My chicks have picky eating habits is this normal.

[ComeHereChickey]

So I have 3 Red Sex-link chick that are 10 weeks old and 1 Black chick not sure the breed but it's 7 weeks. My chicks only eat the chick feed they don't like vegs, fruits or other snacks i've read they love to eat. When I let them free range they eat grass, but don't like eating bugs and worms. Is this normal behavior? Will they eventually start liking these items?

 

[linz44]

Sounds like the same thing mine did when they were young. I had black sex links and they were like that and then almost overnight they started chasing bugs and eating worms. Mine wouldn't eat anything other then their feed and eventually they started eating whatever I gave them. I bet they will start eating other things soon!

 

[ComeHereChickey]

Sounds like the same thing mine did when they were young. I had black sex links and they were like that and then almost overnight they started chasing bugs and eating worms. Mine wouldn't eat anything other then their feed and eventually they started eating whatever I gave them. I bet they will start eating other things soon!

good to know it's not just my chicks, I though i was doing something wrong. I'll be patient and waiting for them to start eating other stuff, i have a huge compost pile of kitchen scraps just waiting for them....

 

[linz44]

Lol I thought the same thing! I thought they would never eat anything. Now they are great bug chasers.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Let me tell you a story. A few years back I had a group of 10 week old chicks that were pretty much free ranging. They had access to bugs, grass, and all that and were doing great.

I harvested a bunch of corn for canning from my garden and pretty much filled a small yogurt cup with corn ear worms. I dumped those worms out on dry dirt near those chicks. The chicks looked at them very suspiciously. A couple of the brave chicks started very slowly and carefully to creep toward those worms. A worm wiggled!!! Run away!!! Run away!!! They did not run far and soon a few slowly carefully started stalking those worms again. One wiggled!!! Run away!!! Run away!!!

This happened several times until one very brave young cockerel finally managed to snatch one. That’s all it took. That pile of worms was gone in 30 seconds even with keep away and chasing.

It’s pretty normal for even adult chickens to be cautious about any new food. You read about all these great treats for chickens but I’ve had several instances where I throw something from the garden into the run for them and they ignore it, at least for a while. Just be patient and keep offering that stuff to them. Eventually they will figure it out.

 

[ComeHereChickey]

Let me tell you a story. A few years back I had a group of 10 week old chicks that were pretty much free ranging. They had access to bugs, grass, and all that and were doing great.

I harvested a bunch of corn for canning from my garden and pretty much filled a small yogurt cup with corn ear worms. I dumped those worms out on dry dirt near those chicks. The chicks looked at them very suspiciously. A couple of the brave chicks started very slowly and carefully to creep toward those worms. A worm wiggled!!! Run away!!! Run away!!! They did not run far and soon a few slowly carefully started stalking those worms again. One wiggled!!! Run away!!! Run away!!!

This happened several times until one very brave young cockerel finally managed to snatch one. That’s all it took. That pile of worms was gone in 30 seconds even with keep away and chasing.

It’s pretty normal for even adult chickens to be cautious about any new food. You read about all these great treats for chickens but I’ve had several instances where I throw something from the garden into the run for them and they ignore it, at least for a while. Just be patient and keep offering that stuff to them. Eventually they will figure it out.

lol.... thats a funny story.... im just happy nothing is wrong with my chicks and this is normal behavior, i'm going to be patient with them and keep offering the goodies..