My chicks seem spoiled and don't eat worms

[JuliaSunshine]

I have a dozen Light Sussex chicks that are 7 weeks old now and most of them are not keen on earthworms when they are outdoors.
They just peck a worm a few times and move on.
It's been two weeks since I let them out of the coop/run and they usually hang out near the coop and other buildings.
I often lead them to different areas where they can find more grass and bugs and stay with them for a long time.
But except one cockerel, they don't have much appetite on bugs. When I lift rocks and rotten stumps to exposed bugs under, only that cockerel follows me around to eat them.

I've been giving them commercial feed twice a day and mush once a day that I cook with oats and kitchen scrap flavoured with meat and bones. The whole mush probably tastes like meat. They go crazy over this mush and I wonder if eating such a tasty thing every day have spoiled their palate.
Can it be possible?
How can I encourage them to find and eat more bugs?

I live in the West coast of Canada and it's starting to get warm and sunny. So the chicks are outside a lot and they are good at hiding from air predators. I put them in the run when I see raptors too.

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

It's good you have the one cockerel who is keen on bugs as he will eventually teach the others. It sounds like they don't need to eat them so they're not doing it. I've had hens who won't eat worms and hens that follow me every time I have a shovel in my hands. If they want to eat bugs they will, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[MeanCheek]

Could it be a breed thing? My Spitzhuabens rarely eat worms, even when I set one right in front of them.

 

[nuthatched]

You're spoiling them. Cut back on the oatmeal mush to once a week, it's not great for them. Free feed the chicken feed. Earthworms carry parasites.

 

[JuliaSunshine]

You're spoiling them. Cut back on the oatmeal mush to once a week, it's not great for them. Free feed the chicken feed. Earthworms carry parasites.

I just wanted to get them to eat vegetable peels from the kitchen so tried to make them easier and tastier to eat by cooking.
Are you saying that oats are not great for the chickens nutrition wise or having treats often is not great?

 

[JuliaSunshine]

Could it be a breed thing? My Spitzhuabens rarely eat worms, even when I set one right in front of them.

This breed is supposed to be great at foraging. They do go around foraging but not keen on somewhat big and juicy bugs.

 

[JuliaSunshine]

It's good you have the one cockerel who is keen on bugs as he will eventually teach the others. It sounds like they don't need to eat them so they're not doing it. I've had hens who won't eat worms and hens that follow me every time I have a shovel in my hands. If they want to eat bugs they will, I wouldn't worry about it.

I was hoping they would get the most of their food from foraging as we have a big raw land. There must be tons of bugs if they want to find and eat them. I might be a bit impatient though.

 

[NatJ]

I just wanted to get them to eat vegetable peels from the kitchen so tried to make them easier and tastier to eat by cooking.
Are you saying that oats are not great for the chickens nutrition wise or having treats often is not great?

If you want the chickens to eat the vegetable peels, yes cooking does help.

But you could just toss them to the chickens uncooked, and they get mixed into the bedding, and eventually get eaten by bugs or worms or something (which the chickens might eat when they get bored.)

If you choose to cook the vegetable peels, you do not need to add oatmeal to them.
Oats can be part of a healthy diet for a chicken, but past a certain point they can cause nutritional issues.

If you cook the vegetable peels in water, and want to thicken it up, just dump in a bit of dry chicken food right before you give it to the chickens. The chicken food has a better balance of nutrients than oats do, and might be cheaper as well.

 

[JuliaSunshine]

If you want the chickens to eat the vegetable peels, yes cooking does help.

But you could just toss them to the chickens uncooked, and they get mixed into the bedding, and eventually get eaten by bugs or worms or something (which the chickens might eat when they get bored.)

If you choose to cook the vegetable peels, you do not need to add oatmeal to them.
Oats can be part of a healthy diet for a chicken, but past a certain point they can cause nutritional issues.

If you cook the vegetable peels in water, and want to thicken it up, just dump in a bit of dry chicken food right before you give it to the chickens. The chicken food has a better balance of nutrients than oats do, and might be cheaper as well.

I like that putting vegetable peels in the run so they attract bugs. The amount of oats they eat is not that much but putting the chicken food in the mush to thicken it sounds good too.

 

[MeanCheek]

This breed is supposed to be great at foraging. They do go around foraging but not keen on somewhat big and juicy bugs.

I don't think it's a breed thing, just wondered.
Spitzhaubens are amazing foragers, mine just don't like worms