Should I get Grow Gel Plus & Quik Chik? Chick Grit? What do you use?

[ebonykawai]

Are these items available anywhere other than MM? I can't find them online. I ordered from Cackle and they don't have either.

 

[Keisha]

The only place ive found grow gel or quik chick is on mcmurray.

 

[MissPrissy]

There are other names for it. Chick saver, etc.

 

[LoneCowboy]

I use the Quik Chic, I just bought it in the 1 lb bag, since I'll be hatching alot. McMurray says to add sugar to their water for the first 3 days. The amount it listed in the first pages of their catalog. Don't bother with the rest of the stuff. I don't give them grit until a little before I start giving them a little scratch. But that's not until about 5-6 weeks.

 

[All about the EGG]

Sounds like you wont even use a full 1lb bag of Quik Chic if you only have a small lot?

 

[sunnychooks]

I've always used both Grow Gel and Quik Chik. The Grow Gel is a quick way to hydrate chicks that have been shipped. The QC is vitamins and electrolytes that help overcome shipping stress. For the $3 or $4 that these products cost it certainly doesn't hurt to use them. I also keep QC on hand to use in case I see an older bird who looks a bit "off". As far as the grit, I sprinkle just a little bit over their starter until they're out of the brooder. Then they are outside on sandy soil and it's not needed. Everyone has different ideas and ways to raise chicks. My feeling is that I would like to give my chicks every advantage during the first few days as possible and if these products can add additional vitamins and hydration I, personally, opt to use them.

 

[jaku]

Along the same lines, how about the Broiler Booster?

 

[Yardegg]

Just my two cents worth: I've had good luck using Gro-Gel when I first take the chicks out of the box and put them in the brooder pen. I also use Quick Chick in their water. As I've discussed on another thread, I buy mine vaccinated for cocci, so I feed non-medicated feed. The bottom line is that I don't lose many chicks doing it this way, so I'll probably continue. My chicks get less pasty-butt, and seem to have a greater ability to thrive. I basically follow the directions from the Murray McMurray catalog (and web site) on caring for chicks after they arrive. I sprinkle a little chick-sized granite grit on their feed when they are a few days old. It may not be necessary, but I think it more closely simulates what happens when the mother hen raises them. I figure most broody hens actually know what they are doing most of the time (I use nature as my yardstick). Anyway, I hope this helps.

Yardegg

 

[ksacres]

We don't feed medicated feed (don't get me started on this)

For shipped chicks, we do use sugar water for the first few days, but only for the shipped ones.

We don't use grit, commercial poultry feeds are ground fine enough they don't need it. Only once they go outside do they eat anything other than chick grower, and there is enough natural gravel/sand/etc that they don't need extra grit at that point.

We don't use any sort of vitamin or electrolyte supplement. Ever. One summer day, about 8 years ago, I killed over 17 chicks b/c they drank too much water that had the supplement in it and they basically bled to death from the inside out. I didn't know that could happen. Now I do. Live an learn, I suppose, but I don't want the risk.

 

[speckledhen]

For new babies, including shipped ones, I've never used anything except fresh, clean water; the only thing I put in the water is if I get any pasty bums, I'll add a tsp or two of unfiltered Apple Cider vinegar with mother of vinegar, and it seems to help that. I never use grit unless I drop a piece of lettuce in there for them to play with.