My Babies Went Bonkers!

[chicken_crazy93]

I have been reading alot on here & talking to some people about feeding & just keeping my birds happy. I got them some meal worms yesterday & they were eating out of my hand, just loved em. Well, a buddy of mine that I hadn't seen in a while came by this morning as he heard from some of our friends that I had gotten a few young chickens. He doesn't mess with chickens anymore but used to raise game birds for years. At one point I think he was getting $1500 to $2500 a bird & had probably 100 or so on tie cords. We were talkin about what was good for them & what kind of treats I should give them. I told him some of the treats I have been giving them & he said that was good & to go get me some sardines in water & just kinda laughed. I stopped by the store & got two cans, flaked one can of them up with a fork in a small plate, took em out & started to just throw a piece here & there around me. My chickens went BONKERS over them!! I had them all eating out of my hand & my roo hopped right up on my leg & let me feed some to him. The only time I could ever touch my chickens was when they went in their house to roost until now. I think I'm gonna start givin them a can about 3 times a week. If I had opened the other can they would all probably have hopped on my lap, lol. My chickens love bananas & yogurt but REALLY love sardines.

 

[Tanichca]

Quote:
LOL i will HAVE to try that! you just gave us chicken crazies another thing to spoil our birds with

 

[dandelionheart]

Sardines huh... we will have to try that.

We've tried grapes, bananas, yogurt, canned cat food, tuna, beef fat, watermelon, etc... lots of different reactions, but none as drastic as what you've described.

 

[chicken_crazy93]

My buddy told me to get the ones in water not oil or anything. If your chickens are anything like mine, well, all I can say is be ready for alot of smiling.

 

[Pampered Hen]

Aren't sardines heavily salted? I would suggest to stay away from salted snacks for chickens. I have a feeling salted foods are not good for a small chicken body.

 

[alaskachick]

I am gonna give that a try as well. I got my chickens when they were 10 weeks old and they had never been handled by human hands other than to graduate them from box to box as they grew. Now that I own them and they are 28 weeks old ( all laying now), they are skidish and will not let me touch them. Perhaps the sardines will be a plus as a treat. Also as far as the salt content being high in sardines... I think in moderation is the answer to that. A treat does not need to be given often or everyday. Give it once a week... certainly that can't be bad.

 

[dianaross77]

Anchovies are the really salty small fish. You can get no salt added sardines. One brand is season's and they pack in water. I love google!

 

[Wisher1000]

I tried giving mine leftover cooked broccoli today and they were interested but just couldn't bring themselves to try it. They would walk up to it, shake their heads and rub thier beaks on the ground (without ever touchin it!) I think they were thinking "I just know that stuff will stick to my beak!" They are not usually picky about treats...go figure....

 

[chicken_crazy93]

I went back & looked at the can I have left & the box says no salt. I didn't even think about it nor did I look for it I just got the one's in water like my buddy told me. I will watch the salt content on my next purchase of them. Today they are getting a chopped banana, plain yogert & American cheese mixed for their treat today. One is starting to molt & I'm tryin to give them as much healthy stuff as I can.

 

[redonthehead]

I had no idea you could feed chickens all this stuff! I have a friend who feeds his chickens a couple of heads of lettuce every day and they love it. Do the sardines and other strongly flavored foods affect the flavor of the eggs? Someone else I know used to feed her chickens table scraps and everything, and when the eggs were cooked they smelled like onions/garlic. It almost ruined the flavor of the eggs.