Share Your favorite healthy chicken treats!

[IttyBiddyRedHen]

I posted this in the SC forum also. I am just looking to make some simple yet tasty and nutritious treats from leftover laying feed. Right now, the flock of 7, thinks they are too picky to eat it. I will just re-make it into something different, and wait a few weeks. Here is my other post.



"
Question...Has anybody ever made chicken snacks for your flock from leftover chicken layer mash? Mine got a taste of the coarser ground stuff.....so they think they can be picky now. The last time I fed them the laying feed, last week, a hen took her beak and swiped it right out of the feeder. Looking for the good stuff I guess.
So...now...Plan B. I am thinking of making the wild bird type winter feeder treats..with the seeds, feed, some kind of binding agent...making it all into treats...so, when I toss a few little balls into their cages...they will think they are getting spoiled.

Silly chickens"

 

[kuntrygirl]

The city watermelon man throws the extra watermelons over the fence every day. They love watermelon.

 

[cjbollinger]

So far mine enjoy almost everything out of the garden. Weird though, they didn't like nasturtiums, basil or tarragon. Oh, and they won't eat carrots??

 

[thechickeneer97]

Mine love Watermelon, and the worms that are in the top of an ear of corn

 

[sunnysongbird]

Oh nice! I've never tried feeding them oatmeal, I definately will!
Yes my chickens also adore noodles! They pretend that the noodles are worms and slurp them up before you can say "Cock-a-doodle-doo"!
I used to feed my chickens celery when they were young but one of my pullet's beaks got crooked, so we stopped feeding them celery. Now they just eat their regular laying feed, but get excited to get a treat once in a while

Thanks for the awesome food suggestions!

 

[urban-chick-mom]

Quote:
Vegetarians who eat bugs.

And at some point may have eaten or at least thought about eating eggs.

You got a point! They do eat bugs and love worms. I was thinking more on the order of giving them meat table scraps and bones. They don't eat that.

 

[chicmom]

Mine get fresh tomatoes from the garden. I just throw them out whole, and they peck at them like crazy! And cucumbers too. I split them down the middle.

 

[kareninthesun]

mine will eat anything that doesn't move, but they are also spoiled. their main diet outside of bugs and proper mixed feed for them starts after about an hours worth of being let out of the coop. Figured they'd already had a start on protein and bug recovery, so the first treat always starts with a bottom layer of plain whole milk organic yogurt. Found a great recipe online that can be made in a crockpot, so it saves a whole lot of money. On top of that this morning was a 9 grain mix (raw) from my local health food store. Pretty inexpensice at 90 cents a pound, and they all love it. Sometimes I put raw (not instant) oats on top, and mix in a little fruit, but they're so funny, they will actually toss the fruit aside to get to the yogurt first. When it gets colder I'll probably cook the grains for warmth. They love watermellon, squashes, not big on tomatoes. They'll eat blueberries but didn't for the longest time. At first they loved strawberries, but lately not so much. LOVELOVELOVE Mount Rainier cherries. They will abandon everything else, except the juiciest of bugs and swoon over these things. Also love peaches, apricots, grapes. They sort of like eggs scrambled if everything else is gone, and really love whole wheat spiral corkscrew pastas cooked, part toy, part food. They grab and shake them, they bounce around. Great fun to watch. Oh, and organic corn. Since my corn is now officially gone, I'm having to buy it again. Not the same!!!

Oh, I will post the recipe for the yogurt separatly, who wants to spend money on a yogurt maker? You can't go to the store and buy them anymore, have to order them online. I used to make them following a recipe using a heating pad and it was pretty good, but heating pads nowdays only run for a short amount of time for safety then shut off. Anyway, pretty economical. Especially if the family and chickens go through it.

 

[audioguy]

Lets see. . .. .

They pretty much eat anything. Basically they are goats with feathers!!

Every now and then I let them roam in my fenced garden. First thing on the menu - weeds, leftover pumpkin rinds, dead cucumbers, fallen tomatoes, and of course bugs!

I stay away from left over meats since I compost the bedding. Otherwise it a free for all!

 

[Kountreefok]

Top favs: melons, strawberries, and venison scraps.