Help on chicken treats

[kgb6days]

What's the best way to present treats to them? My 4 week old's seem to turn their beaks up at anything I offer in my hand. They like to peck my fingers though!

Mine eat out of my hands, but I also put treats in a pan I have in the run of them. Be patient - it took my EEs several months before they would eat from my hand. Chickens, just like people, are different. Remember, they don't HAVE to have treats - it's sometimes more for us then for them. I will tell you it has paid off though. Mine got out of the run last week. All I had to do was go out with a treat calling "here, chicky chicky chicky" and go in the run. They ran after me like I was the Pied Piper.

 

[chickens really]

Mine eat out of my hands, but I also put treats in a pan I have in the run of them. Be patient - it took my EEs several months before they would eat from my hand. Chickens, just like people, are different. Remember, they don't HAVE to have treats - it's sometimes more for us then for them. I will tell you it has paid off though. Mine got out of the run last week. All I had to do was go out with a treat calling "here, chicky chicky chicky" and go in the run. They ran after me like I was the Pied Piper.

Once they are big you wont be loving the big girls eating out of your hands...I sure dont. All my treats are either in a low dish or thrown on the ground for them.

 

[Michele42]

I found out how much the girls loved cooked spaghetti noodles! They would run after each other like they had "live" worms. Too funny to watch.

 

[chickens really]

I found out how much the girls loved cooked spaghetti noodles! They would run after each other like they had "live" worms. Too funny to watch.

Yes! lol!
Mine love it too...
Pumpkins in the fall is also a blast for them.
I cut holes for them and let them have at it...Holes big enough to fit their heads in!
In a day the pumpkin is gutted.

 

[jake1978]

I have been feeding my new chicks chick starter. I wanted to find a tasty treat to encourage them to learn to eat from my hand. I pulled up some tender grass and snipped it into very small pieces with a scissor, put it into the palm of my hand and they absolutely love it. After the first try when they were a bit shy, they caught on. They run to my hand now and it's free! Chicks are now 3 weeks old and growing so fast...lots of fun!

 

[dshafer]

Watermelon and I get a pound of shelled unsalted sunflower seeds as well as cracked corn. Make sure they have the right proteins available and don't just rely on treats. My 13 chicks free range about 5 hours a day, so they find their own treats.

Forgot to mention, I grow Cucumbers and leave some to get large and yellow, the chickens love when I split them down the center and will eat everything but the skin.

 

[69camaroowner]

Blueberries, dried and live mealworms, broccoli stems, plums, baby spinach, cherries, salamanders

 

[ladytoysdream]

Hi.
I feed watermelon rind. They like cooked veggies, like potatoes, carrots, etc,
The harder vegetables are best cooked.
They like whole apples , tomatoes, ripe bananas, cooked spaghetti, bread.
Cucumbers, squash. peaches, yogurt , grass, etc.
Treats are best later in day. Let them fill up on the layer feed in the morning.
I let mine out to free range about 2 o'clock.
If I want them to come in earlier than dusk, I go out with a metal bowl with food in it.
Take a spoon along, and tap on the bottom of bowl when empty.
Meanwhile, I am saying, come girls, human has treats.
They are used to hearing the metal tapping and it's their signal to hurry,
so they get their share.

 

[ceekz]

I'm afraid I've spoiled my three chickens! They are surprisingly picky eaters and turn their noses up at carrot peelings and fruit rinds. After they have some time first thing in the morning to eat their nutrient-complete layer pellets, I hang up half a head of cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce or an ear of corn in the run to give them a "pinata" to peck at through the day. They receive a handful of scratch along with dried mealworms (hands down favorite and is it my imagination or do they really smell like bacon?), sunflower seeds, or dried cranberries when I open the henhouse for them at the crack of dawn, too.

My yard has a large concrete deck area around the pool, and planter beds with mulch but no grass. I think they find plenty of bugs but not much in the way of foliage so I try to make sure they have a veggie option at least once a day. They LOVE yogurt and I've heard it is a good source of calcium so that is a frequent treat.

 

[dustcover]

I buy the 20lb. bag of economy Wild Birdseed at Walmart for about $6 to fill the multiple bird feeders in my yard. And whenever I go to the shed for the birdseed to refill the bird feeders, my gals make a mad dash to the work table knowing that there is always some resultant spillage on the ground. (Often times intentional).

They also enjoy chasing the Morning Doves away from the area beneath each bird feeder and partaking of what the Cardinals spill onto the ground.