what are your thoughts on treats for young chickens?

If they get treats, they should have access to grit. When I first had chicks, their favorite treat was their food wetted down to make a mash. I gave them that at two weeks, in the palm of my hand. It was like getting tapped with 6 blunt pencils.

By 8 weeks, they will probably like veggie and fruit scraps. Mine love the inner guts of melons and squash.
 
I'm just wondering what y'all think about treats for young chickens. Mine are about 8 weeks. Do they need access to grit every day if I do give them treats?
Yep give them access to grit. Free range they pick up their own grit foraging. Mine have had treats from about 4 weeks old with mother hen and forage around so I haven't ever provided separate grit for any of my chickens. Mine love watermelon especially now in Summer it's nice and cold from my fridge.
IMG20201207111840.jpg
 
Grit is important to have access to as soon as they’re eating anything other than chick food. I usually get my chicks out on grass by two weeks during the day if its warm enough out, and introduce them to treats like mealworms and fruits and veggies by about 4, but they usually don’t take a whole lot of interest until they’re a little older.
 
I give my current 3 and 6 week olds scrambled eggs once in awhile.
They were in the tractor for the first time this week and found a few meal worms the others had left behind. They were very excited about this!😂
 
I don't give treats (except for a bit of scrambled egg) to mine until they are outside, maybe just for half day. Here I didn't found chick grit, only hen or bird grit + calcium, not even only grit. I don't know if I'm right or not, but I prefer to not giving them any treat than giving them a grit that can be in some way be harmful. When they are outside they can find themselves the grit they need and I begin feeding some treats gradually.
 
I'm just wondering what y'all think about treats for young chickens.

I don't know what treats you are considering. Chickens don't have teeth so they use bits of rock in their gizzard to grind up stuff that needs grinding. They can use whatever rock they find, the harder it is the longer it lasts. Soft rocks are soon gone, something really hard like granite or diamonds might last for a week or two, partly depending on how big that piece was to start with. I don't love my chicks enough to buy them a steady supply of diamonds to use as grit. If you get a bag of grit at the feed store it will almost certainly be granite, a really hard rock. I'd offer them granite grit at least once a week, twice a week would not hurt but is probably not necessary.

One of the first thing my broody hens do after taking their chicks off the nest after hatch is to take hem somewhere they can peck at the ground. They are picking up bits of rock to use as grit as well as getting bits of things for nutrition. She spends a lot of each day out with them where they can eat grass or other vegetation, fruit or berries if they can get some, and will feed them bugs if she catches them. This is pretty much as soon as she brings them off the nest. I have chick feed where they can eat that but they also eat a lot of stuff that is not chick feed. Many people would call all that other stuff "treats".

I'm not a broody hen. When I raise them in my brooder I give them some dirt from the run where the adults are on the second or third day in the brooder and repeat every three or four days. This gets grit into their system, any probiotics the adults have, and starts them on the way to any flock immunities they may need. I believe in strengthening their immune system right at the start. And having grit in their system has them ready in case they eat anything that they need to grind up.

I do not feed my brooder-raised chicks any treats other than that dirt, but by five weeks they are out foraging and eating anything they can find.
 
I start my chicks on occasional mealworm treats between 2-3 weeks of age, and provide chick grit periodically, starting around the same time. I've tried little containers or bowls of grit, but they just mess it up, knock it over, etc. So now I just sprinkle grit in 2-4 areas on roosts or other hard surfaces, once or twice a week, and they love it!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom