I want to give my 6 week old bantams some leftover watermelon but I'm worried that the seeds might be too big. What do you think?
OH that is what they love the most. I fed them to mine with no trouble.you will have fun watching them go nuts.......if they dont.well then you have picky ones like me.mine wont eat what most people say are their chickens favorite snacks...
Chickens are designed to eat their food whole so as long as they have grit, anything that they can swallow will go right through. Well, not plastic and stuff, but you get the idea! I once caught my 16 week old rooster swallowing a whole shrew. The thing was 2 inches long! Anyway, he's 3 years old now so I'd say it didn't hurt him.
My grandfather used to tell me that the sun spots and freckles on his shoulders were watermellon seeds that he swallowed. Don't do it. Your chickens will get spots. My chickies eat the watermellon, seeds, and fingers that feed it to them. They also like to pick the rind clean then scratch the skins to shreds.
Quote:I know what you mean. I go out there and there is nothing left except for the green part. They got a real treat the other day when my dad bought this nasty melon. They got it all! It helps in this heat that they have that to keep them hydrated.
I need to clean the watermelon rind leftovers out of the run! My local store has had $5 watermelons, regardless of size. Good thing I am strong, the other day there was one in there that no one else wanted to lift. I managed to get it in the cart, in the truck and inside home. it turned out to be just over 50 pounds and there are just the two human mouths here. Guess who got a lot of it?
Mine love the watermelon as well, and don't seem to mind eating anything whole. Ironically, one of their favorite "treats" is the plastic plant tags that we have - actually, had - by all of our new plantings this year. They are now scattered about, with numerous hunks missing from each. I can't keep them away from them, so gave up. -Dave
I'm a bad chicken mommy then. I removed the seeds because I was afraid someone might get 'stopped up'. There are a few I missed, but the bulk of the seeds went to dry on a plate to plant next year. I didn't want as many as I saved, but didn't want them to go to waste, either...