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.

 

[kattabelly]

Yep, like Cat says they need something that's either heavy enough or fixed in some way that they can rip pieces off it without moving the whole thing. For big and slightly tough things like kale leaves, you could try making some little rips around the edges, just to make it a bit easier for them to tear pieces off until they get the idea.

A lump of turf is a great thing to give them, if you haven't already. As well as being heavy enough for them to tear at the grass and other plants growing on it, they can scratch through the soil in search of insects. You'll also be exposing them to small amounts of the microorganisms present in your local soil, which is good for their immune systems, plus there will be trace minerals in the soil itself.

Chicks need a good amount of protein to grow, so you could also try giving them small amounts of foods like eggs, meat or fish (sardines are great)

 

[Perris]

I second that on providing a turf for them. My broodies have them on grass straight off the nest, and show them that it and weeds, and arthropods in the turf are edible. These were 1 week old when photo taken

 

[fldiver97]

The clumps of dirt and grass work great!!! Or take them outside for short periods of time weather permitting. I always made a little enclosure outside when they were babies so they could get their little feet on grass and dirt but wouldn’t wander off (lots of hawks) and I’d sit with them and watch them explore

 

[Ridgerunner]

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?

It is not just baby chicks. I have a fruit orchard, various berries, and a large veggie garden. My flock gets all kinds of treats. Sometimes they eat certain things and sometimes they don't. It can vary from one year to the next. One year they might love cabbage or kale, one or the other, next year they don't. Sometimes it is the same adults year to year. Quite often, they'll ignore something until one tries it, then they all like it. The only thing consistent about chickens is that they can be inconsistent.

Two-week-old chicks can do a lot of damage with their beaks but they need the stuff either in small enough bits they can swallow it or heavy enough they can peck off bite sized pieces. Those apple slices are probably fine but you might try applesauce. Maybe chop the kale. Be creative.

You might enjoy this story. One year I had a bunch of 10-week-old chicks running around free ranging. I canned corn and gathered a small yogurt cup full of corn ear worms. I dumped that can of worms near the chicks in a bare spot. Step by step, closer and closer they cautiously approached that pile of worms. A worm wiggled! Run away! Run away!

But they did not run far. Step by step, closer and closer they again cautiously approached that pile of worms. A worm wiggled! Run away! Run away! This repeated several times until finally a young bold cockerel got close enough and ate a worm. That's all it took. Within 30 seconds that pile of worms was gone.

So continue to offer these things to your chicks. Eventually they will probably like them. But maybe not. You do not get guarantees with living animals.

Good luck and enjoy the adventure!

 

[mausbytes]

Well - you all were exactly right!

We had some gloriously nice weather today, so we took the chicks outside for their first ever 30 minutes in their run while we cleaned out their old bedding - and they went to town on the vegetation growing on the outskirts! It's clearly much more interesting when it's upright and a little stiff, unlike the loose veggies mom tries to provide.

I'll keep offering them things occasionally, and try out the tips you guys have offered, but I won't worry too much now - they've definitely discovered that there are some yummy plants about!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

When my chicks (in the in-house brooder) are about a week old and have had access to grit for about 3 days, I crumble up a few dried mealworms on the floor of the brooder as I call, "chick-chick" at them. I rain the worms down from above like manna from heaven. They seem to get the idea right away! (We use puppy pee pads which are white so the worms are clearly visible.) After a few days I will chop up other things very small for them. Spaghetti with sauce is a favorite, in their little chickie brains it looks like worms! I just like to introduce their taste buds to different things. Cooked butternut squash. Watermelon. Be creative!