When can I introduce non-crumble foods.

[KawaiiChaii]

Hey there!

I have 3 week old chicks and I was wondering when I can start giving them other foods like oregano for instance.

I ask because I made a dust bath for them in their brooder (charcoal, play sand, a little dirt from outside) and they immediately started to eat it! I sit with them for a while it's nice to read while watching them, none of them used it as a dust bath, instead they used their regular bedding to baith while it's in there!

I figured if they seem to know to eat grit, I might as well introduce some other foods- if it's safe.

So my questions:
When can they eat treats?
Is it bad to give them grit if they don't necessarily need it?

Thank you everyone!!

 

[SueT]

They are definitely old enuf to eat other foods, and give grit now. They need grit to digest the other foods. Make sure their crumbles is the main part of their diet so you don’t dilute the nutrition needed for growth.

 

[KawaiiChaii]

They are definitely old enuf to eat other foods, and give grit now. They need grit to digest the other foods. Make sure their crumbles is the main part of their diet so you don’t dilute the nutrition needed for growth.

Got it, thank you!

If you don't mind me asking another question, why would some people say you should wait MONTHS to give them treats? I've seen mixed answers elsewhere, some saying wait a while, others saying they gave them other foods within the first week, I'm just confused as to why it seems there's no concrete answer.

My thoughts are some would say not to right away because as you said, some may give too much food aside from crumbles or potentially give them stomach upset if given the wrong food, so it's a way to were on the safe side for new chicken parents.

 

[3KillerBs]

I give mine some green stuff to peck at when they're a few weeks old.

Why oregano? I'd think that the essential oils in such herbs would be rather powerful for a baby's first taste of food.

 

[PasoRoblesEgger]

I had the same questions, as we only had chicks I incubated or bought at the feed store. I don't have a rooster, so never had a broody hen experience until recently. We bought some fertilized eggs and let her sit.

She had the chicks out days after they were born. She would tear greens and bugs into little pieces and call them to eat. They were scratching in the dirt and sand and pecking at weeds on their own in no time. Granted they had chick starter and were eating that too, but the foraging/eating lessons began right away. Can't beat nature, so I say give them some greens/fruits from the yard or from kitchen scraps and let them go to town.

 

[Jaime918]

They are likely eating your dust bath mixture because their bodies know they need grit and are likely trying to use the sand for such.

At 1 1/2- 2 weeks I introduce grit, let them work with crumble and grit for a week and then we start to try little things here and there. At 3 weeks I also give them a baby cake for amusement and a nice treat. I've done this for 3 hatches now with no I'll effects.

 

[kerbotx]

Be careful with play sand - they can eat too much, and it can impact in their crops. When I start to introduce new foods, like tomato slices or sliced cucumber, I sprinkle a little chick grit right on top, kind of like if you were salting it for yourself. I'll also sprinkle a little on their wet mash, in the days prior to starting new foods.

As for the variation in advice, remember that this is the internet - there are lots of experienced people with lots of great info, but you've also got complete idiots running around spouting whatever the first google result told them, like it's gospel. The cautious advice, saying to wait a few weeks, that's geared for first-time owners, who have never raised baby chicks before. It takes a week or two just for the chicks to adjust to your home, your setup, etc, so it can take a while to develop a baseline for knowing what's 'normal'. Overfeeding of treats is a common problem; it's fun, the chicks enjoy it, but it can rob them of the important protein they need to grow as fast as they do. Keeping food simple - just their feed - makes it easier to diagnose an illness if it does occur. Enjoy those babies!