New chicks...am I doing the right thing?

[lilbirdee]

I have 5 chicks about a week old. I had been feeding them the starter food, same as my last batch who are 7 weeks now.
I noticed on the second day that they really weren't eating much. Then later noticed that they were picking up the food pieces and then just dropping them. Then later they all were just standing around peeping like crazy.
I figured that the feed was too big for them (although my fist batch had no problem with it) and that they were hungry.
So I added some warm water and made a mash and boy oh boy did they pig out.
It is now almost a week later and they are still ignoring the dry feed and only eating the wet stuff that I have been giving them everyday.
Shouldn't they be able to eat the dry stuff now?
I don't want to stop giving them the wet stuff because I don't want them to get hungry again.
Am I doing it all wrong?

 

[byrandom]

For my little guys I use a blender and blend up some of the starter. I use that for about a week or two, and then mix in the larger pieces. They should get the hang of it!

 

[debilorrah]

I am going to assume they are pellets and not mash? I think once they found the wet stuff they just prefer it. When you change them to grow mash, they will eat when they get hungry.

 

[JenMT]

I think that you are doing everything right, don't underestimate yourself. Put both the mash and the dry food in the brooder together in two different feeders for a while I bet that they will come around soon. Good luck to you and your flock of new babies.

 

[Lady Henevere]

I'm new to this too so I'm no expert, but when my chick food looked too big I put it in a Ziploc bag and crushed it up a little with a rolling pin. The chicks seem to like it -- they eat a lot! You could also try making the wet stuff a little less wet each day so they get used to the drier consistency. Good luck!