How do you feed OATS to chickens?

[bluere11e]

Quote:
I will grow winter wheat and rye grass as a winter lawn and hand clip it and feed it to my chickens. (If I turned them loose on it, I know I wouldn't have a lawn)

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

When my chicks are a few weeks old, I start adding "treats" to their day. Of course, they get free-choice chick starter but in the late afternoon, to fill their crops, I open a packet of plain instant oatmeal and toss around a small handful. They scratch, they eat, their crops get filled, they sleep.

Once they are older and in their outdoor pens, I toss a handful of whole oats into the coop, especially when they can't get out for exercise. Sometimes add BOSS, cracked corn, whole wheat, produce, cornmeal, etc. Same thing: they scratch, they eat, their crops get filled, they sleep.

And no, I've NEVER had a chicken explode!

I do soak or cook the rice, however.

 

[fishnet1971]

i have had no problems with the quaker quick oats at all. raw or cooked. I found a box of 55 packets of the stuff we used to eat when we were kids for $2, so i bought it for kicks and made it upfor them when it was really cold out. Of course they loved it.

 

[Kansaseq]

I've been on here since, what, '09? And I didn't know the answer to that question. Because you asked, now I do. So thank you for asking

 

[2DogsFarm]

I feed oats both ways:
Whole uncooked oats as scratch (mixed with whole Black Oil sunflower seeds)
Cooked rolled oats mixed with plain yogurt & sometimes a scrambled egg or 2 every morning.

So far no hens have exploded

 

[bluere11e]

One of my old mares is a REALLY hard keeper. The vet suggested I start adding a couple of pound of oats to her daily feed and see if it would help. A lot seems to come out through the other side. My chickens are CRAZY about that stuff, My manure bins have NO road apples in them, they are all kicked apart, which is even better for compost. However, I don't like the waste factor. ( well, is it waste if Bonnie doesn't digest it, but the chickens pickup after her?). Still, I sometime sprout my wild bird seed and oats for the chickens and decided to soak the mare's oats between feedings. I see less in her poop, the chickens still scratch around in it looking for stray oats and I am hoping to maybe see weight put back on this mare soon. ( She's an insulin resistant 28 year old HARD keeper) Once the rains start coming and she starts to get a small amount of pasture time, she blooms right up.

 

[AngelzFyre]

Quote:
This just made my day!!!!!!!!
What a lucky girl!

 

[juliette2009]

Dry Quaker Oats (the five-minute kind) are my chickens favorite treat, either scattered on the ground or eaten from my hand!

Juliette

 

[Mofarmgirl]

LoL...pretty cute. I've given it to mine cooked and right from the bag. They love it either way. I just remembered my mom telling me that in winter, Laura Ingalls Wilder gave her chickens warm, cooked poridge. She had the only winter layers around.

 

[journeypath]

This past winter my girls got either warm oatmeal with fruit or veggies or grits with fruit or veggies. I live in northern Michigan where the nights can get quite cold so right before they would go to roost they'd get something to warm their bellies before bedtime. They loved it! My husband, often mistaken the "chicken" food for supper!

While other hens around the area quit laying, customers never had to go without eggs all winter!