Is this a disaster, could they die?

[taraann81]

Long story short. DH fed my wild bird feed(cracked corn) no grit to my 1week old barred rock and 2 week old silkie crosses for 3 days while I was away. What now.

 

[TXmom]

I'm not sure, but my guess is they'll be fine. Give them some grit ASAP...they are young so use Chick Grit or Parakeet Grit (it's like sand). That should help them digest what they ate. And of course, feed them their regular chick starter. I think chick starter has a little bit of grit in it, so I'm sure they're fine.

 

[Mahlzeit]

If it's warm enough during the days you could also put them in the grass/dirt for short supervised trips. They would pick up their own grit that way. Good luck.

 

[taraann81]

How warm is warm enough? I've been wondering when I can take them outside for short times in the little pen we have. I've been taking my ducklings out since they were a few days old, they don't seem to get as cold as the chickens. I've never has chickens before and from what I have read they seem much less hardy than ducks, so I worry about them

 

[TXmom]

Well, I was taking my week-old chicks outside for short play-times in January...but then I'm in Texas

What are your temps there now? I would say if the sun is shining, then 60 would be fine for a short time period...maybe 10 minutes. Maybe even cooler than that if you watch them carefully. If they start peeping loudly then they are cold and need to go back inside. If they're moving around and exploring things, then they're fine.

 

[georgialee]

Petsmart sells cockatiel grit that I used with my chicks. Hope they're all okay!

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Tractor Supply sells "chick grit". careful though, I think they still have chicks.

 

[chseeads]

I don't think it will be a tragedy. I think they should be fine.

 

[ging3rhoffman]

Walmart has chick grit also. If they were raised by a hen they would have been out with her free ranging..so i think they will be fine.

 

[Southernbelle]

It's fine. Whenever I let one of my broodies raise chicks she would call them over to the pile of scratch I set out for the adults. And these were 2 and 3 day old chicks. I did sprinkle grit on their chick food later.