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!

 

[Rebechenson75]

It has health benefits for the birds and it also helps keep pest and rodents out of the feed. Mix it in with the feed.

I also buy a peppers and worms snack mix by impeckables from tsc

 

[Blue Andalusian]

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?

For colder days, we Mix it in our Feed

 

[U_Stormcrow]

It colors the yolks. That is all. To have even mild antibacterial properties, the inclusion rates have to be substanitally higher than the suggestions passed around YouTube and Facebook. At which point it starts making the base feed less valuable (being displaced by red pepper flake) and driving costs up. Please note that most of the studies focus on capsaicin as the key antibacterial. Capsaicin is concentrated most highly in the pith of a pepper, then the flesh, then the seed - so if you are interested in antibacterial properties, you are better of w/ say, chili powder than the "red pepper" seen on many tables at the local pizza joint. And better still if you buy dried hot chilis in bulk, remove the seeds, and grind them yourself. A 2% inclusion of chilis d' Arbol will just about double your regular feed cost and provide a very mild antibacterial effect.

Obviously, if the dried chilis were harvested early, poorly stored, or are very old, your capsaicin content will be lower.

and yes, rats, mice, roaches, beetles, weavils, and essentially everything else will still eat the feed.

 

[Al Gerhart]

I just love the way U Stormcrow responds to the urban myths that get posted by well meaning but gullible flock owners. Pure fact, brief but precise, and in layman terms.

People always looking for a silver bullet instead of the tried and true methods of sanitation, proper nutrition, and medication in the form of regular worming and preventative vaccines. No need to reinvent the wheel, use a professionally manufactured commercial feed, keep em clean, keep the vermin away from them, and the chickens will do fine.

 

[Ohio Duck]

I just love the way U Stormcrow responds to the urban myths that get posted by well meaning but gullible flock owners. Pure fact, brief but precise, and in layman terms.

People always looking for a silver bullet instead of the tried and true methods of sanitation, proper nutrition, and medication in the form of regular worming and preventative vaccines. No need to reinvent the wheel, use a professionally manufactured commercial feed, keep em clean, keep the vermin away from them, and the chickens will do fine.

Sometimes chickens don't do fine, which is why people are always looking for something else to do. Doing everything right isn't a silver bullet either. I sympathize with the impulse. It probably helps the owner even if the benefits to the chickens are doubtful.