They are attracted to treats that are worm-like in appearance. I know they like cooked spaghetti noodles because of being worm-like, but I only wanted to give treats with a lot of nutritional value, so I needed something else. I found out back in the spring with my first brooder chicks that they were uninterested in anything chopped up fine, so when I stopped chopping veggies in the food processor, instead grating them on a grater, they went crazy for the treats. They especially liked colorful shredded carrots and dark greens like shredded spinach. They are 22 weeks old now, and their favorite treat is still shredded carrots.
With my new chicks, I tried cubing up tomatoes and peaches, but they just walked in them. Just a little later, I shredded up some carrots and zucchini on the grater and they went after it like little piranhas.
All of my chickens will be free ranging and foraging as soon as they can go outside, so I want them to learn to eat vegetables and greens from a young age, just like they would if they were with a broody hen. My reasoning is along the same lines as with a human baby. You wouldn't feed a child nothing but stage one baby food until they were teenagers, then all of a sudden start feeding them adult food. That would be hard on the digestive system. To me, it is the same with chicks. I read on here that some people feed chick starter until they are old enough to lay, then immediately switch to 'adult' food with bigger pieces of grains. It seems more natural to me to introduce foods to chicks in stages as they grow into adult birds, the same as you would any creature or human. Moreover, introduce them to foods you will want them to recognize and enjoy when they are outside foraging on their own.
With my new chicks, I tried cubing up tomatoes and peaches, but they just walked in them. Just a little later, I shredded up some carrots and zucchini on the grater and they went after it like little piranhas.
All of my chickens will be free ranging and foraging as soon as they can go outside, so I want them to learn to eat vegetables and greens from a young age, just like they would if they were with a broody hen. My reasoning is along the same lines as with a human baby. You wouldn't feed a child nothing but stage one baby food until they were teenagers, then all of a sudden start feeding them adult food. That would be hard on the digestive system. To me, it is the same with chicks. I read on here that some people feed chick starter until they are old enough to lay, then immediately switch to 'adult' food with bigger pieces of grains. It seems more natural to me to introduce foods to chicks in stages as they grow into adult birds, the same as you would any creature or human. Moreover, introduce them to foods you will want them to recognize and enjoy when they are outside foraging on their own.
