Variety of food for 5 week old chicks?

[kim.home]

I am being educated reading all the feeding threads on here. I have friends that "compost" their kitchen scraps to the coop girls. Mine are just little, 5 weeks, and we have them out in the yard in a pen (so they're eating grass/ weeds) and feed them starter feed only. Can I start to feed them fruits/ veggies from the kitchen? If not now, then when can I start? Thanks for all your help, I find myself on this site more and more.....

 

[digitS']

You can try feeding them fruits and veggies. It should help if the fruits are fully ripe and the veggies may need to be cooked. I haven't found chicks very adventuresome until they are about 8 weeks old. They seem very happy with the same old/same old starter.

Lettuce was about the first vegetable that they would eat and already eating weeds and grass - that would be a natural progression. Don't try pushing too much on them but as long as they have starter always available, you probably can't anyway. Think of anything other than starter as a "treat" and you should probably keep consumption down to about 10% to 15%.

Just my 2 cents . . . And welcome to BYC

! We are glad that you are finding things to interest you here.

Steve

 

[kim.home]

Thanks for the help.... will do.

 

[gritsar]

Two things they are sure to enjoy and are good for them is plain yogurt and chopped hard boiled egg. You have to leave it in with them for awhile until they get over the fear factor.
Like Steve said, keep the treat amounts low.