Summer treats for the flock

[alishka02]

What are some great summer treats that will cool the chickens off or that they really enjoy? And how small should the food be cut up? We gave them a mixture of lettuce, corn, zuchini and yellow squash the other night but was scared they would choke so I chopped it up very small but was still not sure.

 

[yyz0yyz0]

chilled watermelon or watermelon rind is something I've seen mentioned often on here as a hot weather treat.

We gave ours a watermelon rind yesterday, it still had a little red meat left on it. Today when I get home I'm sure that all that will be left is the green skin, they eat all the red meat and even the white part of the rind. The rooster would go over between hens and drink the liquid that formed in the depression of the rind while the hens all pecked at the flesh.

I also have some red solo cups filled with saladbar scraps I got from kitchen at work, I fill the cups loosely and put them in the freezer then on a hot day I pop one out into a dog bowl and give it to them. Since it's not packed in the cup they can start pickin at it right away and eat it while still cold.

 

[blueeyedmercy]

My chickens LOVE tomatoes!! I don't eat them myself, so when I go out to eat I never ask for them to not put tomatoes anymore so I can bring them home to my Chickies. They also love berries of any kind (though they seem to really favor blackberries) A friend of mine has chickens that love grapes, but mine don't really seem to care for them.

I also throw some cream corn into muffin tins and freeze them. They start to peck at it and it goes pretty slowly at first, but it doesn't take long for it to thaw enough for them to go crazy!