Eden83_haaretz
Songster
I'd also add that if someone is intent on giving their chicks or Chicken rice, don't make it white rice (at least well cooked brown rice), like someone mentioned before, white rice is basically void of nutrition, even for humans.
I read the same thing that when it swells in the gizzard it may cause problems, so I've only ever given them cooked rice as a treat. Noticed too that chicks that don't have constant activity will definitely suffer from pastybut and if you give them big grains it seems to make the risks of pasty but higher.
I had to take care/feed a premature chick for a week before I could reintroduce it to it's mom with it's siblings; I gave this chick for just that week cooked beans, corn masa, tuna, and chick feed; the truth is when they were little you could barely tell the difference, but now that they're at about 9 weeks she really is smaller than the rest. I guess that all those insects, greens etc that the mothers give them does not compare at all to any feed a human might give.
What we did notice is that high quality chick feed can definitely give them a boost if they also feed naturally. They really like grass (it has to be clipped short or I read it can also impact the crop), clover, and few other greens that are wild and I wouldn't know how to identify.
And I also wouldn't consider chick feed "junk" food, maybe processed yes, but in the end they do look to emulate the nutritional balance that a normal chicken might provide. I think one is better off giving chick feed than trying to make a "natural" balanced chick feed.
Seems to me that people in the past used to feed their animals dried corn and dried rice because it was easy and seemed practical, that didn't necessarily mean that the animal had a balanced diet and was extremely healthy. I've as your grandfather if it wasn't more a case of that the chickens free ranged along with their chicks and then were able to get themselves what they really needed. Chicks weren't usually in brooders back then.
You mentioned that you put a blanket over them at night, how warm or cold is it where you are? They might need more heat than just a blanket. Chicks that are in their third week need to be at 85 degrees Fahrenheit, you're supposed to lower the temperature each week by 5 degrees until you reach 70 degrees.
I read the same thing that when it swells in the gizzard it may cause problems, so I've only ever given them cooked rice as a treat. Noticed too that chicks that don't have constant activity will definitely suffer from pastybut and if you give them big grains it seems to make the risks of pasty but higher.
I had to take care/feed a premature chick for a week before I could reintroduce it to it's mom with it's siblings; I gave this chick for just that week cooked beans, corn masa, tuna, and chick feed; the truth is when they were little you could barely tell the difference, but now that they're at about 9 weeks she really is smaller than the rest. I guess that all those insects, greens etc that the mothers give them does not compare at all to any feed a human might give.
What we did notice is that high quality chick feed can definitely give them a boost if they also feed naturally. They really like grass (it has to be clipped short or I read it can also impact the crop), clover, and few other greens that are wild and I wouldn't know how to identify.
And I also wouldn't consider chick feed "junk" food, maybe processed yes, but in the end they do look to emulate the nutritional balance that a normal chicken might provide. I think one is better off giving chick feed than trying to make a "natural" balanced chick feed.
Seems to me that people in the past used to feed their animals dried corn and dried rice because it was easy and seemed practical, that didn't necessarily mean that the animal had a balanced diet and was extremely healthy. I've as your grandfather if it wasn't more a case of that the chickens free ranged along with their chicks and then were able to get themselves what they really needed. Chicks weren't usually in brooders back then.
You mentioned that you put a blanket over them at night, how warm or cold is it where you are? They might need more heat than just a blanket. Chicks that are in their third week need to be at 85 degrees Fahrenheit, you're supposed to lower the temperature each week by 5 degrees until you reach 70 degrees.
