What kind of fruits, vegetables, and nuts do baby chicks like?

[lillypurrs23]

This is our first time raising chicks (we just got 4 yesterday) and I was wondering what kinds of fruits, nuts, vegetables do they like? Do they like pears, and are they okay for them?

 

[gritsar]

IMO, you should go easy on the treats when the chicks are young. They really need the complete nutrition of their chick starter.
I added treats at about the week mark with my latest batch. Their first treats were - plain yogurt, chopped hard boiled egg, and crickets. All in moderation. Once they started free ranging (2 weeks old) they added whatever they could catch.

 

[lillypurrs23]

Boiled eggs? Chickens eat eggs? That's a little creepy...

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Chickens are omnivores, they'll eat anything but love meat and other protein filled treats.
If you stop and think about it, eggs are not so creepy. It's an egg that nourishes the chick before hatch.

My adult birds love a treat of leftover chicken. To them it's protein, nothing more.

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
Yes to all of the above. And once you start giving treats they will need grit available. I'm more conservative, I don't give treats until they are outside on the ground.

Congratulations on your new chicks!

 

[Yay Chicks!]

I think one guide I read was that treats should not total more than 2% of diet...and that was after a few weeks. I didn't give mine treats until they were about 4 weeks old and then I made sure they had chick grit available.

 

[CMV]

Yay Chicks! :

I think one guide I read was that treats should not total more than 2% of diet...and that was after a few weeks. I didn't give mine treats until they were about 4 weeks old and then I made sure they had chick grit available.

Same here. Chicks need the balanced nutrition they get from their feed more than they need treats at a young age.​