How oftens are treats given ?

[lisad627]

I was wondering how often treats are offered to your flock ? I think I may be giving them more than a healthy portion. Mainly I have been giving them Romaine lettuce and carrots daily. Is this too much ? Thank you

 

[BaaKaaawk]

I give my flock treats whenever I have leftovers from a meal (minus any meats, I just don't feed them meat even though it is ok to do so). I've never seen any ill effects to giving treats.

 

[FortCluck]

I save all the leftovers from the day in a bucket or big bowl then I throw it out to them around dinner time so I know they've eaten all their feed first. On weekends we usually feed them treats in the morning and at dinnertime because we make a massive breakfast with eggs. Everyone even the dogs get weekend breakfast.

 

[lisad627]

I save all the leftovers from the day in a bucket or big bowl then I throw it out to them around dinner time so I know they've eaten all their feed first. On weekends we usually feed them treats in the morning and at dinnertime because we make a massive breakfast with eggs. Everyone even the dogs get weekend breakfast.

Thank you, can you tell me what kind of leftovers ? You must have a very happy flock,and pups too

 

[trumpeting_angel]

“All the leftovers” depends on how many humans are eating, and how many chickens there are! My four chickens can’t eat all our leftovers.

The rule of thumb is no more than 10% of the food they eat should be treats. The reason is that chicken feed is formulated to provide them with the right amount and balance of all the nutrients they need, and when we feed them treats they might fill up on them and miss important nutrients, like protein or various vitamins or minerals.

When they free range, they eat mostly bugs and seeds, as well as greens. So they mostly balance their own diet. But if we throw out a bunch of corn or black-oil sunflower seeds, they will get too many carbs or too much fat.

 

[FortCluck]

Thank you, can you tell me what kind of leftovers ? You must have a very happy flock,and pups too

I give eggs, vegetables, homemade Mac and cheese, meat leftover from dinner (rarely happens in this house), pasta, cooked rice, cooked homemade beans, homemade pancakes, melons (they love the seeds and flesh), berries, tomatoes (mine are obsessed with them), grapes (another obsession), dog food (Purina one if there's crumbs at the bottom of the bin), cat food (canned if it's a flavor the cat hates), herbs (they love all herbs mine love oregano and parsley), cake (if leftover from a birthday this is very rare), pineapple (frozen chunks), mango (frozen chunks)...

Honestly I haven't found much that they hate. Mine go bananas over spaghetti noodles and it's hilarious to watch them eat it.

And yes my dogs and flock are quite happy. The pullets lay eggs every day and are very sweet. Even the roosters are sweet especially when they see me coming with scraps, the tend to suck up and rub on my legs like dogs to see if they'll get first dibs.

** Usually like I said scraps are given at dinnertime after they've foraged and eaten their feed. Unless it's the weekend, the weekend is cheat day for everyone including our pets **

 

[FortCluck]

I also give them things like carrots and romaine lettuce too... when I do things like melons or fruits, I usually freeze them first especially in the warmer months because they like to peck on it throughout the day and it cools them down.

I actually freeze whole melons and then I smash them on the ground.

 

[Isaac 0]

I give my chickens my food scraps every day and they are all happy healthy birds.IMO Food scraps are a lot better for them then what we nowadays call (Chicken Feed).As long as you're not feeding feeding them junk food they should be fine.

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

I give eggs, vegetables, homemade Mac and cheese, meat leftover from dinner (rarely happens in this house), pasta, cooked rice, cooked homemade beans, homemade pancakes, melons (they love the seeds and flesh), berries, tomatoes (mine are obsessed with them), grapes (another obsession), dog food (Purina one if there's crumbs at the bottom of the bin), cat food (canned if it's a flavor the cat hates), herbs (they love all herbs mine love oregano and parsley), cake (if leftover from a birthday this is very rare), pineapple (frozen chunks), mango (frozen chunks)...

Honestly I haven't found much that they hate. Mine go bananas over spaghetti noodles and it's hilarious to watch them eat it.

And yes my dogs and flock are quite happy. The pullets lay eggs every day and are very sweet. Even the roosters are sweet especially when they see me coming with scraps, the tend to suck up and rub on my legs like dogs to see if they'll get first dibs.

** Usually like I said scraps are given at dinnertime after they've foraged and eaten their feed. Unless it's the weekend, the weekend is cheat day for everyone including our pets **

I have Mac & cheese lovers lol and pizza!

 

[FortCluck]

I have Mac & cheese lovers lol and pizza!

Mine are obsessed with noodles, it's because we had a chicken named Eve and she just absolutely loved noodles. Whenever we would feed her any type of noodles, she would lay us a double yolker the next day! It's basically her legacy being carried on. She passed away last month due to reproductive issues, But she will always live among our flock because everything she did, they do.

The day that she passed away and we carried her away to go bury her, our rooster sent out a few crows almost like he was saying goodbye it was bittersweet seeing his reaction. They moped around for days until I brought them out noodles. Then two of our pullets laid the next day and I was crying and laughing at the same time