out of chick food!

[gemma24]

hi, we are out of chick food (we forgot to pick it up yesterday). what should we feed them until we get chick food? (we will pick it up this after noon). any help is greatly accepted!

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

Hard-boiled eggs

 

[gemma24]

ok...any body else?

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Hard boiled eggs (as previous suggested) or scrambled eggs, oats, canned fruits/veggies, fresh fruit/veggies, pasta, cooked rice, leftover meat, feeds made for other livestock (hog feed, sweet feed, ect). You can pretty much give them just about anything to tide them over. Keep an eye on the salt and sugar content and provide grit for any food that needs to be "chewed" (if you have to chew it, they need grit for it).

 

[gemma24]

thanks! I fed them oats and hard boiled eggs, then picked up chick food. (it's a 2 hour drive to town) so all god now!

 

[lowflyer]

I gave mine some leftover dry cat food that I was going to throw away. It was the cheap stuff that's mostly grain, which is not designed for a carnivore's diet (regardless of the picture of the smiling cat on the bag!).

Since it was mostly grain and high protein, I figured they could eat it until I got to the store for layer crumbles.

They ate it, alright. They practically butted heads diving for it, squawking and gobbling it down VERY enthusiastically.

I keep a bag of catfood in the stables where the coop is located, to feed a stray barn cat that's taken up residence there. After they got a taste of the catfood just once, the bag hasn't been safe from them. They KNOW what's in that bag, and will hop up on it and peck at it until they rip a hole, then eagerly feast on it. They make a mess, and crap all over it, so the poor cat isn't too happy about it!

I've had to put the catfood bag into a large metal covered trash can to keep them out of it. They think it's a delicious treat, but I try to keep them out of it. I have to make sure they are in their pen or in the coop when I put out food for the little cat, or they'll make a beeline for the dish and eat every bit of it.

I've also given them handfuls of fresh clover pulled out of the field, cucumbers, all the cracked eggs I find, stale bread here and there, pretty much anything we'd eat, except onions.

 

[gemma24]

thanks, I will use your ideas next time for sure! and cute story!

 

[tiffnzacsmom]

I treat my chickens to fruit and vegetable scraps. I've had spinach and lettuce bolt which they love. I also pick dandilion greens for them.

 

[MeepBeep]

Dog food or cat food in a blender is always an easy substitute for chick food for a day or two, it's not a balanced diet for them but it's plenty good for a few days time... You can even use moist dog/cat food if you want...

Beyond that, oats, split peas, lentils, corn meal mixed with some meat protein like ground beef, ground chicken, ground turkey, or eggs is also plenty good for a few days...

Unless you are providing grit, fresh greens and fibrous fruits should be avoided unless you grind/blend them in a food processor to baby food consistency....