I found a article in the magazine Backyard Poultry its by Doug Akers Purdue Extension Educator, CED Agriculture & Natural Resources. I will post some articles from chicken magazines and books some more!
Would you like another option to help reduce the possibility of chicks picking each other while feathering out during those first few weeks? Chicks need things to do while confined to those brooder areas or they might get in a habit of eating quills of new growing feathers. I have used a variety of materials: leafy alfalfa hay, popped popcorn, and Styrofoam; the type that brakes into tiny bits. Chicks will peck at these materials for hours, which reduces the likelihood of pecking at each other.
The past few winters, I've used a Purina product, Flock Block SunFresh Recipe with my hens that give me a similar idea for chicks. The hens peck at the Flock Block during their days of indoor confinement when snow covered ground prevents outdoor foraging. The Flock Block is made primarily from scratch grain and other nutrients and materials. It is bound together by molasses and sold as a 25 lb. block, costing around $10. I broke off chunks of this product with a hammer and put them with the chicks. Unfortunately, the chicks ignored the chunks. Perhaps the adult flock block was too hard for the chicks or didn't contain enough corn to attract their attention.
A chick-type flock block is available commercially but this tiny version costs nearly as much as the 25 lb. Purina product. Fortunately, I came upon a home-made recipe that works for baby chicks.And, it only costs pennies to make several of these little "busy blocks."
THE RECIPE
Dissolve 1 packet of unflavored gelatin into 1/2 cup of hot water. Pour the gelatin into 2-1/2 to 3 cups of scratch grain and sir in the water/gelatin until it is thoroughly mixed in the grain. Pack the moist grain into little plastic containers ( the size of your choice ) and solidify them in the refrigerator. Later, pop them out and place in your chick brooder. They are firm enough to stay together but soft enough for the chicks to pick apart. You can vary the hardness by varying the amount of grain used in the recipe.You can also accessorize the little blocks for hanging in your brooder. Push a wire through the block before hardening it. After you have popped the block out of its plastic container, push the wire another inch or two through the bottom of the block. Bend the wire at a right angle to keep it from slipping though the block.
By the way! I have not made this yet!!!!
