I have treat addicts...

[ritzquacker]

Oh beware the fun of giving your feathered friends treats. It was so fun at first, starting with some "kitchen scraps": AKA go to Costco and buy tomatoes, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, maybe cook noodles, throw in some blueberries. I sustained this habit twice a day along with their chick feed (I admit, they eat better than my husband).
"What else would be fun for them?" I asked. I heard about meal worms. Wow! they were a hit too!
Oh, and then it got really bad. I saw, at a very reputable store that sells chicks in Spring, someone scatter wild bird seed all around their coop/pen. "Oh! what a great idea!" I thought with glee. OMG! My chickens and ducks have become like heroin addicts - it took only one shot of those little seeds and they were hooked. I barely gave them a big handful and now they stand around waiting for me to open the bin. They are worse than my two English Mastiffs with peanut butter, and it is coming at the expense of their real feed. I'm cutting back from a daily snack to every couple days as I understand it's not necessarily a good thing to give as part of their diet. Or is it???? They just started laying so I don't want to bonk them too hard over the head with rehab. Any good advice out there? I suspect chickens will eat what's available and not hold out for the "good stuff". ?
Thanks

 

[ChicKat]

Hi ritzquacker--

mine are spoiled chickens that expect treats too.....they will zoom over to me when they see me arrive. They do drift away if treats are not forthcoming. Moderation is the key. I guess they will return to chicken feed when hungry and realizing that your treat dispensing is reduced.

:O)

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Mine are also super spoiled, I just baked some treat blocks for them

since I bake homemade dog cookies for my dogs why not for my chickens too.. When I bring treats I bring them in the same container each time so they know when it is treat time. That also helps if you ever need to get them back in their coop before its roosting time. All I have to do is shake the bowl and I get chickens and turkeys of every size jumping at my feet. I too had to cut back, I got alittle too excited about giving treats.. But they are all settled into their new treat routine..