Before ya say anything,. I KNOW there must be a thread on this but I just couldn't find it on this age chick,. and I read though a few pages. I have 2 week old Barnevelders and Australorps ( 2 wks today)and they are eating like horses! If I chop up the seeds in the processor,. can they have them or or they still too young,. and if so,. when can I start. They get plenty of grit and are using it. I've always given it to our big girls,..but not to the babies.. thank so much in advance!
Ok,.. I wnt ahead and put some in the food processor,. it did nothing,. so I put them in the coffee grinder,.. Now I have have BOSS grounds! I will mix that in with their chick starter! It's like powder,. can't hurt. Still would like to know if anyone has given them whole to 2 wk olds?
I was wondering the same thing for my 6 week old bantams. I want to give them scratch at night as a treat to keep them warm (I just put them into the coop on Sat) but I don't know if it's too early to have big seeds in their little crops. I have a run with sand for the grit, but they haven't ventured out in it yet so I would definitely have to supply grit if I do give them the BOSS in the scratch.
Well,.. I've been giving mine grit for a week,.. I figured if they were with Mama in the yard they would be pecking at it anyway,..I guess the same goes for BOSS ,.. I may offer a few pieces and see what happens,.. the seeds I put in the coffee grinder were powdered,.. so that didn't work,..
Chick feed is specially formulated to fulfill their nutritional needs. I find that by adding treats too young, they learn to leave the chick feed and wait for the treats. This can affect proper growth and development. I don't offer supplemental treats until 10+ weeks and when they are outside...sometimes longer.
I throw BOSS to my chicks and their mama as soon as they are hatched. She gets to "find" the "black bugs" in the bedding and they seem to be just fine eating them. Its hilarious to see them scratching just like her to find the seeds. Gives everyone something to do....like hide and seek. Never had any problems feeding chicks BOSS at any age.
My australorps are eating like crazy, I have 15 that are 6 days old and they are eating nearly 2 quart mason jars of starter feed, 2 cups of lettuce and 1 cup of tomatoe a day. The addition of the lettuce and tomatoe did not deter their feeding at the feeder at all, it just created all kinds of chicken "mosh pits". It becomes like a shark feeding frenzy when the lettuce and tomatoe tray hits the bottom of the brooder. Total insanity . Definetly cheap entertainment to watch them go berserk. I am only concerned that maybe I am feeding them to much. But from what I have read here and been told, is that you can not feed chicks to much.
Quote:I appreciate the thought and always like to hear good info,.. I can see your point about the nutrition aspect of not feeding treats too early,.. however,. these Aussies are tearing through their Manna chick starter like there's no tomorrow, getting nutrients in their water and sucking down mealworms every other day,. Even after treats,,.. they run back over to the feeder to keep eating their starter,. so I thankfully I have no worries in this area,.. I keep lots of BOSS on hand and was hoping a I could give some to the little ones,. also we use threats as a way to spend hands on time with each one,. getting them tame and used to being examined from head to toe,. Thanks so much for everyones thoughts,..I did give them a small amount and they snapped them up with no problems,.
I don't recommend feeding grit at that age, but you can mix scratch and BOSS or whatever with their feed. Just try to have 20% seed and 80% starter. Good Luck.
OH,. OK,..Thanks, Could you explain why not to feed grit? I just thought that since my Mama hens always took their chicks out to the yard and I saw them eating the grown up's grit that they needed it. This is my first hatch without a Mama hen.
