Cold weather treat suggestions....

[3forfree]

I gave mine some warm bean soup yesterday and they mostly ate the carrots out of it, and not much of the beans.

 

[mo puff]

I didnt know about the cottage cheese as a treat! Seems I am the only one that didnt know... but my birds are getting some today! mixed with fish pellets! Thank you .. all , who clued me in. My chickens thank you too.

 

[jtennyson]

ill give my girls some oats and granola mixed in with there feed and on the really cold days ill mix it with some warm water. they really seem to love it. other than that ill throw some scratch for them to keep them busy. the know the sound of the scratch bucket so when they hear it the come running.

 

[macombcochick]

Along with extra protein in this cold weather, chickens also benefit from extra fats. Try black oiler sunflower seeds. My girls love them as much as mealworms. They even follow my husband around the yard to various squirrel feeding stations to gooble up their fill! Of course, they still get their share of home cooking (table scraps) which they also adore. Crops are always full, egg production is steady and everyone is looking in good shape.

 

[wertyq]

I noticed my girls are trying to eat feathers (again ) it is CRAZY cold here in nj any high protein suggestions?? Can only make so much cottage cheese n ground beef b4 I wana 

 

[bobbieschicks]

I sit out two flock blocks on opposite sides of the run for them, scramble eggs with garlic powder on it occasionally, and give them pieces of wheat bread when I want to interact with them. They have layer crumbles for the bigs and chick grower no medicated for the littles. And of course the mealworms.

 

[redneck farmer]

Broccoli is my chicks FAVORITE! An on cold morning a nice warm steamy just outa the boiler pice of broccoli they go nuts an another thing is to hang some long carrot leaves from the side of your coop- they will jump an fly an peck at that ALL day an all that jumping an moving gets there blood movin an groovin an they warm right up all on there own

 

[Chickens R Us]

I try not to give them fish bones, I'm sure some sneak thru but I'm afraid they would get stuck in their throats. I know it hurts cuz I've had them stuck in mine.

 

[EggsBeesSeeds]

I'm not sure if anyone has suggested this or not but sometimes feather pecking/plucking can be a sign of salt deficiency, not protein. I find my girls salt intake is just fine when they free range around (perhaps they are finding it in outside locations, like minerals found in the soil?) but when they are confined for long periods of time, they begin to crave it more. I had a young pullet that was beginning to pluck feathers and eat them from her coop mates (while I had them on lock down before they got big enough to integrate into the existing flock). I added some extra salt to her protein snacks (kept everything else the same) and within a week, the feather plucking stopped. I don't know if it was the salt or if she just "grew out of it" but it may be worth a try.

Many people resolve the issue by adding salt to the chickens' water. I am a little sketched out by the thought of the only water available to the chickens is salty. If you have multiple offenders, perhaps the resolution is to offer one briny water and one "clean" water to your flock. Chickens are surprisingly good at eating/drinking something when they need it. Perhaps your salt deficient chickens will drink from the briny one and your non-salt deficient hens with drink from the clean. It could be worth a try!

 

[CityGirl35]

Dried mealyworms--yeah, ha ha--they do act CRAZY when they see and hear that canister! I also buy black sunflower seeds at Southern States. Also, there is always a bowl on the counter and every little bit of kitchen scrap that is good for them (I printed out the list I got from here) goes into the bowl all day long. Bits of scrambled egg, hamburger, rice, greens, whatever. Plus, if you are giving them access to the outdoors, don't go overboard with the treats..make them WORK for those bugs and worms. My son filled their fenced-in winter yard (we are letting the rest of the backyard get rebuilt from their foraging) with bag after bag of oak leaves that we picked up around the neighborhood. It has kept the ground warm enough that the wormies are just fine and fat. PLUS, when the gals go back to free-ranging in the full backyard (it's just an urban backyard), the fenced-in area becomes THE richest garden plot in Virginia!