My hens seem to only want dried meal worms!

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh, and ... Welcome to BYC. We're glad you joined!

 

[rjohns39]

Hi Steve and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us

 

[Grammy60]

Hello and welcome to BYC we are so happy you joined us.

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

Hello and welcome! I am glad you've joined this great community I agree with everyone's advice but Chrissy is so right...

Chickens are much like kids, if given the choice they'll usually prefer treats over healthy food.

 

[drumstick diva]

Yes chickens are like children, they will always pick treats over healthy foods that are good for them. Treats should never be more than 10% of their diet.

 

[ValerieJ]

Hi! Welcome to BYC! By scratch, do you mean scratch grains? I give organic whole scratch grains (without corn) as a treat and keep the feeders full of All Flock Crumble all the time, but I do know some people who feed their chickens only the organic scratch grains.

Meal worms are definitely only a treat, and should be given sparingly. I give my chickens meal worms every day, but very little. I would say I scatter about a quarter of a cup for 19 chickens. When giving treats, think of them in terms of maybe a teaspoon worth per chicken. They are pretty small creatures, so they need good nutrition available all the time.

If my chickens stopped eating their nutritional food, I would stop the meal worms entirely, until they were eating their feed.