cooking food for the chickens

[jrabbit]

I had some old dried beans that my family wasn't interested in, so I cooked them up for the chickens. I added just a wee bit of salt. At first they were not sure, but today, when I gave them the second half, it was gone in 3 minutes flat.

I've also got some old rice that is past it's prime, that I'm thinking about cooking up for them.

Good or bad idea? How often should I give them beans & rice?

It's a whole lot cheaper than buying lettuce for them ... which they weren't ever very interested in, anyway.


--janis

 

[Gin530]

My chickens love anything like that. I have never cooked it up special, but have too many leftovers. I don't know how often would be good for them, but they sure enjoy it. They like mashed potatoes and noodles, spaghetti, etc. I had a rooster get drunk off of some soured beans though. I thought he was dying, so didn't think it was funny at the time. He was fine the next morning.(Maybe a headache). He couldn't even lean over and get a drink or anything to eat without falling over. That was an interesting experience. So, I am more careful what I feed them now.

 

[newchickmom]

I can just picture that.

 

[jrabbit]

Apparently, the hens are not fond of black beans. I think the beans I made the other day were adzuki beans. They are a little pricey to be getting more of them!

Guess I need to make them some rice today.

 

[vnploveschickens]

Whenever I make rice for dinner, I always make extra for the chickens. The next day, I'll scramble up some eggs and chop up some tomatoes and mix with the rice. My chickens gobble it up sooooooo fast!!
Maybe cook up the beans & rice extra soft might help.

 

[Brindlebtch]

I fed my guys some leftover black beans the other day and after eyeing them for a while they took the plunge and gobbled them down. I mean gobbled!

 

[ksct]

i dont' recommend it. there's a treat thread on this post here somewhere that states if you wouldn't eat the food, you shouldn't give it to the birds. which makes perfect sense to me. food past it's prime might harbor different things we aren't aware of and could do harm one way or another to the birds.
But sure cook them up something special. I do from time to time. IMO nothing outdated! thanks

 

[jrabbit]

ok, when I say past it's prime, I mean it's old. But I certainly would eat it, I just choose to eat fresher food. (in fact, I taste tested the beans to make sure they were cooked enough) There is absolutely nothing wrong with the rice - just old! And when dried goods get old, they get unpredictable in their flavor or cooking time or nutrition, perhaps, but I'm not feeding the hens dangerous food.