Why chicks need real food (it’s NOT for nutrition!) | BREAKING RESEARCH

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]This just in, a new chicken research study finds that everything just tastes better when you're a baby. And that's great news for us because we can use this knowledge to make our chicks happier with very little effort. All we have to do is introduce to them a variety of different tastes when they're very young. And in this video, you're going to learn when to do that. It's not on day one. And how to do that safely.

[00:00:24]You definitely don't want to give them too much. My name is Bree Weiser and this video is part of my series called what your chickens want you to know this week. I literally read multiple research studies on chickens every single day. So I can wade through the torrent to find you the tidbit of the week. Our chickens all want us to know. So the research I want to share with you today is pretty cutting edge. I'm excited to see how these taste preference studies will evolve over time. But the researchers here found something that's quite relevant for us backyard chicken keepers. I'll certainly be incorporating this the next time I raise chicks. And that's that younger chicks are much more interested in trying new tastes. And seem to enjoy those tastes more than older chicks.

[00:01:15]Now unfortunately, this study on chicks didn't retest the chicks when they were adults. Which is what I would have liked to have seen because my suspicion is that the chickens who have these younger experiences with different tastes, different foods will be more open to eating various foods as adults, more open to trying new things and enjoying various tastes.

[00:01:38]>> [music] >> Again, those long-term effects are not in the study. It's just my hypothesis.

[00:01:48]We do see something like that with humans. I suspect it's the same here.

[00:01:53]Regardless, what we can glean from the study is that young chicks are more interested in consuming new flavors in their first three to four weeks of life than they are beyond that. So let's apply this.

[00:02:06]There are three things you need to know.

[00:02:08]The third thing is the most important for chick health, so don't skip that one. But here's number one. What tastes should you expose your chicks to?

[00:02:17]Fruits, vegetables, herbs, grains, bugs.

[00:02:21]The researchers used flavor compounds in their study rather than real whole ingredients. But we backyard chicken keepers, we like to keep it natural. So I suggest just using as wide of a variety of healthy foods as you can.

[00:02:36]Number two. When should you expose your chicks to those new flavors? I recommend waiting until they're at least a week old. Day-old chicks don't know what's appropriate to eat and what's not. They will actually eat anything they see.

[00:02:49]This is why everyone says don't expose them to bedding right away. They may eat it like food otherwise.

[00:03:00]So week one is for chicks to learn that chick feed is well food. My recommendation then is to give your chicks only chick feed for the first few days you have them.

[00:03:13]Then you can introduce grit. You definitely want them eating grit before they have any whole food. They need that grit in their systems to properly digest the whole food.

[00:03:25]Sweetie, look. You want to try the grit?

[00:03:30]You need to get a little bit of chick food.

[00:03:34]And then when they're about a week old, you can start introducing new tastes only if your chicks are super healthy.

[00:03:49]Hey babies.

[00:03:51]Oh my goodness. Hello babies.

[00:03:55]Hello babies. If you have any concerns about their health at all, their energy levels, that they're not eating enough, or you're seeing a lot of chronic pasty butt, anything really.

[00:04:05]Wait until those things have resolved.

[00:04:07]You do not want to risk upsetting their digestive systems if they're not in perfect health. Number three. This is super important. How much of each new food should you give your chicks? Hardly anything. Just a taste. When your chicks are really young like that, they need the balanced nutrition they get from their feed to develop correctly.

[00:04:29]You don't want to mess with that, particularly if your chicks were hatched artificially either at home or in a hatchery. And even more so if you had them shipped through the mail.

[00:04:42]>> [music] [music] >> All of those things add a lot of stress to your baby chicks that they wouldn't have had in the natural world. And so we need to be more careful about their nutrition simply because of that. So think of these new tastes as enrichment for your chicks rather than part of their diet. You're giving these bites to your chicks to introduce to them the joy of tastes and textures. To give them a better quality of life. And to hopefully develop their palates for their future health and happiness. So cut a couple of grapes in half for them to pick at or bring out a little watermelon. A brussels sprout maybe. And let each chick just get a few bites of it. that little bit and then take the food away.

[00:05:32]With herbs, let them try some little tastes of fresh herbs like basil or thyme for example. Just a little bit.

[00:05:40]You can try giving some dried herbs, a little oregano, a little rosemary maybe.

[00:05:45]And sprinkle a teeny tiny amount on a paper plate or a paper towel for the chicks to sample and enjoy. Even better, sprinkle your herbs on a hard heat mat like this one.

[00:05:58]Chicks are much more likely to eat whatever it is you're giving them if you sprinkle the food on this type of mat than they are on anything else. And actually as a side note, this mat is one of the best things you can put in your breeder to get your chicks to perform natural behaviors. Tasting is just one of those behaviors. If you want to learn more about what natural behaviors chicks should be performing in your home breeder aside from developing a sophisticated palate check out this video here and linked below.

[00:06:29]And that's what your chickens want you to know this week.