treats without needing grit???????

[madi99]

tomorrow is my chicks 4 week birthday and i've been putting off treats because i dont have grit yet... what are some treats i can start to give them without really needing grit? i've heard yogurt and scrambled eggs so far... any suggestions would be great!!

 

[Break an Egg]

Basically, that's going to be all. What you could do instead is let them have some supervised play outside. As long as they can peck the ground, adding grit to their diet is overkill.

 

[madi99]

even if i just let them on the lawn they'll be able to find their own grit?

 

[Break an Egg]

They will pick up little grains of sand and dirt, and that will be their grit. Grit is just used for birds that aren't on the ground. I bought some for some new chicks years ago, but I went with the Hartz box of parakeet grit, I think it was around $2.

 

[madi99]

thanks! as long as plain yogurt and scrambled eggs are ok for now i can pick up grit sometime in the next few days...

 

[Break an Egg]

Sounds good, good luck with the babies birthday party. Have fun.

 

[madi99]

Thanks! You can probably tell this is my first time with chicks... Ive got a lot of questions lol... Better safe than sorry !!

 

[Break an Egg]

Sure no problem, I've been there.

 

[DianeS]

Are you familiar with human babies? Anything a baby with no teeth can eat, your chicks can eat without grit. Think soft, mashable, easily dissolvable. So that includes watermelon (no seeds), strawberries, cheerios, bread, cottage cheese, banana, stuff like that. Serve it in large pieces so they have to take bites with their beaks - rather than dicing it and letting the chicks try to gulp pieces whole.

The purpose of grit is the same purpose as human teeth. It works in the crop to grind up food so it can be digested. So if it doesn't need ground up AT ALL, then it's fine. (Chick feed dissolves, so doesn't require grit.)

 

[akovia]

At that age I throw dandelions, roots (and dirt) included, into the brooder. Excellent nutrition and the dirt serves as grit for young chicks, as well as helping to build immunity to coccidiosis.