Treats???

[blueberrychickens]

So I thought I would try some treats for my 1 week old chicks since they seem to be interested in any clump of dirt/grass/maple seed when they are out roaming during chicky playtime. I have blackberries growing in the yard so I tried those. No interest what-so-ever!! So today I tried strawberries & strawberry tops, & again no interest. But if they find a shriveled up mushroom in the grass, it's game on in a chick keep away chase! I really don't know if they should be eating the mushrooms, & I try to get them away from them when they do find them. They also found the play sand for dust bathing a treat to eat, should I worry about them consumming that?
What have you given for the 1st time for treats????

 

[mom2jedi]

It does take chicks a little while to figure out what you're giving them is something yummy especially if you hand raised them and didn't have a broody hen do it. They're used to eating only chick feed so it sort of throws them off when you start giving them new stuff.

Don't worry about them eating the sand. It serves as grit to help break down their food. You can supplement grit if you want, but if they have sand and are able to free range and pick up small rocks it's not necessary.

I think my first treats were mealworms. They figure that out really fast as they move and attract their attention.

 

[kybeagle]

I gave my 7 week olds a little bowl of yogurt the other night and they would have nothing to do with it!

 

[Tuka]

I take a scoop of compost loaded with a tone of small worms and pitch that in, another favorite is Blueberries, they love them

Tuka

 

[dragonlair]

I've been giving my week old today chicks a hardboiled egg mixed with yogurt topped with kelp meal every day. They LOVE it. Keep away is a riot to watch when one gets a little bit larger hunk of egg white.

 

[KristaChickenWhisperer]

Mine were all over the small worms I gave them yesterday.

 

[sonjab314]

Mine go nuts over meal worms and hard boiled eggs. I've started giving my older pullets and hens some scratch. My rooster calls them to it and they all dive in.

 

[boogiedog]

The faves of my young ladies are: red grapes, head of lettuce (hanging, of course), corn on the cob, and most recently - plain yogurt. Note to self - I should've worn plastic when I gave them the yogurt

I was covered.

 

[mccarthymom2]

I buy meal worms and the three week olds love them! My week old loves them to. They scary me!!! good luck

 

[azygous]

Starting at four days old, I dug up some baby earth worms. My six chicks had no problem figuring out what to do with them. They went wild. At one week old, I gave them grapes cut in half, then a few days later, a strawberry, then a few days after that, a lettuce leaf. These guys give it a looking over, maybe walk around it a bit, then the gang leader, usually one of two chicks, takes a first nibble. Then they all pounce on it.

By two weeks old, they were tackling apple peels, eating every last bit of pulp, leaving only the skin. They are three weeks old today so I presented them with a bowl of yogurt. They gave it the customary inspection then dove in, literally. It got real messy real fast, but they loved it! Here they are: Rachel Corrie, Penny, Morgan, Dagney, Sue, and Francie.