Best Winter Treat Ever

[Gloria]

Quote:
Thanks Erin, I guess it doesn't matter if it's instant or regular since no one else answered. So I gave them instant this morning since that's all I had. They loved it! Being my first time doing it I forgot to put some egg shell in it. Is this meal alright for the ducks too? I'm not sure yet but they didn't seem to interested in it.

 

[elcunni75]

Gloria,

Wish I could answer that one.. but for right now, I'm duck-less!

 

[Gloria]

Ok, thanks again Erin! Maybe some else will come along that knows

 

[Portia]

Mine love warm oatmeal with yogurt mixed in. For a treat I sometimes add some pepitas or other nuts/seeds. For my broody I stir a dash of vitamins & electrolytes in to keep her as healthy as possible.
I also collected a bunch of after-market pumpkins from a local farm, I keep them on a pallet in the basement so they don't freeze and once a week or so I toss one out so it cracks open. The chickens will pick at it for days until there is nothing but skin left.
All of my veggie scraps go out to the girls vs into the compost...since I'm a veg, there's a lot of them. Finally, they love left over dog kibble that is soft, especially mixed with left over rice.

Oh yeah, my broody is in the coop 24/7 with her week old chicks (her choice) since its been in the 20s and below, so I when I go past the pet store I get a few crickets and put them in the coop. The first time I did the chicks ran and hid under mama until she ate one, then they all went bonkers chasing them around and eating!

Y'all have some great treat ideas, I'll have to try some of them.

 

[Buff Hooligans]

I tried the winter entertainment idea this morning - caged up a head of bargain lettuce and hung it from the run roof with a string. The girls stormed down their gangplank, saw the swinging lettuce and hightailed it right back up into the coop and stayed there. By the time I left for work, one was brave enough to get all the way down the gangplank, but she stayed smack close to the coop, staring at the lettuce. I can't wait to get home and see if they just stayed in the coop all day, those fraidy-cats!

 

[AWChickens]

The girls stormed down their gangplank, saw the swinging lettuce and hightailed it right back up into the coop and stayed there.

That is so funny! I tried hanging cauliflower for mine this summer since a friend told me hers love it and they had the same reaction to it, they finally came out of the coop after about 8 hours, but never got close to the hanging veggies. I left it there until it was turning brown and then threw it in the compost pile, but they avoided that whole side of the coop for the entire wek it was up

I love hearing what all of you are feeding, and that I'm not the only crazy person mixing winter treats!​

 

[AWChickens]

Hi AW Chickens, I had two Andalusian cocks (now in chicken-heaven) and they didn't like the cold either. You have to take great care of their combs as they suffer very badly from frostbite. I was told to slather the comb with Petrolium Jelly; it certainly worked well.

Hattie, I'm so sorry to hear that you've lost your two and I'm sure they are missed. I had heard that about frostbite also and have been making sure to treat his comb. When there's snow on the ground he spends a lot of time in the coop where it's nice and warm. Thanks everyone else for all the great comments too, grit is important and I have noticed mine are eating more of it now that I'm feeding oatmeal.​

 

[Mahonri]

You folks have got some chickens that are spoiled rotten!

Now I'm going to have to try some of those!

 

[bigzio]

We save the liver and the hearts from the deer we harvest, as well as the hearts and livers from the pork we purchase.
We fry this in bacon fat, cut into small bite size pieces, and serve warm

... they just love it!

bigzio

 

[PeeperKeeper]

Mine love the oatmeal too with just about anything added to it. Mine also like SAURKRAUT!