Almonds?

[lillybaby]

I have a surplus of shelled almonds that I was thinking of giving my hens, but I'm afraid they'll choke or something. I tried searching BYC and google for an answer, but all I found were recipes.

Is it okay to give them larger nuts like almonds as a treat? Thanks in advance!

 

[BettyR]

I don't know if almonds are good for chickens or not but if I was going to give them something like that I would put them in a food processor and break them into smaller pieces before I gave them to the chickens.

Did you know that you can freeze shelled almonds and they will stay fresh for years? I would freeze them and eat them myself.

 

[hoosier]

I agree. I would not feed whole almonds. One lady in Canada had a hen choke on a whole grape. I now always halve or quarter them.

Lucky you with all the almonds!

 

[ninjapoodles]

Quote:
I am just sitting here with my jaw dropped at the thought of a "surplus" of ALMONDS! They're so expensive! I would never feed them to chickens. Make marzipan, make almond flour, or at the very least, pack them in airtight containers and freeze them!

Or, you know, just send them to ME!

 

[lillybaby]

I didn't know you could freeze almonds, that's great! The chickens and I can share. I'm glad I asked about this, I will definitely put them in the food processor first. Thanks for the quick advice!

 

[ninjapoodles]

Yup, they thaw fast, too. If you need them for a recipe or something, you can pretty much take them directly out of the freezer and put them in the recipe.

I keep all nuts in the freezer, to preserve the oils and keep them fresher.

If you really have a lot, seriously consider making some almond flour and using it for cookies. YUMMMMM. Gluten-free, even!

 

[BettyR]

Here is a recipe that you can use some of the almonds in...it calls of sliced almonds but if you put them in the food processor and break them into small pieces then measure them you can use them just as you would sliced almonds. These muffins are soooooo good.

My Mom's Wonderful Muffins

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup sliced almonds
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
blueberries

Preheat oven to 400°
Combine flour, sugar, almonds, baking powder, and salt in a food processor and process until the almonds are ground into a fine meal.
Add the eggs, milk, vanilla and oil; process for 30 to 45 seconds or until the mixture is well combined.
Spoon into paper lined muffin cups; drop several blueberries on top of each muffin and poke them into the batter with your fingers.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes.

Makes 1 1/2 dozen muffins.

Variations:
Combine:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter
Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until the consistency of course cracker crumbs. Sprinkle mixture over muffins and bake as above.
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Replace 1/2 the sugar with brown sugar and top with chocolate chips and bake as above.
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Replace 1/2 the vanilla with strawberry extract and top with sliced strawberries, poke strawberries down into the batter with your finger and bake as above.
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Increase sugar to 1-1/2 cups and add 3 ounces of melted baking chocolate; top with white chocolate chips and chopped pecans and bake as above.
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In a saucepan over low heat melt 20 caramels with 3 tablespoons of milk, stir until smooth. Top muffins with chocolate chips, then spoon caramel sauce over the chips and top with chopped pecans. Bake as above.

 

[setter4]

Those muffins look so good I want to like the screen!

 

[krjwaj]

am just sitting here with my jaw dropped at the thought of a "surplus" of ALMONDS! They're so expensive! I would never feed them to chickens

you took the words out of my mouth!! Unless they have gone bad, I would freeze them or maybe use them to barter??​

 

[the1much]

3 or 4 almonds are good for heartburn.