What age do chicks start showing interest in veggies?

[mausbytes]

Hey all! My four girls are all around the 2-week mark, and they've been eating grit along with their feed for the last week, after I switched them to wood shaving bedding & they started snacking on it (something they've mostly stopped now!)

However, in the last couple of days I've tried introducing some apple slices and some small kale leaves, and they haven't shown a lot of interest beyond a peck or two of curiosity. About when do chicks start showing interest in other foods beyond their chick feed? Is this pretty normal, or could there be something wrong with the foods I've placed in their brooder?

 

[thecatumbrella]

Isn't it amazing how they'll eat the bedding, but not legitimate food?

First off, and this is just personal opinion, but I wouldn't worry about varying their diet this early with fruits and vegetables. They're still pretty small at this age, so unless you're meticulously limiting these extras to 10% or less of their total diet, it's easy to throw them off nutritionally.

To your question, I find chickens prefer things they can destroy. A kale leaf that's limp on the ground is not very exciting. Mine much preferred theirs strapped to something so they can rip and tear at it. Same with the apple. Rather than slicing it, try just puncturing a spot on the flesh. They'll hone in on that and blow the whole thing open.

Here's a photo of our "swiss chard door". They had zero interest in trying it until I weaved it through the grating.