Cracked corn

[Mikeylikesityea]

I know cracked corn is supposed to be a treat, but can I give them a handful everyday or every few days or what?
They have layers pellets, oyster shells and free ranged a few hours each day. Also give them meal worms as treats, should these be given daily or what?

 

[azygous]

Yes. You may. Distribute it sparingly. I toss about one cup for eighteen hens maybe two or three times a week. That's about one tablespoon per chicken. A couple times a week I toss dry rolled oats, about the same measure.

 

[K0k0shka]

Keep in mind that chickens don't all eat at the same rates, so giving them quantity X and mentally dividing it by the number of chickens doesn't mean that each will get an equal share. There are gluttons that eat more than the others, pushy chickens that shove the others aside and hoard the treats, or if the treats are scattered on the ground, some chickens are faster to pick them up and can end up with a disproportionately large share, which can add up over time. One of my favorite chickens died of fatty liver disease, most likely from overindulging on treats by always being the fastest and pushiest and taking a much larger share than the others.

 

[azygous]

Keep in mind that chickens don't all eat at the same rates, so giving them quantity X and mentally dividing it by the number of chickens doesn't mean that each will get an equal share. There are gluttons that eat more than the others, pushy chickens that shove the others aside and hoard the treats, or if the treats are scattered on the ground, some chickens are faster to pick them up and can end up with a disproportionately large share, which can add up over time. One of my favorite chickens died of fatty liver disease, most likely from overindulging on treats by always being the fastest and pushiest and taking a much larger share than the others.

How do you handle this issue? Advice?

 

[K0k0shka]

How do you handle this issue? Advice?

I give them the high calorie treats (scratch, corn etc.) very very rarely, once a week at most, more like a few times a month. And I scatter it over a large area so that all the birds can reach it, and the quick/gluttonous ones will have to cover more distance to collect it and not be able to just stuff their faces. If I want to feed them something by hand for bonding and socialization, I use something else, like the wet mash I make out of their regular crumble + water. They love it so much that they act like it's treats and it does the job, but without messing up their diet.

 

[3KillerBs]

And I scatter it over a large area so that all the birds can reach it, and the quick/gluttonous ones will have to cover more distance to collect it and not be able to just stuff their faces

This is how I handle that as well. I toss some down in one place, move over, toss more down farther away, and so on until it's scattered across the entire run so that no bird can monopolize it.

 

[Kanekoded]

I know cracked corn is supposed to be a treat, but can I give them a handful everyday or every few days or what?
They have layers pellets, oyster shells and free ranged a few hours each day. Also give them meal worms as treats, should these be given daily or what?

I only offer corn in the winter and that's if I offer it at all. With that said, I have a flock of 4 who haven't yet experienced winter. With past flocks of 20-30, I'd scatter 4 or 5 handfuls over a 384 sq ft run on very cold days as it was helpful in warming them up. I live in Wisconsin and it gets gosh, darn, COLD here in the winter.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I give 5 grain scratch everyday & never had a problem, but I don't over think my chicken management.