how old do my chicks need to be?

[franciena fancy]

Do my girls have to be a certain age before i give them treats (usually left over veggies from my kitchen)?

 

[momaroo]

I am looking for an answer to this as well. When can I feed them something other than the chick starter? I know they must be getting bored with the same old thing every day and I can hardly wait to give them some treats!

 

[sarahswank]

as long as your feeding them grit,you can give treats from just a few days old. I wouldnt switch them to a different diet until much older, but treats are ok as long as they have grit and your not filling them up on the treats.

 

[ny mason]

I feed my 6 week old chicks cracked corn every now and then.so far so good..

 

[libbyt]

When should I start giving them shells?

 

[sarahswank]

When should I start giving them shells?

I assume you mean oyster shells? You will want to hold off until right before they start laying eggs. I believe most people say 15 weeks is a pretty good age to start offering it on the side.

 

[jkhenry]

i have 8 chicks that are 16 weeks now that i would like to feed oyster shells on the side but my problem is i have 6 more chicks in coop that are 6 weeks how would i keep my younger babies from eatin the oyster shells cuz i was told it can damage them internaly

 

[Wolf3080]

My neighbor had oyster shells in with his chickens and they didn't touch it until they started laying. I would think they the younger ones wouldn't eat any unless they needed it.

 

[wayne hulgan]

i have 8 chicks that are 16 weeks now that i would like to feed oyster shells on the side but my problem is i have 6 more chicks in coop that are 6 weeks how would i keep my younger babies from eatin the oyster shells cuz i was told it can damage them internaly

We have little ones in with our big girls right now. I keep feed out for both, layer for the big girls and chick feed for the little ones, as well as oyster shells. The only problem we have had is keeping the big girls from eating the chick food. The little ones don't eat the oyster shell or the layer feed. I have the chick food in the pen the little ones stay in with a door that the big girls can't get in.
As for treats, just like Sara said, make sure they have grit. We use sand from the creek or just dirt from the garden.

 

[jkhenry]

ok because i had oyster shells in coop with all the chicks and it was disappearing fast im was hoping my 16 week olds were eating it i never saw lil ones eatin it but was told it can damage there kidney so i took it out my older and lil ones are all together in coop and run they both have their feed and yes its hard ti keep bigger girls from eatin chic food but i think babies steal their pellets too i was just concerned about if babies would eat oyster shells