Taming chicks - This works great!

[WhySayWhat]

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This has been my chicks favorite treat since day one! They prefer it over any other food item I give them!

 

[JP101010]

Awesome method of rewarding and desensitizing the chicks! kibble is not the best choice- not balanced for birds nutrient and mineral wise. Our chickens LOVE live meal worms which can be raised by the thousands for the price of one bag of Ol' Roy . They also love fruit and Juicy Corn kernels and plain oatmeal and cream cheese and the list goes on and on. so many safer choices then kibble. when birds are malnourished they can have very serious health problems. and when it comes to young chicks i would wait to give any other treat other than a water and start and grow crumble mixed to an oatmeal consistency until they are 3-4 months which is when they switch to an adult formula feed like Layena- and then a variety of healthy treats are great for them.
its important to stick with a chick formulated feed only until they are a little older-it is balanced to prevent calcium deficiency , and i have been told it has inhibitors to prevent premature egg laying.

Nicole01 wrote:

I take the chick starter and wet it down. It works very well.

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[Artie]

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Amen. Shouldn't be fed to chickens, shouldn't be fed to dogs. It's absolutely disgusting what they put in some dog "food".

 

[Artie]

The idea of desensitizing the chicks using treats is a good one though! A more natural and appropriate tidbit would be much much better than kibble.

 

[chisNchickens]

All dog food is garbage, won't find a bag of the stuff here and I raise and show dogs! I am taking the same approach with my chickens. The more natural the diet (per species of course) the better for the animal. pretty simple.

 

[chisNchickens]

And yes, it IS a great idea for taming chicks. I have a little d'uccle that goes everywhere with me. We even have a barred rock roo that loves people as well as some RIRs and an egger. Never knew how much fun chickens could be!

 

[rhs7111]

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Nor would I. It is absolute trash, and toxic. Cheap dog food contains ethoxyquin, a carcinogen that is illegal to put into human grade food---because it causes cancer! But no such laws exist to protect pets. Oh, and you won't find ethoxyquin listed on the dog food label, because there's a loop hole. If dog food manufacturers buy the meat by-products from a supplier who had already pre-treated with ethoxyquin (and the suppliers all do), then the dog food manufacturer doesn't have to list ethoxyquin on the label...they only have to list what they themselves added. Grrrr!!!!!

Even if you don't care if your chickens eat ethoxyquin, you should still avoid feeding petfoods containing ethoxyquin, if you eat their eggs or meat. It will pass on to you.

NONE of my pets get any cheap animal foods. Ethoxyquin is nasty, nasty, dangerous stuff.

 

[Dingo]

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Exactly the reason I feed wellness to my dogs. Most cheap dog foods also contain BHA &(or) BHT, which can be found in some human foods(gum and some others). In dogs they can cause urinary and stomach carsinogensis. In birds you can see kidney and liver issues, and other side effects.

 

[okieinalaska]

Mine loose their little minds over chopped up hard boiled eggs. Honestly it's the funniest thing ever. Now I can put some in my hand and they all run over shoving everyone out of the way to get a bite. One of them (the quietest one normally) will even now jump right into my hand and sit there and eat it. The first time I put some in a silkie got the first bite and when everyone else saw she thought it was great they all started chasing her and she did a great running back imitation, LOL.

BTW, I am typing this with my little bc maran chick sitting on my shoulder (under my hair). She is so cute and always the first one to come to my hand now.

 

[juliechick]

Well, I'm glad I posted this because I learned something. I did not know the dog food was so bad for them!

It was recommended to me by someone who was experienced in showing chickens. I wasn't feeding them just gobs of it... only a little bit every day for a treat. I will have to find something better in the future. Last year I used grasshoppers since our yard was alive with them. Those work great and you can't get more natural than that!