Switching from mice to day old chicks. how?

[jasontini]

hi everyone, this is my first post so plsss bear with me..before i put this one up, i have done my research n also looked up on previous threads but din seem to find any..

Im trying to switch my coastals from rats to day-old chicks..i have 3 coastal females,which have no problems with chicks,i think they seem to love it... but 2 males who looks intrested but simply refuse to 'try'...

Ive read up abt how when switching from mice to rats, u rub the mice onto the rats, thaw/soak mice n rats together for the scent and braining the mice n rub the bloody mice on the rats...i tried thawing/soaking day old chicks with pinky rats but were refused..

my plan was to get them into day old chicks n supplement them with mice/rats as n when..seeing that i can have a good supply of chicks from 'pythoness' in the long run, which is good !.. plus i realise that my coastals whose on chicks have glossier scales...

so...Is the same method gona work for day old chicks? any of u gus have successfully switch from rats/mice to chicks? if yes, how do u do it?
Is it just my male coastals who's fussy, or the chick or isit me doin it wrongly?? :|


any opinion/feedback good or bad is greatly appreciated..
thanks!

 

[cleopatra2285]

Hi there,

You can try giving your snake a smaller mouse/rat, then while the tail is going down put the head of the chick into the snakes mouth and hold it till it starts to eat it. This method has worked for me before, the only thing i found difficult was getting mine off birds.

My 6 foot female coastal will only eat birds now but on occasion i'll give her a smaller one then shove a rat in just keep her diet varied abit. She has glossier scales now that i think about it. She is also very finky when feeding, i have to cover her up because she gets very distracted.

Hope this helps.

Cheers
Bec

 

[inthegrass]

none of my snakes have ever refused a chicken. maybe you could brain the mouse/rat and rub it over the chicken.
hope that helps.
cheers


sorry did not read your thread properly.

 

[jasontini]

hi Bec, thnks for the reply...hmm do u happen to chop off the beak of the chick?? or leave it as it is??

hi inthegrass, thanks for the feedback..do i have to rub it everytime during feed or just the first couple of time...?

 

[cleopatra2285]

Jasontini,

I leave them as is, Quails or Chickens.
My little male coastal of 6 months just had his first day old quail the other day and he loved it beak and all.

Bec

 

[pythoness]

It can be a new experience for a snke to find a bird instead of a rat, but once they get the taste, they will slam them down. Ofcourse all my 'of size' snakes eat chicks and i have never seen more shiny snake.
The chicks are great, try leaving one in overnight, scent it if you like, for sure.
No need to cut off beaks and feet..... ever seen a snake in the wild with a pair of sissors lol.

 

[jasontini]

Thanks Sil...i have 1 bag left... getting more from u next week...
Will call u before coming...!

 

[jasontini]

..im trying to feed them with chicks again just now...the male looked interested, sniff-sniff, go round the chick, got to the head n start to bite it... i was so stoked n was thinking...Phewwwwww, at last...! he adjusted his jaw around the beak, i was like, cmon, cmon, eaaat, eaaaaat.. then he pause, let go..and left..!!!! urrgh

hi bec,
u were saying ur 6mth old coastal had his quail,.. How big is the quail compared to a day-old chick?? i have another male coastal, he's 18mths but looked like an 8mth old...
..Refused rat, refuse mice...refused chick...:| duno watssup with him

 

[cleopatra2285]

Jasontini,

A day old quail is alot smaller than a day old chicken, it's about the size of a wiener rat. He has never had one before but did hesitate and then i had to tease him with it.
Only a few rubs on the back and bam he came at it with his mouth open. Gorgeous little thing he is i'll try and attach a pic or two of him.
My 2yo female coastal will eat anything rats, guinea pigs, mice, quails, chickens. She is a really good feeder, it also helps when they are snappy i guess.

You can private message if you like.

Cheers
Bec

 

[licky]

i dont think a coastal would refuse a chick...
you said pythoness 'supplies' chicks?
i think i need to give her a call, i need sum chicks too

 

[Carpetcleaner]

I just fed my Carpet its first chick today. Normally it has mice. It took a few goes and this is not the first time I have attempted to get it to eat a chick but it is the first time it has actually successfully eaten one.
It kept trying to eat it feet first and getting fed up and dropping it but eventually it ate it head first. I was worried about the beak as well but it was fine. Once it got a couple of inches down its throat it straightened the chick out with its own muscles and it went down the way nature intended.
It is now happily sitting in a branch with a big lump in its guts.
I will continue to offer it a variety of mice/day old chicks, but I am thrilled that it FINALLY ate it.
I have an incubator and a hatcher and I get fertilised eggs of a farmer I know. All the purebred chickens get sold and the cross breds are snake food.