when can I introduce other food to chicks

[lauren6]

and what are good starter treats??

 

[gritsar]

You want them to concentrate on their starter food for at least 90% of their nutrition at the start because it's a complete food. Opinions vary on when to start introducing other foods. I started by giving mine some chopped hard boiled egg and plain, no fat yogurt at around 2 weeks old. Also, an occasional cricket when I could find one in the yard. Always in small amounts, just to get them used to the idea and to give them something to do.
Once you start offering other foods you'll need to start offering them some chick grit or if you can't find that, some plain parakeet grit (without added calcium) will work.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I start feeding finely chopped green feed at about seven days of age. Start with just a little bit at first because they are suspicious of new foods and won't eat much in the beginning. They'll gradually eat more as the days pass. I also begin sprinking canary/parakeet grit on their starter about then as well. At about week two I slowly chop it coarser and coarser as they develop their ability to tear it into bite sized pieces for themselves until I stop chopping it at all and put it in whole somewhere between three and four weeks. It makes a good way for them to burn off energy, keeps them occupied and out of mischief.

Some times I'll do the same with a piece of bread, particularly heel pieces. Put it in whole when they're a couple of weeks old and let them spend time pecking at it. Not a whole lot though as you really do want them to get most of their calories from the starter feed.

.....Alan.