Cheese as a treat

[crazymax02]

I have 7, 15 day old french black copper marans and I've heard that chickens LOVE shredded cheese and I was wondering if they were too young to get some shredded cheese as a little treat?

 

[Bridebeliever]

General rule...wait until they are 4 weeks old before giving treats. And when you do make sure they have grit available to them.

 

[Teila]

Howdy crazymax02

I have read that cheese is definitely OK in moderation; while high in fat, it is good for protein levels.

The following is what I have done and while others may not agree, I believe that none of my chickens have suffered ill effects.

Sunday is ‘cheese’ day here and the girls even know the word cheese

Anyways, every Sunday afternoon they gather around for a small amount of cheese each; including any little ones around the 2 week or older.

The little ones obviously get less than the big girls and all only get a small amount.

As Bridebeliever has mentioned, they do need to have grit available.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I'm all for emptying the fridge of leftovers to feed to older birds but don't go out of my way finding non chicken treat treats. You can feed anything you want but when I think of poultry treat cracked corn comes to mind. Oats and sunflower seeds are great too.

 

[crazymax02]

Thanks for the tips! I live in Kansas so its been a little chilly and have had a good heat lamp over them and they've been good birds so far!

 

[aart]

When I hear cheese.... I think.... high salt content.

Keep treats to a minimum, unless they are scratch grains, fresh veggies/greens, etc.

They don't need to be eating any processed people foods....cheese, IMO, is a processed people food......

..especially chicks.