. How can I get her chicks to eat starter? My hen was raised by a literally WILD chicken

I want her chickens to inherit the "Chicken vs. Wild" traits but want them to be healthy as well. Do I have to separate them? Or just feed their Ma starter as well?

 

[zazouse]

Ya know my entire flock is free ranged and i feed flock raiser in the crumble forum when i have chicks so everyone gets to eat,

i never use medicated feed as they free range entirely and are never penned in together, i have never had an out break of anything here in the 30 years i have had chickens.

Do ya have any photos of your pretties to share?

 

[magicpigeon]

LOL nothing much yet. I've got 24 chicks under a surrogate Ma due on the 5th of Jan and another lot on the 17th

Here is a pic I just found on my photobucket account. It's quite old but you can see surrogate Ma coming out from the bushes and "real" Ma is only 4 months old in this one! She's the partridge. I bred her with the white roo in the pic also so I'm interested to see what colors will come out

ETA I forgot to post the pic!

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Toss a bit of crumbles to mom like it is a treat, she will call babies to eat once she approves of it.

Really, if your adults are healthy free ranging, her chicks will be also.

 

[zazouse]

Quote:

WoW they are BeAuTiFuLLLLLLLL

 

[theprimouomo]

What I Did When My Chicks Were 3 Days Old ....that I Had To Put My Index Finger In There Feed And Pick It With My Finger
And It Worked Perfect ...why The The Index Finger U Shall Ask Because The Index Finger Is Similer To The Hens Peek They Thought That My Finger Was The Guide To Food And I Didt Once And It Worked Untill Today :d