My New Babies!!

[JekkaLynn]

What kind of stuff will chicks this young do for play?
I am putting in some perches.

 

[lightchick]

What kind of table scraps/people food is good for two week old chicks as treats?

You can give them grass, dandelions, worms, mealworms, crickets, bugs in general, spaghetti, cooked potatoes and scratch grain.
You will need some kind of grit for most of the stuff listed.

 

[JekkaLynn]

They have a newspaper floor.
They have 24 cubic feet of space to run and jump in.
They have a heat lamp for nighttime or cold days.
Their food and water are on a plastic tote lid for easier cleanup.
They have a box of shavings under the heat lamp. (They kept trying to perch on the edge so I put a low perch beside it for them)
They have a higher perch for when they get more agile. I am thinking of making a ramp for them too. When we get our day olds they will go in a tote in the front corner and the big girls food and water will get moved to one side.

 

[lightchick]

They have a newspaper floor.
They have 24 cubic feet of space to run and jump in.
They have a heat lamp for nighttime or cold days.
Their food and water are on a plastic tote lid for easier cleanup.
They have a box of shavings under the heat lamp. (They kept trying to perch on the edge so I put a low perch beside it for them)
They have a higher perch for when they get more agile. I am thinking of making a ramp for them too. When we get our day olds they will go in a tote in the front corner and the big girls food and water will get moved to one side.

Isn't it bad to keep baby chicks on news paper? Doesn't it cause them to have splay leg?

 

[JekkaLynn]

You can give them grass, dandelions, worms, mealworms, crickets, bugs in general, spaghetti, cooked potatoes and scratch grain.
You will need some kind of grit for most of the stuff listed. 

I read about grit but am wondering.
Is it free choice or do you sprinkle it over the food?
For chicks this size can I just give them a slice of apple (I am assuming apple is ok for them) or a dandelion leaf?

 

[lightchick]

I read about grit but am wondering.
Is it free choice or do you sprinkle it over the food?
For chicks this size can I just give them a slice of apple (I am assuming apple is ok for them) or a dandelion leaf?

Yes, dandelion leaf is Ok and apple. You can have grit free choice or sprinkle it over the food.

 

[JekkaLynn]

What is the best thing to use for grit?
Should I just buy an extra feeder and fill it with grit?

 

[lightchick]

You can buy chick grit at your local feed store or you can just buy pet bird grit (like parakeet grit).
You could buy some kind of sand also. You could buy an extra feeder or put it in a shallow container.

 

[JekkaLynn]

Are there any treats they can have that they don't need grit to help digest?

 

[JekkaLynn]

So after talking more with the person I got theese chicks from and handling them more I found out they where used for a petting zoo/photo shoot type thing. Now that they have settled into their new home they come running to look for treats as soon as I open the cage door.