What kinds of treat can I give my 4 wk. olds?

[janf1914]

We have 4 chicks that are just turning 4 wks.

We started letting them out during the day yesterday and they love pecking around in the dirt. We've had them only on chick starter but my DD wants to give them treats. I've been nervous about giving them other foods or bugs. Is it o.k. to do this this soon?

Busy self-employed mom with 2 grown DD's, 1 animal loving DD still at home, a crafty DH, and 1 RIR. 1 BO. 1 Americauna, and 1 GLW.

 

[gritsar]

Sure it's fine to give them some treats @ 4 weeks. If mama hen was raising them they'd have been introduced to all kinds of yummy things by now. The thing you need to keep in mind is that they really need the complete nutrition of their chick starter right now, so try to keep the treats at a minimum; no more than 10% of their total daily intake.

Some things to try - cheerios (broken in half), plain yogurt, chopped hard boiled eggs, small crickets or mealworms if you can find them. Just so you know, chicks are afraid of anything new in their enviroment. Don't be disappointed if they don't take to the treats right away, just leave the goodies in with the chicks for a bit. Soon enough one brave chick will get up the nerve to try them. The other chicks will watch and see that brave one didn't die a horrible death and they'll try em too.

You'll need to give them chick sized grit for any food that needs "grinding" or be sure the chicks have access to small pebbles when they are outside.

Many a pleasant hour(s) has been spent watching chick TV. The games of keepaway they play with their treats beats anything TV has to offer.

Good luck to you.