When can I give my chicks treats and what are the best ones?

[blueberrylu]

We have several sussex and bantam orpingtons chicks that are about 3 weeks old. At what age can we give them treats (they are only on chick feed right now) and what would be good treats to give them? Also--do they need grit even though they are on the chick feed and still in their indoor pen and not outside yet? Thanks

 

[Slywoody]

You should make sure they have grit before you give them treats. I put some on the floor and right into their feed. I gave mine some bread ( not much), dry oatmeal, chopped up lettuce, chopped up celery, rice crispies, crushed cheerios. If you don't give them grit, they will get impacted crop and die. I let them eat treats right out of my hand and now they come running all the time. Good Luck,, Woody

 

[astatula]

I thought I saw on the chick starter feed that grit was included in the mix. Does anyone have a bag of starter feed in front of them and can correct me if I am wrong?

 

[Buff Hooligans]

Click on this to get to the BYC Treats Chart:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-Treats_Chart

 

[Happy Chicken Mama]

YOUGURT!

Baby chicks LOVE yougurt.

I put a smidge of peanutbutter and very fine cooked oatmeal in it. They lick the plates when they are done!

 

[apostoliclady]

I checked on my feed, and I don't see grit in there. Is 3 weeks too young to start them on grit? If not, how soon after should I wait to give them treats?

 

[GAchick]

But if they were outside being raised by their Mom, wouldn't they already be scratching, and eating dirt/sand/etc.? I wouldn't think grit or a pan of sand would hurt them at any age.

 

[MysticScorpio82]

Quote:
Do you give them plain yogurt or is flavored / sweetened ok?

 

[vtsarahb]

plain is best, as too much sugar can upset their little digestive systems.

 

[NJbirdlover]

Quote:
Mine wont touch the stuff, they wont eat chopped up egg either....go figure

update- Tried the egg again the next day and they went psycho over it. Still don't like yogurt though.