Reptile & Amphibian Forums

would it be difficult to get brb's to eat chicks?

...Chicks as in domestic chicken chicks? Wildcaught BRBs will readily eat live and fresh killed chicks. Some of my captive born ones eat frozen and thawed chicks when I offer them. I imagine if I was to make the others go without other meals for several weeks most of them would switch over and eat chicks. Chicks are probably a good food at least some of the time for Rainbow Boas. They do sometimes pass messier stools when eating them. BTW, I have had quite a few adult BRBs that would eat drumsticks.
...Baby Rainbow Boas that are refusing other food will sometimes take frozen and thawed quail chicks. There is not much nutrition in a day old quail chick and so the snakes need to eat two of them at a time or be fed more often.

rodent pro is having a sale on frozen, including quail and regular chicks. I was wondering if they'd eat them, they're like $.19 and $.12 so I ordered some along with rats. Hopefully they do, if not I have other snakes that eat anything it will be interesting to see which of my animals will take the birds.

Drumsticks- from the supermarket? I've heard of large snakes eating chickens as a regular diet is it only adults/larger snakes that can eat chicken- can store bought chicken supplement a standard rodent diet? Not having to keep frozen rats in the freezer would make the family happy

Yes, drumsticks from the supermarket. I have fed them to BRBs a few times over the years when I could not get enough rodents. I think they are okay for use when you have to but probably a bad choice for longterm diet.

I would not feed them chicks unless I had to, I think a rodent diet is more appropriate and gets better weight gain on the brb's. I don't think the chicks are harmful just less nutritious then rodent prey and lack the innards that adult mice and rats have....I have fed avian prey long term with no noticeable ill effects except for the lesser weight gain.

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Thanks,

Frank Roberts