Thought they were supposed to eat scraps??

[LadyBug7]

Is there a trick to getting your chicks to eat scraps? I have three 2 week old golden buffs (or golden comets or red stars or whatever you want to call them). I have tried giving them plain cooked green bean left overs, scrambled egg left overs, banana, tomato, and plain cooked hamburger and have had no luck at getting them to eat any of it. They peck at it once, shake their heads then wipe their beaks and move on. What's the secret?? They have a box of dirt/gravel to play in and have been outside a couple of times this week to peck at the ground, if that makes any difference.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

They are simply too young to want anything but crumbles. Give them a few more weeks. I try not to give my birds much scraps until 6 to 8 weeks then introduce things slowly, like you would a baby!

 

[LadyBug7]

Cool. Thanks!

 

[HighStreetCoop]

My chicks are about that age and they seem to like most "treats" I offer (mealworms, sprouted red clover seeds, fresh garlic, various types of lettuce). I only give them one thing a day. At first they weren't interested, but the mealworms drove them into a frenzy and taught them that whatever is in my hand is GOOD. So now whatever it is I offer, they mob me for it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

A few years back I gathered a yogurt cup full of corn ear worms when processing corn for canning and dumped them out in front of about 20 ten week old chicks that had been free ranging for a few weeks. Those chicks very slowly and cautiously started moving toward that pile of worms. A worm wiggled! Run away! Run away! They soon started cautiously moving back toward those worms. A worm wiggled! Run away! Run away! This went on for several cycles until one brave chick finally got close enough to peck a worm. That whole stack was gone within 30 seconds.

I’ve seen two week old chicks rip a stunned wasp apart that my wife dropped in their brooder. I’ve seen grown chickens refuse to eat cabbage or corn at first though eventually they do eat it. Chickens are omnivores. They will eat practically anything that does not eat them first. But not every chicken in the world is identical to each and every other chicken. Some will never eat certain things while others go crazy over it immediately. It takes a while for some to realize certain things are food.

My suggestion is to try patience. Keep offering them the stuff, with grit on the side. For most of the stuff you mentioned they won’t need grit but it’s still a good idea to provide grit if you are giving them anything other than just chick feed. Before too long one will try it and then they will all want it. They will soon jump at anything you put in that dish. They may turn up their nose and walk away but at least they will investigate it.

Each chicken is an individual. Each flock has its own dynamics. Don’t expect every chicken and every flock to react exactly the same way. Life does not work that way. You'll get the hang of that pretty soon. And chick TV will top your TV ratings list.

 

[LanceTN]

Mind their physical limitations.

Young chicks just can't tear things apart like older birds can.

The older my birds get the more things they are interested in trying to eat simply because now they are big enough to rip up the grapes or whatever.

 

[cafarmgirl]

I start mine off on stuff that is small, soft and easy for a small chick to eat. Mine loved cooked peas at that age. They'd each grab a pea and go running around the brooder, peeping like mad to keep it away from everybody else. Mashed hard boiled egg is always a hit as well.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I start mine off on stuff that is small, soft and easy for a small chick to eat. Mine loved cooked peas at that age. They'd each grab a pea and go running around the brooder, peeping like mad to keep it away from everybody else. Mashed hard boiled egg is always a hit as well.

Oh, yes, the pandemonium is the best part of them getting treats - if only they realized that if they would just stand still and eat the treat with no fuss the others would be relatively uninterested - but instead they grab it, announce they have a tasty morsel and then the game of keep away ensues.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Oh, yes, the pandemonium is the best part of them getting treats - if only they realized that if they would just stand still and eat the treat with no fuss the others would be relatively uninterested - but instead they grab it, announce they have a tasty morsel and then the game of keep away ensues.

This is totally the best part of giving them treats, LOL!