How do you feed your chickens red pepper flakes?

[gandalf_of_chickens]

I've been reading about potential benefits of feeding chickens crushed red pepper flakes (anti-bacterial/worm properties of capsaicin, and yolk color). Does anyone do this? If so, how do you do it? We have a 10lb feeder in the run for 8 hens and I'm wondering if I should just dump a bottle of the red flakes in with a full bucket of feed or distribute it in some other way. Half a bottle for a bucket of feed? Just spread the flakes out on the ground with treats? What do y'all do?

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I've been experimenting with this myself.

I usually just sprinkle some on the ground and they eat it like a treat. However, I find they mostly pick up the seeds and leave the flakes. It might be best to put some in a dish so they might accidentally also grab the flakes, although I haven't tried that yet.

I mixed some in with my feed the other day and I do think they ate it.

Idk how good the health benefits really are with this stuff (I take any advice I get from homesteading blogs/vlogs or social media with a grain of salt), but I really don't think it can hurt. I've been trying to give it to my flock once a week.

 

[gandalf_of_chickens]

I've been experimenting with this myself.

I usually just sprinkle some on the ground and they eat it like a treat. However, I find they mostly pick up the seeds and leave the flakes. It might be best to put some in a dish so they might accidentally also grab the flakes, although I haven't tried that yet.

I mixed some in with my feed the other day and I do think they ate it.

Idk how good the health benefits really are with this stuff (I take any advice I get from homesteading blogs/vlogs or social media with a grain of salt), but I really don't think it can hurt. I've been trying to give it to my flock once a week.

Thanks for the ideas. Will try a little of everything.

Also it's not just homesteading blogs and social media! Here are some studies:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7980284/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8899211/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23033816/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4093037/

 

[Gwhite3678]

I usually mix it in with the kitchen scraps I bring out as a treat in the morning, they seem to enjoy it!

 

[Rurumo]

A lot of the studies show benefits at .5 to 1% of feed (5 to 10 grams per kg/feed), so you could directly blend it into a bag-a higher percentage won't hurt the birds. If you feed enough, it really makes the yolks look red. It's funny to watch them eat fresh chile peppers in the fall, they really go to town on them!