I toss in grass clippings/carrots/spinach/strawberry tops/apple leftovers/etc. every day. I toss in a few handsful of grit each time, but this time I filled their little chickie feeder with the chick grit and their hopper with feed. I left the chick feeder empty for 2 days (there was plenty in the hopper), and they still swarmed it like they were starving. The didn't hang there long--half a minute for most of them--but I wanted to be sure they won't pig out on crushed granite to the exclusion of their actual food and scraps. I just did it now, and the hopper is still over half full from last night's fill-up, so they weren't hungry, and I tossed in grass clippings and kitchen scraps, tossed grit in with that, and THEN when they lost their frenzied excitement, casually filled the chick feeder with their grit. I was hoping they would discover it a few at a time and eat it only as-needed, but they did come over in more of a crowd, and snacked for a bit.
Can I leave a chick feeder of grit in the possession of 8 week olds who have had a varied diet for several weeks, or am I leaving the teenagers with the key to the liquor cabinet? And if it's too late, and I have overdosed them on grit, what are symptoms of a problem, and what do I do to fix it?
Thanks...these birds are a lot of research to really take care of them right!
Can I leave a chick feeder of grit in the possession of 8 week olds who have had a varied diet for several weeks, or am I leaving the teenagers with the key to the liquor cabinet? And if it's too late, and I have overdosed them on grit, what are symptoms of a problem, and what do I do to fix it?
Thanks...these birds are a lot of research to really take care of them right!