Chickens won't eat treats, why?

[PAJerry]

I am having the same problem with my new flock. They are 10 weeks old and only like oatmeal. So far, most greens are ignored except kale. These are RIRs and maybe they are just that way. They seem to hang out in the coop a lot more than my last bunch, which were Golden Comets and BOs. They are very healthy looking so I guess I shouldn't be too concerned, but the treats from the garden are free and would help offset the cost of chicken feed (prices are awful right now).

 

[gale65]

Looks like mine may have finally eaten the cantaloupe rinds. Which is good because I have more in the fridge and freezer. DH bought me grapes today so I will share a few of those in the next few days.

 

[I'm1chickencuddler]

When I first joined BYC a few weeks ago with lots of questions, one of mine was about treats too. We now daily give them mealworms which I have decided to raise in plastic shoe sized boxes I got at K-mart. They LOVE mealworms. We daily give them a bowl of regular yogurt that they all go nuts over. The first day we gave them yogurt was hysterical to watch. I put the bowl out and they all came and eyed it warily. I had sprinkled some of their pelleted food on top at the suggestion of one of the members of BYC. A brave girl went and investigated...started to eat into 1 spot, reached the yogurt and started flinging it off her beak. The others investigated what was flung and that was all she wrote from there. NOW, when I bring out the yogurt, it is GONE in less than a minute. They love it. They love blackberries. They still have no interest in the cabbage heads I have offered. I cut the squash leaves with bugs on them from my garden and they love that. Rice, oats, crickets, peas. Anything they don't get every single day is fascinating to them.

My daughter and I make homemade dog biscuits with only wholesome ingredients and we are figuring out what else to do for our girls. The mealworms are supposed to be great to get them through the winter months. We will find out.

 

[gale65]

I'm1chickencuddler :

When I first joined BYC a few weeks ago with lots of questions, one of mine was about treats too. We now daily give them mealworms which I have decided to raise in plastic shoe sized boxes I got at K-mart. They LOVE mealworms. We daily give them a bowl of regular yogurt that they all go nuts over. The first day we gave them yogurt was hysterical to watch. I put the bowl out and they all came and eyed it warily. I had sprinkled some of their pelleted food on top at the suggestion of one of the members of BYC. A brave girl went and investigated...started to eat into 1 spot, reached the yogurt and started flinging it off her beak. The others investigated what was flung and that was all she wrote from there. NOW, when I bring out the yogurt, it is GONE in less than a minute. They love it. They love blackberries. They still have no interest in the cabbage heads I have offered. I cut the squash leaves with bugs on them from my garden and they love that. Rice, oats, crickets, peas. Anything they don't get every single day is fascinating to them.

My daughter and I make homemade dog biscuits with only wholesome ingredients and we are figuring out what else to do for our girls. The mealworms are supposed to be great to get them through the winter months. We will find out.

I wondered if those could be raised in a plastic shoe box. I think I'll try it-I'm not sure if I can even get mealworms locally but if I can find some in another town I could try raising them.​

 

[I'm1chickencuddler]

The pet shops all around here sell them. I would imagine all/most pet shops would sell them as they are a staple for most lizards and some other reptiles. The wild bird stores also sell them. I heard about getting them online. There are some sources but I got 1000 for $10. I didn't figure I was going to get any cheaper than that. The bird stores was double the price which was still not going to break the bank but cheaper for more was good. They love the mealworms. And while I am waiting for my colony to get established, I move the first layer of "stuff" in my composter and viola....many many many different mealyworms. Kinda gross, so I use tongs to get them out. I put them in a cup and scatter them around for my girls or some don't get to partake in the mealworm feast. They love them. I started with 1000 and 2 plastic shoeboxes. We moved about half the beetles into one box and eft the rest in the original box. Some recommend moving the beetles by themselves and others say leave them. We are kinda trying both. There are several you tube videos and some folks on this site who were quite helpful and informative. Just put in whatever cut up veggies and fruits but not too wet or it will get moldy and kill them. Your girls will love you for them!!! Good luck!

 

[gale65]

You'd think so but the pet shop here doesn't sell them. We only have a Petsense store but they are a chain and have a lot of variety of pet supplies so I was sure they'd have them. Walmart doesn't have them either. I could go to Petco or Petsmart but that's an hour drive that I don't really want to make for mealworms. I looked on ebay and will probably just get some there. How much should I get if I want to use a shoebox sized box?

 

[ThinkingChickens]

I have goat chickens and they eat anything. We feed food scraps, mealworms, halved grapes, sunflower seeds, etc.

 

[I'm1chickencuddler]

It was suggested to me at least 500, but I guess it depends on how big your flock is. I am down to 18 hens and I bought 1000. The more the merrier. My girls eat the heck out of them. I have been digging through my compost getting out those mealy worms that they LOVE. It was also suggested to me not to feed them from my mealworm stock until after about 3 months to let it get very well established. They say if you do wait, the pay off is huge because they will produce more than your chickens can eat. I am waiting.

 

[I'm1chickencuddler]

We had ended up with tons of mealworms in 3 different plastic shoeboxes. I had them stacked on my kitchen counter. One morning when going to make coffee, there was this white "dust" all over my kitchen. It was these teeny tiny white mite things that were so small you could barely see move. They were over every inch of my kitchen. I still have meal worm bins, but they are now outside. I haven't figured out what kind of bug they were but they still hang out on my mealworm bins. I went a little crazy removing everything from my kitchen and cleaning everything. I do mean everything. My next door neighbor is a pest control guy. He brought a sample in to his office and they still haven't figured out what they are. There were mega millions of them in my kitchen. Nothing seemed to kill them. It just looks like moving dust particles. No they are not dust mites. Just be careful where you have them in your house.

 

[Ole rooster]

Most Lowes has dried meal worms. My chickens come running or running flying when they hear me rattle the plastic tub the worms come in. I had a member on here tell me to try shreaded cheese. Kinds expensive but that really got their attention. Apples if they're not to hard. Grapes not at all. So my treats for them is meal worms and cheese. I give them all the rest but they don't act as though it's a treat. Just more food.