Garden variety treats

[Driley62]

Hello again,

I throughout the summer have been giving our flock a variety of fresh garden treats. Pumpkin, cabbage few tomatoes(without the leaves of course), zucchini and cucumber.

I know everything is all in moderation of course. Today I have my flock of 20 two small heads of cabbage. Tomorrow I was thinking of cutting a pie pumpkin in half and giving it to both "tribes" so to speak. They're in the same enclosure and comingle a little but still stay separate.

What im curious about is what do people think of the "in moderation" aspect and when is too much aside from their feed.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If it's a whole pumpkin every day, I would say that's probably excessive. A cabbage here, a zucchini there, that's moderate enough as far as a vegetable treat.

Sometimes it's a bonanza for my birds and I'll throw in a whole broccoli plant and they work at it for several days, but I can go weeks without throwing anything extra in, so I figure it all balances out.

 

[Driley62]

If it's a whole pumpkin every day, I would say that's probably excessive. A cabbage here, a zucchini there, that's moderate enough as far as a vegetable treat.

Sometimes it's a bonanza for my birds and I'll throw in a whole broccoli plant and they work at it for several days, but I can go weeks without throwing anything extra in, so I figure it all balances out.

Right now all they've gotten was guts and seeds from a pie pumpkin so not exactly the whole thing yet. But they will be soon

 

[rosemarythyme]

Pumpkins are a popular treat and it takes them some time to work their way through one so those are fine. But if they have a pumpkin to work on I wouldn't stack too many other produce items in, or just keep them smaller (like a tomato). Basically you want to ensure they're still eating some feed.

 

[3KillerBs]

I don't restrict vegetables on the theory that if they were free ranging they'd have all the greens they cared to eat available to them.

But I don't give them food that could have been eaten by people so it's weeds, vegetable trimmings, wilted stuff, overripe stuff, etc.

 

[Driley62]

Pumpkins are a popular treat and it takes them some time to work their way through one so those are fine. But if they have a pumpkin to work on I wouldn't stack too many other produce items in, or just keep them smaller (like a tomato). Basically you want to ensure they're still eating some feed.

I usually only give them one produce item at a time. My birds go bananas literally when they see me walk out with a pumpkin. They just about maul me for the damn thing. It was the first produce item I ever gave my older part of the flock. They weren't sure but once they tried it, it was all over with. Now they practically mug me for it! as far as them still eating feed they do and will. That's why I only give them one item at a time, to still force them to eat their feed...at least some.

I don't restrict vegetables on the theory that if they were free ranging they'd have all the greens they cared to eat available to them.

But I don't give them food that could have been eaten by people so it's weeds, vegetable trimmings, wilted stuff, overripe stuff, etc.

Aa far as what im giving them it is stuff that people could eat. Aside from the cabbage(that's cheap at the local grocery and farm stands as I didn't grow that this year) its all stuff that was produced out of my own garden and its basically stuff that we won't get to it in time before it'll turn. Besides part of my driving force to the garden was partly for us and partly to supplement our flock. Especially squash type plants they're extremely easy to grow. Basically sow seeds after frost in the ground, water and let er rip tater chip you have squash. I'm not big on raw veggies myself, nor am I vinegar(story from high school and a friend being dared to drink vinegar...didn't end well) so the thought of the smell even turns my stomach to this day(been out of school over 10 years and this incident happened about 16 years ago). I'll make pickles. But I have a mask and line it with cheap dollar store mint toothpaste(trick I learned at my job) to cover the smell. So I try to use my fresh veggies in a cooked way. Not always do I get the time to do so, so I'll pass them off to my birds so why not. They get grass clippings, weeds and that sort as well. But I try to give them as much as I can to help supplement.