?? i'll take your word on it.
KISS= keep it simple stupid. No you are not stupid, it's just how the phase reads.
Basically, raising chicks isn't complicated . Common sense is our friend. I agree about asking about grit. In the old days (pre 1930), they raised the chicks on hard grains, not a complete crumble as we have now. Thus the chicks needed the grit to digest the hard grains. Now the grit is already in the chick crumble.
the modern thinking is the chicks need nothing but water the 1st 24 hrs as they digest the rest of the yolk for food during this time.
I like to get my chicks off to a strong start so I put a nutritional supplement in their water. I use Bovidr Labs Poultry
Nutri-Drench because it doesn't need digesting. So if I have a younger chick, it gets the same access to the nutrition
as the older, stronger chicks.
Poultry Nutri-Drench is an emergency nutritional supplement especially made for those times when stress ( like a young or sick chick) compromises a creatures ability to uptake nutrients or stabilize their metabolism. I love these Bovidr product and have used it for years on my birds and collies. It is wonderful for dealing with travel stress, new hatched chicks, broody hens, show birds. Any time a bird's environment or health causes challenges to it's well-being. Poultry Nutri-Drench can be bought on-line and at Tractor Supply or at several feed stores on online. It is very concentrated. Just put in their water for the 1st 2 weeks. .Also give 1 drop to each bird by mouth the first day. The neat thing about Bovidr Labs products is that they don't need digested. They are absorbed thru the mouth, tongue and throat, in addition to the stomach. This makes them the perfect help for creatures whose G.I. tract is compromised by stress or lack of well-being. like a younger or weaker chick. The $10.00 bottle, which is 4 oz., is plenty for your needs. The folks at Bovidr Labs are very knowledgeable and have all dosages, if you need help with that, right at hand. I don't work for Bovidr Labs or sell ther products, just a huge fan. Here is their website:
http://www.bovidr.com/poultry.html They no longer make the 8 oz. bottle with the pump. They make the 4 oz. bottle with dropper and the qt. bottle which has a cap. For chicks, the Bovidr Lab science techs say one drop by mouth when you first get the bottle. Then 2 cc per gallon of water in the chicks water for the next 2 weeks. ( one will probably need the qt. bottle to supplement for 2 weeks, it depends on how many chicks one has). Bovidr said it does say 4 cc per gallon on the bottle, however, if the chicks won't drink that strong of solution, 2 cc per gallon works just fine. If one is using less than a gallon waterer, then change the PND/warer ratios accordingly. If the store is out of Poultry Nutri-Drench, according to the science techs at Bovidr Labs, you can use their Pet Nutri-Drops with the same usage and dosage above.
Best Regards,
Karen in western PA, USA
