My chicks are not eating their new food—what can I do?

[franciemayhem]

Hey y’all! My six-week old chicks have been eating Mile Four organic chick feed because we read it was good for silkie chicks in particular, but due to some spillage we ran out of the current batch quite quickly, and we stupidly didn’t have a back-up of the same kind. We ordered more, but for now I’ve been giving the chicks MannaPro Chick Starter Grower (happens to be non-medicated), and they do not seem to be eating it. When my other chickens were the same age, they had no problems with it. Considering that the silkies ate their other feed very quickly when it was put in front of them, I know it’s not that they have small appetites. They’re still energetic and seem otherwise content, so I’m not worried about illness. I know the usual protocol is to mix in food gradually before the change is made, but unfortunately we’re not in that position. Usually we have more than one bag of their preferred food, but this time we just didn’t. The preferred food is going to arrive on Friday—what can I do in the meantime to get these babies eating? I know treats should not be a large part of their diet, especially at this age, but I have blueberries, mealworms, MannaPro scratch grains, and their ‘harvest delight’ mix. Should I try mixing it in to their food, or is there something better I can do?

 

[AGeese]

They should have small grit available with any treats, but the worms might be your best bet since they've probably become acustomed to what you've been giving them. Well before that age I'm scooping up clumps of new grass (dirt and all) and they love it.

 

[nuthatched]

They'll eat when they're hungry. The fact that they're eating less of the new food or more of the old could mean simply that the old food was not as nutrition dense.

 

[franciemayhem]

They should have small grit available with any treats, but the worms might be your best bet since they've probably become acustomed to what you've been giving them. Well before that age I'm scooping up clumps of new grass (dirt and all) and they love it.

They should have small grit available with any treats, but the worms might be your best bet since they've probably become acustomed to what you've been giving them. Well before that age I'm scooping up clumps of new grass (dirt and all) and they love it.

Thank you for the advice! Do you use just any dirt/grass from outside?

 

[franciemayhem]

They'll eat when they're hungry. The fact that they're eating less of the new food or more of the old could mean simply that the old food was not as nutrition dense.

Oh I didn’t even think of that. Thank you for the advice!!!

 

[AGeese]

Thank you for the advice! Do you use just any dirt/grass from outside?

I go where my older birds aren't frequenting and the grass is new, the fine stuff, it usually has some clover with it too. Get a little spade and scoop out a chunk.

They get real curious and usually start picking and scratching at it, and gobbling up the blades of the fine grass.