Treats for 3week old chicks!

[jessiduck]

LOL - I dug up a small chunk of grass - attached to a clump of dirt - and set it in the brooder this afternoon. Scared the poor little buggers half to death. They all ran under the pitiful little maran's cage (see "Baby maran just not 'thriving') and chirped and muttered for at least 5 mins. Then an unlucky tiny little worm crawled out of the dirt and IT WAS ON! Once they had raced around and around and around the brooder fighting over the worm, they spent a long while scratching at the dirt but never seemed to notice the grass sticking out of it. Silly little birds.

LOL, had an awesome visual with this story! I can just picture the youngsters scrambling!
I'm thinking about getting some grassy-dirt and putting it in there as soon we the weather brightens up!
We have had nothing but rain all week! Now, it's down pouring!!!
Fortunately, the ducks love the rain so I don't have to worry about them, and the chicks are inside still!

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Since my Pullets were very young I have been giving them Bird Seed as a treat. Now at 7 weeks, they come running when they see me enter the yard with a small container of Bird Seed.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Some of the Girls have developed a fondness for sunflower Seeds and will carefully pick out as many as they can before eating other types of seeds in the mix.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

The ducks enjoy the treat as well and are rather piggish when they feed. Seed just seems to go flying when they decide to join in.



The ducks get so excited that they will gobble fingers and chickens alike....

 

[Rock Home Isle]

The Bird Seed has many of the same grains that are used in the manufacture of commercial feeds, but with the Bird Seed being a whole grain the nutrional value of the feed does not degrade over time, as long as it is stored properly. It does not have the added vitamins and minerals of a complete ration, so it is intended as a treat. It does contain grit, so that is another slight benifit. By hand feeding the birds at least once a day, it allows me to check each and every bird both visually and physically. I do a quick visual of each bird in turn, and I can see if they are behaving normally (well...as normal as a chicken can behave). This is a quick way to head off any ailments or pickup on injuries that may have befallen a pullet during their daily activitirs. I also check their crop and their breast to see how they are fleshing out as they mature.

If you choose to feed Bird Seed to your very young birds make sure that you include Chick Grit in their diet. The seed coats on some of the seeds can be very tough.