Scrambled Eggs??????????????????????

[bald k9]

Can you feed chicks scrambled eggs for EGGstra protien? or should they only get starter feed til a certain age? thanks for your help

 

[sonew123]

Depending how old they are you can-but you need to have grit provided for them-and only as a special treat from time to time

 

[bald k9]

Do they need grit if they free range? ,at what age do they need grit? thanks mine hacthed oct 19th

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
I still give grit/oyster shell to all my chickens-they free range all day too--- Anytime your give people food they need grit

 

[evonne]

Quote:
I still give grit/oyster shell to all my chickens-they free range all day too--- Anytime your give people food they need grit

okay, one thing i never really looked at was grit... can you help me with this??...
grit is used to help process food right??
i always heard it's tiny rocks??
my chickens free range in an all dirt yard all day... i see them eat little rocks all the time.. and assuming they were eating it as they would grit... am i right?? should i be providing scratch too?? they eat layer crumble and whatever they find in the yard....

 

[newchicksnducks]

They need to have chicken feed appropriate for their age...Layer after 18 weeks, starter/grower before then. Free ranging will allow them to eat greens, bugs, etc which they love. They need grit to help break it down. Most grit can be found if they have rocky soil to peck around in. I free range, but also offer grit to help them out. Calcium (oyster shell) is not grit, but is good to off them once they begin laying. This will help their eggs to form nice hard shells. Scratch is a mixture of seeds and grain that the birds enjoy, but is not needed for a healthy diet...the chicken feed gives them the balanced diet. But you can offer scratch as a treat (I throw some in the run when they have to be cooped up for the day). Good luck!

 

[bigoakhunter]

Yes to the original question...you can feed them eggs, as a treat, scrambled or boiled, but NEVER uncooked. The same goes for egg shells.

There was a good treat recipe on this site not long ago that I tried and my chickens loved. Mix some corn , ( cut from cobb after cooking or canned without salt or with several rinses to remove most of salt) one hard bioled egg cut up small with shell crunched up small along with some plain yogurt. I mix this up and put it in a big bowl and the fun begins. They love it.

 

[firedove]

Do NOT feed your babies egg shell or oyster shells! When they are little like that the calcium can kill them, they haven't got the system to process it yet.

Scrambled eggs are good for chicks and they don't actually need grit to process them since they are basically mush anyways. Just the hard pieces in their starter mash or crumble will do the job on egg. However, it is best if you scramble the egg with unsalted butter (salt is bad for them too) or a very small amount of oil, though the oil can cause issues too. hard boiled egg is healthier since you don't have to add a non-stick agent.

My chicks I just hatched on the 16th had scrambled egg (cooked with unsalted butter) as their first meal because our feed store was out of starter from the day before hatch and didn't get any in until 2 days after the chicks were hatched. They ate the egg and got starter crumble about 6 hours later. They are all very healthy and happy still a week later.

 

[Akane]

They need grit for anything that would require chewing. They don't need grit for soft things like eggs or yogurt. Grit is used to grind tough things up. I give my chicks treats from day 1 including things that require grit and just provide them with sand. Not all rocks and sand work equally though. The grit sold in stores is granite which doesn't get ground up quickly. If all you have are softer rocks about it may take them lots and lots of rocks to grind anything up. It's a good idea to leave some good grit out even if they do free range.

 

[cmom]

I agree with the other posts. If you have a Tractor Supply Store near you they sell chick grit which is just finer grit and oyster shells. Most feed stores carry grit and oyster shells. Sometimes they refer to the grit as pigeon grit which is the same. It's granite grit which works best in their crops for grinding up their food/grains as chickens don't have any teeth. My birds always have free choice grit available for them. When they start laying I also have free choice oyster shells for them.