Cracked Corn

[Serieux1995]

How old does chicks need to be before giving them cracked corn

 

[TexasBlues]

I would say after they have had chick sized grit.

 

[Debbie292d]

How old does chicks need to be before giving them cracked corn

I would never feed chicks cracked corn, nor my chickens.

Chicks can start having treats after they are a month old but they need the nutrients in the feed, so maybe start out with a little scrambled egg. It's preferred to wait until they are 6 weeks, but I cheat with the eggs.

Be sure they are either outside where they have access to dirt, or provide grit to them.

 

[Penpal]

I don't feed cracked corn either. When you break the corn it will faster loose nutrients. If you do it yourself once a week, it won't matter, but how long has that bag of cracked corn been on the store shelf, and how long was it on a shelf in a warehouse?

If you want to feed corn, soak it for three days first. This will take care of the anti-nutrients as well as soften it up a bit. Use small kernel popcorn for chicks.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Feed corn in moderation. It's a weight gainer. Over weight hens lay less eggs. I feed as a treat around 6 months old and up. Maybe 3 times a month.

 

[FrostRanger]

Technically they can eat it if they have grit, but I prefer to give very young chicks wet chick feed and grass and edible forage from the yard as treats (I follow the principle of exposing them to the bacteria and whatnot in the soil early to build up their immune systems). I don't give my birds cracked corn either besides what's in scratch and even then they don't get that very often. It's up to you whether you give them cracked corn but only give them a little bit on occasion. I don't follow any specific ratio, but they shouldn't be getting stuff like scratch or cracked corn every day, maybe a few times a month is fine and I wouldn't start them until they're outside full time