Chook Me!

How old do baby baby chicks have to be before they can eat scratch?

Public Comments

1. Scratch grain? They can have that pretty early. As soon as they have full feathers. If you mean grit (calcium), then as soon as they lay an egg.
2. grit acutally isn't that healthy for them. VERY small amounts is only needed, otherwise they can fill up on this in the crop and can be dangerous. talk to your local vet about this
3. about a month
4. Scratch consists mainly of cracked corn, which is indigestible for chickens. I would not give it to them as a sole food source, but as a supplement to normal feed. They will definitely need grit to help break up the corn, too.
5. Chickens don't need scratch, although they certainly like it. It's a bit like candy for chickens - no nutritional value, but they do like to eat it, and if that's all they eat, then they won't develop properly, and they won't be healthy.