Feeding Bread Crumbs

[awolf]

  I s it OK to feed quail bread crumbs . I ground up some whole wheat bread and now I have three dead chicks. The bread was fresh and dried out then ground real fine. What could have killed these three?. There was no mold which I have heard as a culprit.One was three weeks old and the other two were six weeks old. So much for that idea.
Thanks again

[awolf]

Are you serious.? You have been reading Myridian's post and are pulling my leg aren't you. I just went to check on them again and one of the chicks has a bloody red toe. Now that the chicks toe is visibly red red should I remove the chick to a safe haven or will it be ok left alone. The turkey crumbles are dry. No one choked on them. They have water to wash it down. These guys are a pain to figure out and they are so sensitive. OK Have at it.
Thanks

[jk]

May have been the bread... though there are also a million other possibilities. How did they die (what were they acting like?) Gaping mouths open? Were their crops full?

The bread probably wouldn't have blocked the air way (as there are two tubes in the throat- one to the lungs, one to the digestive system- only one functions at a time). Describe in as much detail as you can how the birds died, etc.

If you still have them, performing a "mini-autopsy" would be a good idea, so you could make sure you knew what you did wrong.

I feed bread to chickens of all ages and have never had a problem with it... at that age, I wouldn't think bread crumbs would have the ability to do any harm to them, but who knows? Put on of them under the knife to find out...

[Reeves]

They have access to grit, and did it look like the crop was full ?

[aKirA]

I have fed my birds white/wheat bread without issues. Though it was to birds that were 5+ weeks to matured and never tried younger chicks. I never ground up the bread though. Just threw it as is in the pens and let them peck at'em.

Like others said...could still be the bread and other reasons so may be hard to conclude without other clues.

[MtBullion Gamebirds]

I too fed sliced and french bread.  Never had a problem, I would bet it was something else besides the bread.

[awolf]

 It has been 90 + here and it may have gotten a little warm. They're in a three sided wood and three sided wire mesh box, cage. They had food and water. On another note. I mentioned in another post that I added ground oats and they quick picking at each others feet. That didn't last very long. Today, two of them have toes but they are beet red. It's tough being a bird.
They made it through the nite and died early A.M. I'm beginning to think one of them may have cold cocked the(pecked them in the eye) the other. Still a mystery.

[SuzyQ]

First of all, quail chicks absorb their yolk just before hatching, so they can technically go for at least three days before needing to eat.  Second, bread crumbs have no nutritional value or important vitamins for newborn chicks.  Also, ever see what happens when you add water?  Bread and bread crumbs expand three times their size.  In a pinch, yellow corn meal is better to use at least until you go out and buy a bag of game bird chick feed.