Trying not to kill my new chicks. Fed them salad greens..Need to worry?

[Tynkrbel]

I am a first time chicken keeper and have had my 9 chicks for about 8 days. The feed store said they were about a week old when I got them so they are about 2-3 weeks old now (not totally sure). They are in a brooder made from an extra large sterilite bin with a brinsea warmer and an extra heat lamp (when needed). Anyway..yesterday I gave them a small tray with grit on the bottom and cut up salad greens on the top. They seemed to eat about 3/4 of the greens but its hard to tell because they also threw them around. Will this hurt them?

 

[FrankieDoodle]

Welcome to BYC!!!

 

[sumi]

Greens at this age is perfect for them Here are some more good treats you can offer them now: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/good-treats-for-baby-chicks.181429/

Just remember anything other than chick feed should be fed in moderation!

 

[Pork Pie]

Hello and welcome to BYC

I'd stick to chick feed. As you can see, we all do things differently and there is rarely a right or wrong way

 

[lazy gardener]

Please stop the heat lamp. They don't need it if you are using a heat plate. Too much heat can kill them. You might find a lot of useful information regarding feed, care, and treats in this thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tips-for-healthy-happy-chicks.1229804/

 

[Blooie]

A mama hen lets them eat anything she finds, and stuff they find on their own, at just a few days old. That would include any green stuff. So give them a little bit of grit (toss it on the floor of their brooder and let them scratch for it and find it like they would outside) and let them have a little from time to time. As has been said, NOT too much. If you know you like those greens, you already have a hand up on teaching them to come when you want to put them in their coop for the night and taking food out of your hand instead of running away like the Auld Cooty was on their tails at the very sight of you.

 

[Joeschooks]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Greenery will do them no harm, but as Blooie said, please do feed some grit. I sprinkle a little on their food daily so they don’t fill up on grit.

 

[Kiki]

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[Foster's Freehold]

My littles are enjoying a double handful of chickweed this week. They love it and will make themselves looked deformed. Heck, even the bigs eat it like it's cotton candy.
I try to give greens every day, even if it is kitchen greens. I also toss in fruits and veg. A varied diet is good for them.
Give them their morning feed first though. That way they eat their vitamins and scratch the greens throughout the day.

 

[drumstick diva]