Newbie - How do you feed chicks treats?

[jedigurl]

I have 4 chicks who are 7 days old and I want them to be tame and friendly. I hold them every day. Their brooder is next to my desk so I can watch them and talk to them. They only eat chick feed so far. When, how and what do I feed them as treats? I need explicit instructions; this is all new for me.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

I have 4 chicks who are 7 days old and I want them to be tame and friendly. I hold them every day. Their brooder is next to my desk so I can watch them and talk to them. They only eat chick feed so far. When, how and what do I feed them as treats? I need explicit instructions; this is all new for me.

They are very cute! I always gave my chicks a little bit of crushed up oatmeal on my hand or sprinkled in the brooder. They would go crazy if i wet a little feed for them and fed them from my hand!

 

[Evadig]

I feed mine several frozen peas (but thawed) once every few days. But I didn’t start feeding them treats until they were a couple weeks old.

 

[TillyPeeps]

For the first a few weeks, I just give them chick feed by hands as treats. They love it when it's in you hands instead of in their feeder. When you provide real treats, you will need to provide chick grits too.

 

[TooCheep]

I only feed chicks treat directly related to their early and later life. Fairly early on, I only give them crushed hard boiled egg. It is nutritionally perfect for them and they love it. Hand feeding crumbles also works.

Since my girls end up free ranging, later (before they go outside) I give them a clump of grass with dirt. This will give them exposure to plants that they will be grazing outside as well as exposure to bacteria and other microbes that they will encounter on my property so that they can develop some resistance to any potential pathogens before they get a full dose outside.

@TillyPeeps is correct. If you give your girls anything other than egg or pellets, they need grit to help digest the additional material. If they are raised naturally by a hen outdoors, they will be able to pick it up off the ground. If you are controlling their environment, it is your responsibility to provide this grit.

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

I have 4 chicks who are 7 days old and I want them to be tame and friendly. I hold them every day. Their brooder is next to my desk so I can watch them and talk to them. They only eat chick feed so far. When, how and what do I feed them as treats? I need explicit instructions; this is all new for me.

I would wait a few weeks. once they are big enough, about four blueberries per bird per day, or some apple slices or cucumber slices. you can feed them blueberries, but remember that they still need regular feed, and if they get more than four or five large blueberries per day, it can make them sick. sort of like if you ate 1 pound of blueberries every day. so basically, blueberries and apples in moderation, chicken scratch and cucumbers less strictly.

 

[StinkyAcres]

I would wait a few weeks. once they are big enough, about four blueberries per bird per day, or some apple slices or cucumber slices. you can feed them blueberries, but remember that they still need regular feed, and if they get more than four or five large blueberries per day, it can make them sick. sort of like if you ate 1 pound of blueberries every day. so basically, blueberries and apples in moderation, chicken scratch and cucumbers less strictly.

That's still a lot of treats. Chick feed is balanced and the more treats (this included scratch) you give the more unbalanced their diet will be. I wouldn't give treats more than a couple times a week. And always provide appropriately-sized grit.

 

[jedigurl]

That's still a lot of treats. Chick feed is balanced and the more treats (this included scratch) you give the more unbalanced their diet will be. I wouldn't give treats more than a couple times a week. And always provide appropriately-sized grit.

How do I give chicks the grit? Mix some with their chick feed?

 

[killmak]

You can mix it with their chick feed, I am unsure the ratio though. I just provide it in a bowl with dirt so they can either eat it or play in it.

 

[StinkyAcres]

How do I give chicks the grit? Mix some with their chick feed?

I spread it around the brooder floor so they can go foraging for it. My older chickens get it in a container hanging off the wall.