stale bead

[hawkeye]

i have 10 Marams, i am in Michigan so it cold, i got some stale bead from a local distributor all whole wheat, my girls go crazy for it they are normally quite dosile but when i throw in brocken up bread they grab pieces and run, they have layer crumble on tap all day and get scratch corn twice a day.
does anyone else feed bread as a treat, is it good for them? I average 6-7 eggs from the 10

 

[CedarRidgeChicks]

I feed mine stale bread as a treat, and yes they grab and run..they must think it is a treat too. I don't give much only on ocassion.

 

[Warthog]

I give mine bread ocassionaly, but not too often and not too much, there is very little nutrition in bread.

 

[Imp]

About once a week I dice up a couple slices for them.

Imp

 

[Matt A NC]

Mine get bread once, maybe twice a week. I do not give it to them during the summer, they don't need the extra carbs in the heat. Dot, mutt bantam Rooster, likes getting the bread out of the gold fish pond once it has soaked awhile. He likes it moist and fishy.

Matt

 

[digitS']

Quote:
There must be various recipes for whole wheat bread and they would vary nutritionally. I don't think that it should be very stale but if it has just passed its "pull date" it certainly could be a fairly good food and would compare well to scratch.

It could compare very favorably against a low-protein cracked corn. Whole wheat bread can be 13% crude protein and higher. Corn can be lower than 8%.

Steve

 

[felidaet]

About once a week I feed mine a few slices of stale bread and the heals (end slices). They love it. As others have said, feed it in moderation because most bread has very little nutritional value for poultry.

 

[Carolyn252]

Three or four mornings a week I drop two slices of mult-grain bread (Pepperidge Farm 15 grain) into a large shallow bowl, add a cup of mixed soft cheeses (ricotta or cottage cheese) and then pour very hot water over the whole thing. By the time I walk to the coop 20 feet away, it's all cooled off enough in this freezing weather to be the perfect warm temperature for my two hens. I keep a jar of wheat germ in the coop and usually sprinkle about a half cup on top of the whole thing when I get there. If the girls hesitate to dive into it, I sprinkle some scratch on it and boy oh boy they dig right in. Sometimes I use sour cream or yogurt instead of cheeses. Depends what I have available. They lay big heavy eggs pretty regularly; maybe a total of 9 a week. That's plenty enough for me and DH. Kids are all grown and gone. Chickens free range about four hours a day. Lots of grass and there's still some kale and broccoli in the garden for them to engage.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

I agree with digitS' -- I feed my chickens wholewheat bread that is chock full of linseed & sunflower seeds, my leftovers. I tear it up & add "Poultry Spice", a UK product which is a mixture of beneficial warming spices which perks them up (especially in this very cold weather we are having here or if they are in moult).

I don't feed bread regularly; only when I have a surplus. They certainly love it and are very funny as they rush around with bits of crust.
I don't feed them soft white pappy bread EVER as it is nasty stuff -- I don't eat it myself but sometimes my neighbors donate it rather than throw it away........!!!

Hattie

 

[2txmedics]

I buy day old bread at the bread store, put it in a refrig I have next door....when it got cold down to 18, at night just before they went to roost.....I put 2 loafs of bread into a large cooking pot, added alittle milk, some oatmeal, if I had any left over fruit such as bananas I added that, then I took it out to them....they go crazy!!!!

I add anything I have on hand, veggies, potatoes, cereal from my daug. left over...lol