treats without grit?

[mlabresh]

My chicks are 12 days old now and I don't have any grit yet. I will be getting some soon, but I was wondering if there are any treats they can have without grit? Can they have yogurt or applesauce or oatmeal? Maybe soft cooked veggies? I know the grit is to help them grind and digest bits of food since they can't chew it, so I was just wondering if the treats are softer, can they have them without grit?

Thanks!

 

[Aeropennchick]

Yogurt is okay - sprinkle it with the chick crumbles and they will go nuts!

 

[aoxa]

Chick grit is only $1.50 here. I would rather spend the money and get it than risk them having an impacted crop :/

 

[mlabresh]

Agreed. I mostly asked out of curiosity. I'd heard about the yogurt being ok and wondered if there were other things I can give them. It's not so much about the cost as the availability. We don't have a working vehicle right now, so I have to order it online and wait for it to get here.

 

[GSDBESTK9]

Do they have to have grit for the rest of their lives? Or is it just while they are young??? Mine have grit in their brooder but to be quite honest, I never see them eating it?? The only treat I have been giving them is wheat bread which they absolutely LOVE!

 

[TheRookie]

Once they are outside, they will get thier own grit from the ground. They need to at least have access to it when they are still in their brooder. Mine never appeared to eat it but I could kinda feel the tiny stones in their crop so they were eating it at some point.

 

[GSDBESTK9]

Oh ok, cool! Thanks!

 

[aoxa]

Withhold it for a week and you will see how much they eat it If they don't have access to grit in their chicken yard naturally, you will have to supplement. I noticed one of my chicks adjusting their crop (moving it around trying to grind up their food - day 2 - no treats were given) and I threw down a bit of chick grit and they went straight for it. You can sprinkle it in their bedding. They like to find it themselves rather than go to a feeder and get it. At least from my experience. Even if I don't give treats, I have it available.

At 3 weeks old they can be switched to chicken grit (grower) - not the stuff with the oyster shell mixed in.

To the OP: You could make your own from going for a walk and finding bits of gravel. Crush it up with a hammer and wash it. It's really simple.

 

[mlabresh]

Thanks aoxa! That is really helpful. Our driveway is largely rock/gravel with LOTS of tiny bits of rock/dust. So that would be a very easy source for them. We have some volunteer lettuce growing outside of our garden that I wanted to let them have. I suppose if I let them forage around on the driveway (runs through the middle of our yard, up to the back porch with grass all around) for grit, then I could let them have some lettuce.

 

[aoxa]

Thanks aoxa! That is really helpful. Our driveway is largely rock/gravel with LOTS of tiny bits of rock/dust. So that would be a very easy source for them. We have some volunteer lettuce growing outside of our garden that I wanted to let them have. I suppose if I let them forage around on the driveway (runs through the middle of our yard, up to the back porch with grass all around) for grit, then I could let them have some lettuce.

 

For sure And chicks LOVE greens!