How Young Can You Give Chicks Pellets

[HUGEPurplePuppy]

So I’ve been feeding my chicks Naturewise starter grower crumbles and in the bag it says at 8 weeks start feeding Naturewise all flock. They come in crumbles but I can find that sold anywhere, just the pellets.

Will they be able to eat them? Is there an easy way to grind it up if it isn’t? Should I even bother?

Ps They have been getting grit since their first month.

 

[CluckerCarrolls]

I don't know! I use naturewise feather fixer and it said not to change feed until 4 months. Maybe try to crush up the pellets to be small enough for them to swallow.

 

[Tre3hugger]

I just switched my six week olds from starter crumble to all flock pellets. They are doing fine.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Depends on how big the pellets are. Smaller pellets should be fine. If they're really big pellets, might want to crush them to break them down a bit, or serve them wet or fermented.

 

[NatJ]

If the nutrition of the pellets and the crumbles are the same, then it's up to you and the birds.

The easiest way to tell: put out a few pellets and watch what happens. If they swallow the pellets and look for more, it's fine.

If for some reason you get in a bind with only pellets available, and the chickens cannot or will not eat them, try serving the food wet. Just put pellets in a dish, add water, let it soak and get soft (a few minutes). Chickens usually consider it a treat.