Cold weather treat suggestions....

[Brookliner]

For treats mine get peanut hearts, BOSS, meal worms, chopped kale, crasins, scratch,, grapes, cherry tomatoes, scrambeled eggs, all of our table scraps that are OK. Not all at once of course. I credit the peanut hearts for refeathering my cochin frizzle who had a 9 month long molt. She was laying eggs while molting.

 

[tgooberbutt]

For treats mine get peanut hearts, BOSS, meal worms, chopped kale, crasins, scratch,, grapes, cherry tomatoes, scrambeled eggs, all of our table scraps that are OK. Not all at once of course. I credit the peanut hearts for refeathering my cochin frizzle who had a 9 month long molt. She was laying eggs while molting.

What are peanut hearts?

 

[Brookliner]

PEANUT HEARTS: I get them in the wild bird food section of Blue Seal Feed Store. They are the pieces of raw peanut the little tiny bits that you find between the two halves of the peanut. They are very high in protein.

 

[Littlenickyrogers]

How easy is it to raise mealworms? I buy dried ones for my girls but they are very expensive.

 

[bairo]

Besides old leftovers from fridge we only treat the chickens black oil sunflower seeds in winter. Only 14% protein but super high in crude fat (25-35%). Just about anything they can scratch around for in winter keeps them from being bored. Gives a highlight to each day at least.

Above is basically what I do also. Except I will also give animal protein when we have leftovers. What I like to do on particularly cold mornings is to make hot oatmeal or corn mush and add some animal protein . They seem to really enjoy it and it gets them up and moving around after a really cold night on the roost.

 

[3forfree]

How easy is it to raise mealworms? I buy dried ones for my girls but they are very expensive.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/492636/mealworm-farming

follow this link there is over 5000 posts about raising meal worms.

 

[mo puff]

leftover pancakes w/ yogurt. Floating fish pellets in warm water. Gone in less than 5 minutes. Wish i had taken a pic of Molly with yogurt all over her face and comb. Funny!!

 

[RRO Ranch]

You could try some peanut butter treats or chopped peanuts they are high in protein or wild bird treats with peanut butter in it. Also give them leftover scrambled eggs and the egg shells.

 

[McCormack Farms]

I know Farmer's Helper has some good stuff. Their ultra kibble seems to stimulate the birds well. The forage cakes might keep them occupied.

http://www.wildbirdsuets.com/foragecakes/kibble.htm

http://www.jefferspet.com/ultrakibble/camid/LIV/cp/0040381/cn/3507/

 

[bruceha2000]

When sunflower seeds are mentioned, do you mean the shelled kind? Or, is it okay to give them the kind I buy for the wild birds with the shells still on?

Oddly enough, Black Oil Sunflower Seed, shell on is VERY popular with my girls. I wouldn't think it would even taste like anything with the shell on but as soon as the brave ones tried it and came back for more, swallowing as many as they could as fast as possible, the more timid girls joined in. Birds that would never take ANYTHING out of my hand rush in to grab as much as they can. Sharp beaks on those girls!

No one has mentioned egg rolls, as in Chinese food. I can't eat them (gluten intolerance) and my wife and daughter put the extras in the fridge and forget about them. We do Chinese every Friday. There were 3 from last week in the fridge and FIVE from the prior week. I chopped up the older ones and heated them in the microwave (all of 9 F this morning). The girls were in Chicken Culinary Heaven. Not one scrap left. I suspect they are going to be disappointed when they don't get more tomorrow.

Bruce