Snacks for youngins

[tammyd57]

I start giving my chicks Swiss Chard from my garden when they are just a few days old. Right at first they don't recognize it as food, but when they do WATCH OUT! They turn into the dinosaurs they are and start grabbing and tearing it to bits and wrestling over the better pieces. By the time they are a week old they are screaming at me in the morning when I get up, to come out and bring their leaves, and they won't settle down til they get it either!
Spoiled rotten brats! But so much fun!

 

[HerbiLady]

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Thanks for the info elmo!

I'm not sure what's happening except that I have 2 SS that seem to be constantly really interested in the downy feathers on the chests/bottoms of the chicks that are roosting and this morning I caught one tugging at someone's tail feathers. This wouldn't worry me too much BUT I did have a BO chick with all its tail feathers plucked out the other day and I can't figure out if it did it to itself or someone else started it. It was certainly mutilating itself a bit by the time I found it and isolated it. I'm isolating those two SS during the day when I'm working and can't be home to monitor but I did let them out last night with the flock since they seem to be totally freaked out by darkness and I wanted them warm enough.

When they do the pecking at the downy feathers of the roosting birds, there's never any blood or bare spots and the other birds don't seem to care one bit so it's not hurting them. They aren't going in close to the body of the other birds...they're sort of pecking at the ends of the downy feathers and sometimes they swallow them if they come out easily. There's not any vicious tugging or yanking of those.

It makes me nervous that the one was tugging at tail feathers and not so much kind of preening around in there, kwim? It could be that they're going after that papery covering stuff...I didn't even think about that.

I wish I knew what was normal curiosity and what was an indication of something worse. If it weren't for the BO that got beat up so bad, I wouldn't be nervous about it like I am. The BO is back in the brooder with a majorly blue butt and no more problems with her...she's not very tasty with blue-kote and pine tar on her hind end

And I can't be sure if she started it herself or if someone else did...I didn't see any of that happening.

 

[AMSpsg18]

So I went to get chick grit and the guy told me they don't sell it and that chicks shouldn't be having "SNACKS" until they are 6 weeks old....that seems off to me. Help!

 

[HerbiLady]

Ah jeez...that's bull! Six weeks? Gimme a break!

That might be Mr. TSC's (or Mr. Feedstore's) opinion or he may be instructed to tell folks that if they sell chicks there and you never know what crazy people can do and then blame Mr. TSC for killing their chicks with pepperoni slices or something.

There's a lot of advice out there about waiting and many people don't give treats for at least a month, maybe longer. And other people do. If it's done carefully and responsibly, you should be OK. Don't go throwing them a pizza party or anything ..

And they do make chick grit...I got some from McMurrays before my chicks arrived but the DH couldnt' find any at TSC last night around here either. I'm going to have to probably find some parakeet grit or something. (without oyster shell...just gravel) Or order it online again.

If you're worried, start out slowly. You should start out slowly introducing new foods anyway.

They shouldn't be getting much of their diet in supplemental foods from what I understand...maybe 10% at the most or something like that? And like I mentioned before, be careful about displacing a lot of protein in young birds with starches and stuff like that. Make everyone happy and boil them an egg..it's what they were eating before you gave them crumbles

 

[Mervin]

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A few weeks back I was in the same boat as you, wondering. I got lots of advice when I asked the same question and here's the benefit of those couple of week experience. If your chicks were in the barnyard being raised up by a broody, what would they be eating? They're chickens and they hatch out pecking at the ground. Whatever seems like food when pecked, they're going to start eating it. I tried yogurt, but mine turn their beaks up at it. Now, hard boiled egg they'll flog each other for. They start eating it right out of your hand. Also, I've picked some clovers out of the yard which they devoured as well. I was also considering something for entertainment like an apple, but I'm not sure about displacing protein in their diet yet though.

Hand feeding them their treats is our evening entertainment now. B/t that an baseball practice, my kids haven't watched much TV in a couple of weeks. Sponge Bob free evenings are priceless.

Oh yeah. I've been told you can use Parakeet grit. I found some at my least favorite store in the whole world, Walmart. Seems to be okay so far.

 

[HerbiLady]

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I agree with you on this (the other stuff, as well as Sponge Bob and totally about Walmart, which we boycott as often as possible!) The difference between us and Mama Hen is that Mama Hen is better at entertaining her chicks and in the brooder, with a lack of protein and boredom, it can get ugly sometimes, which is why I'm obsessed with the protein thing right now

Mama probably finds a LOT of bugs for them!

 

[Suburban Sprouts]

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OOOH most definitely! My chicks like grapes and blackberries, but they LOOOOOVE strawberries!

 

[Mervin]

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I agree with you on this (the other stuff, as well as Sponge Bob and totally about Walmart, which we boycott as often as possible!) The difference between us and Mama Hen is that Mama Hen is better at entertaining her chicks and in the brooder, with a lack of protein and boredom, it can get ugly sometimes, which is why I'm obsessed with the protein thing right now

Mama probably finds a LOT of bugs for them!

Yeah, I was pretty interested in the playhouse/box idea that someone mentioned. My two little roos have been getting pecked some which did nothing to alleviate my protein fears. I was also thinking a trip to the bait shop for some meal worms might be in order. Maybe I can get the kids to finally pick up worms if it's for the chickies. I'm really getting tired of baiting their hooks.

 

[HerbiLady]

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That might be a good plan. However, you should get them trained (the kids!) young because you'd still be baiting MY hooks, chickens or no, and I'm ~ ahem ~ too old for Sponge Bob

I prefer the idea of freeze-dried meal worms but don't know if they're as good for the birds as live icky ones or if there's a reason not to give them. I can pick up an earthworm wearing gloves in the garden or do it really fast and re-bury it without the gloves (ewww...that stretchy ribbed part ...ewwww!!!!!), but I don't think I can chop one up. And I choose NOT to bait a hook with one. Nope.

I'll just wait until the chicks can tear it apart themselves, which shouldn't be too much longer. Heck, they can probably do it now. I've already given them some ants which they zeroed in on in a split second!! I'm fixin to move a bunch of rocks in the garden this weekend so I'm wondering if the icky white ant larvae things would go over well...gotta do some research.

Glad to see I'm not alone in my protein fears! Try some different levels if you have rocks or bricks or something laying around and your brooder can accomodate them. I have a regular track and field event in mine...they have to jump over the feeder to get to the roost at the other end, run around the waterer and jump up onto roosts as well as go over a brick along the side of the box, which is also where I put their grit. They're forever hopping and jumping through the obstacle course

 

[elmo]

I raised chicks in a brooder last year and was very worried, also, about what to feed and when.

This year I have a broody hen who has just hatched out six chicks. She hasn't read the book on what to feed chicks, apparently. On the first day she lead the off the nest, we handed her a mealworm to congratulate her on a job well done. She promptly ran over and gave it to one of her less than day old chicks! At first we were horrified, but then we laughed. It's nature.

Today I was passing by the run and I noticed one of the chicks had some kind of big fat grub of some kind scratched up by the hen and was trying to swallow it. It was huge, in comparison with the chick! As I watched, torn with indecision...should I try to run around, unlock the door to the run, and try to snatch the bug out of this chick's beak? ...the chick managed to swallow the thing. It had to stretch its neck out several times and shake itself to adjust its prize in its crop (which was bulging), but then it ran back to lickety split to rejoin the hen and its siblings.