When can the babies have treats?

[michellerene]

They literally jump on anything they think they might be able to eat... when can I start giving them treats like fruits & veggies? 4 of them are a few days old the other 2 are probably a week old or so.

 

[chxncarrots]

Hi M,
We have 16 Barred Rocks that were born on the 18th of this month. We gave them some live carpenter ants when they were a week old. Today we gave them a couple of earth worms which caused complete pandimonium. I never knew an earth worm could stretch that far!! LOL. They love the live treats, they are practically jumping out of the pen when they see us coming with the cup we catch the ants in!!

 

[allen wranch]

If you are feeding them anything else besides starter/grower feed, you need to give them some grit. Washed play sand works well or you can find parakeet grit at the pet store.

It is OK to give babies people food too in moderation. Stay away from foods that have a lot of salt and sugar. Fresh veggies and fruit are good. Mine love any bread products (just like me).

Earth worms from outside are not a good idea. They pick up parasites which can infect the babies. If you want to give them worms, pick up some commercially grown ones at a bait shop.

 

[TitiBebbs]

We have 29 biddies of varied ages and breeds. I tried offereing a slice of apple and a strawberry (sliced up) to the week olds and it doesn't look touched. We've been giving lettuce (romaine) to the older ones because we give that to the ducklings and the chicks like it too. Today, after ds and I had watermelon, we threw some rinds into the yard. At first it was ignored but once one found it, the whole crew went crazy. We have a natural supply of ants and other insects around, including bees and wasps that hang around the pool for the ducklings. It is too cute to watch the chicks chase these through the air. Also had a few digging in the mud caused by overflow from the duck pool. They look OH SO HAPPY doing that.

 

[michellerene]

Ah, parakeet grit! I remember that stuff! I'll pick some up on the way home tomorrow-- they are scratching for spilled food way more than eating out of the feeder today-- they all have one corner where they've scratched through 3" of shavings to the bottom of the aquarium tank & they just keep scratching & searching in vain for something to get excited about-- I really want to give them something to keep them more occupied!

If they were with a mama hen outside, they would be eating all kinds of bugs & green stuff, wouldn't they?

 

[Hellebore]

Hello neighbor. I am in Kirkland WA!! Someone suggested feeding baby crickets to my chicks. We got some at the pet store today and they gobbled them up. They were very, very tiny crickets.