New chicks and too large of feed?

[MapleLeaf86]

My question is actually about quail (I don't have chickens due to city codes) but I figure any chick experience might know the answer. I couldn't find food locally of the right size, that was "mash" so I got crumbles and have used a blender and mortar and pestle to make it into mash. However, there are occasionally some larger full sized crumble pieces in it.

Will the full sized pieces cause any harm to chicks or are they generally smart enough not to eat something large enough to harm them? I don't want them to choke or otherwise injure themselves. I can pick all the bigger pieces out or mash it more, but I was wondering if I should bother.

 

[kazoo1111]

They can choke on them. You should crush the feed a bit before giving it to them.

 

[kemclaughlin]

I would sift it through a mesh strainer/colander to get the bigger pieces out so that you can re-crush those.

 

[Kilsharion]

You can soak their crumbles before you feed them. It will make it into a consistency they can eat without you having to worry about making sure you get the solid bits small enough. Just a bit of water mixed in does wonders.

If you want to go really nuts, start doing a milk kefir and use the milk to mix in with the crumbles when you go to refresh the milk for the kefir.

You can also start fermenting their feed...but, that's a whole other thread (literally).

 

[MapleLeaf86]

Oh, I hadn't even thought about soaking them to soften it up. Alright, good to know they can choke on it. I'll be really cautious, I guess I'll work today on getting a sifter. I wasn't sure if this was one of those things I'm worrying about too much, or not.

So glad I asked here! Thanks for the advice everyone, you may have saved some tiny lives from my ignorance.