Picky Chicks?

[SusaSusa]

Our two rhode island red chicks refuse to try new foods! They eat their starter and will pick at grass and tried some arugula I offered, but other than that they won't try anything. I've offered crumbled bread, fruit, mashed egg...they look at it for a second then ignore it. I've touched moist food to their beaks and they furiously shake it off. We are new to raising chickens, so perhaps this is normal? Has anyone else experienced this?
Thanks

 

[Dukeofhawg]

The starter food has everything they need. Be careful not to feed them too many treats. Mine absolutely go nuts over dried mealworms.... I give them a handful in the morning when I wake up.... as soon as they hear me coming they go crazy... I found dried mealworms at Wallmart. Like $7 for a big ole pack.

 

[felidaet]

I agree with not feeding too many treats. The treats should be less than 10% of their daily food intake. And if you are giving them anything other than chick starter feed make sure you are also giving them Chick Grit.

Also, the birds will be interested in more types of treats as they get older. My 2 and 3 year old hens will eat almost anything.

 

[SusaSusa]

Thanks for the replies. They've begun sampling foods since my original post and are wild about lettuce, arugula, and millet.

 

[mikecnorthwest]

I've never fed anything other than chick starter to my chicks. If you want to feed additional items and they're not eating them, don't worry about it unless they also stop eating their chick starter.