Hi from New Hampshire!

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Mybackyardpeepers said:
You can actually clicker train them. I have horses too!!! Yes make sure they don't get spoiled and loose interest in what your trying to use. My silkies are starting to like the scratch, but still don't go "crazy" for anything in particular. Except Beaker my cross beak one she loves her mush and even paces the fence if she is wanting it.
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Mush as in oatmeal? Yeah the girls seemed to like that one. They love corn on the cob, too, and that actually took them a while to get through (one half of a cob between the four of them, split in two).

Yeah we'll cool down on the chickens soon enough I'm sure. Kids are definitely flighty
 
drumstick diva said:
Please limit their treats to no more than 10% of their food. Chickens are like kids and tend to prefer treats over nutritionally balanced chicken feed.
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They're not getting large quantities at a time, maybe a handful of the stems of baby spinach, and six tops of strawberries in one trip, a little bit of cooked oatmeal that I keep as a reserve in case a child wanted seconds (1/4 cup at most) in another. I have a 2 tbsp scoop in the mealworms and a 1/8 cup scoop in the scratch. Maybe 8 grapes (but the small ones, they're not the standard massive grocery store grapes and a half of a banana in another trip (they abandoned the banana after a half slice or two each). The cucumber wasn't a massive English cuke, it was a pickling cuke, and about 3/4 of that was what they were given. (They only wanted the seeds from that, I picked up the flesh with skins still attached today while cleaning up poooooo in the run, and adding DE to the sand in the coop, and installing a dustbath in the run with sand and dirt and DE).

This is over the course of 4 days now, between 4 chickens. Like I said, the 4 year old was excited the first day and gave too much, so I reduced the scoop size and made it clear it wasn't a daily treat or something they could dole out without permission. I haven't looked up how much scratch to give as a max, but I was already aware that it wasn't nutritionally dense and have read that it can lead to obesity in them, so I've been erring on the side of caution and using an 1/8 cup scoop and having the kids take it out by the handful to spread in order to stretch out the participation while maintaining a low quantity.
 
NH Chicken Mama said:
Mush as in oatmeal? Yeah the girls seemed to like that one. They love corn on the cob, too, and that actually took them a while to get through (one half of a cob between the four of them, split in two).

Yeah we'll cool down on the chickens soon enough I'm sure. Kids are definitely flighty
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Have not tried the corn or cabbage on a string yet, but mine LOVE watermelon.
 
NH Chicken Mama said:
I do have to sprinkle some DE and spray the coop (and might as well clean up the poop while I'm in there...) today as I think they have mites. And by think I mean I'm 99% sure since I had to take a bath in coconut oil yesterday to stop them from biting me. Fun!
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Sorry to hear about the mites. Older birds are more susceptible to parasites and can pick them up easily from wild birds. Unfortunately, DE is not nearly as effective as some people claim. Usually the "success" stories are from people who have never had an infestation, so it may work as a deterrent at best. But if you actually want to get rid of the mites you'll have to at least use permethrin, which is available at most feed stores as "poultry dust" to use directly on the bird and under the wings. It also comes in spray to use in the coop to reach in all the corners and crevices where mites hide. There are other options available but I can't remember them.

All I know for sure is DE is very harmful to breathe in and I used it often a few years ago... but I wore a dust mask and had to make sure my birds were no where around when I sprinkled it, so I would never put it directly on them. Chickens have very delicate respiratory systems, and I have no idea how DE became so popular. When I learned more I quit using it. There are natural remedies out there. You can try searching in the Predators/Pests forum to see what others do, or even make a new thread there.

NH Chicken Mama said:
I guess we'll be doing a lot of clicking our tongues, we are a horse-loving family so we all know how to do that! (Also in our future barnyard plans ha!)
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Haha! I used to have horses for years and the clicking noise just sort of accidentally happened. Living in the suburbs now, I get my country fix caring for my little feathered ponies.
Glad you're enjoying the site so far. If you haven't already seen this, here's a really good thread:
What were your worst mistakes when you first started?
 
Mybackyardpeepers said:
Have not tried the corn or cabbage on a string yet, but mine LOVE watermelon.
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I haven't put anything on a string yet, either. I'm lazy ha.

I have a honey dew that needs to be eaten. I was going to juice most of it today with some other stuff that needs to be consumed ASAP. I did read that they love the melons so I might set some aside for them for when the kid gets home from school ha.
 
NH Chicken Mama said:
I haven't put anything on a string yet, either. I'm lazy ha.

I have a honey dew that needs to be eaten. I was going to juice most of it today with some other stuff that needs to be consumed ASAP. I did read that they love the melons so I might set some aside for them for when the kid gets home from school ha.
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My daughter loves taking things that we "just get" from the store and cutting a bunch of stuff for the girls. When it was hot she was freezing fruit smoothies she concocted for them lol. I know ALL about the lazy part trust me lol.
 
Hello and welcome to BYC! So happy you have decided to join our community. You will soon learn that chickens are food centric. I taught mine the word "treat" and they respond better than dogs. They actually run into the coop and watch as I reach into the container and grab a handful of scratch. Then they scramble for the bits. I only let my wee ones out for an hour in the afternoon and I sit with them. I'm almost in New Hampshire and we have an abundance of predators, hawks, owls, Fishers, raccoons, bears and eagles. And everyone loves a free chicken dinner. Wishing you all the best in your new home. :frow
 

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