Hot days

[knhundley]

On super hot days (and just as a treat) I make 'chicken mash'. My chicks love it! I take plain yogurt and a refrigerated banana and mash it together. Then I mix in some of their regular crumble food. Its kind of a paste texture but its great to keep them cool and hydrated.

 

[dawnpel]

Great idea.....I bet they love it, I know my girls will when I try this.

 

[knhundley]

You could try mixing other fruit in too. I haven't tried doing that yet.

 

[Turnip Farm]

I read that chickens love banana peels (mine didn't) and then I read that chickens should never eat bananas (poisonous). I'm confused! I'd love to feed mine bananas! And I have yogurt (plain)...maybe I can make a cucumber mash for them to beat the heat?

These are my first chickens...English Orpington pullets. It's going to be 105 the next 2 days so I'm trying to find good ways to keep them hydrated and cool.

 

[knhundley]

That's actually the opposite of what I've read on bananas! Haha. I've seen not to give them peels but that the banana itself is a good source of potassium for them.
I haven't tried cucumbers with mine. They didn't like yellow squash or carrots but of course I'll try again.

 

[splum]

I took a can of corn and froze a bit in each cup of a muffin tin. They loved their frozen treats. Oh, frozen berries were also a big hit.

 

[knhundley]

I just bought corn and different types of berries at the grocery store so I definitely plan on trying them.

 

[SClaire]

On super hot days (and just as a treat) I make 'chicken mash'. My chicks love it! I take plain yogurt and a refrigerated banana and mash it together. Then I mix in some of their regular crumble food. Its kind of a paste texture but its great to keep them cool and hydrated.

This sounds great, I wonder if you could make a smoothie version and crush ice into it for extra cool?

 

[DeepDishChix]

I going to go make that right now! My chickens are always breathing with their mouths open when they get hot, so the treat should cool them down!

 

[knhundley]

You probably could mix ice or even freeze some yogurt and use the frozen yogurt in place of the ice so it doesn't water it down. That's how I make regular smoothies sometimes.