The highest value treats?

[alessadry]

What are the highest value treats for chickens? I have been using meal worms, but are there any other treats that chickens go bonkers over even more?

 

[Abriana]

MEAT! Make sure anything on it, spices, seasonings, is okay for them to have. Mine love steak, pork, chicken (COOKED), and any sausages. Watermelon is a good one, grapes, a whole salad that has been sitting in the fridge a little too long, not moldy or rotten though, blackberries, raspberries, grubs, worms, and yogurt (plain no sugar) is a great treat and helps re-establish good bacteria in their systems and keep them healthy. Oregano is good for them to promote respritory health. Feed it to them in scrambled egg. Oh, and forgot to mention, they love egg. Mine love it raw or cooked. To cook mine, i put an egg into some hot coals and after a bit i poke a stick into and make a hole so that it doesn't explode and then when it is ready i take it over. I wouldn't eat them this way, as they get sooty, but it is a fun way to cook eggs for chickens. I don't usually feed them good eggs raw, only if the shells are poopy, but occasionally i will give them a good one but only if they beg hard enough

 

[alessadry]

Cool! If my roosters settle down a bit, might try to do some clicker training with them using high value treats, they are so smart. Last chickens I had learned to touch my hand with their beak, peck a ball and walk around in a circle.

 

[BluPoLorp]

When it's hot, I like to make "ice treats" for my girls...I have a shallow Corningware dish that I will fill with whatever fruit/veggies (cut up) I have on hand, fill partly with water, then freeze. When ready, I just put the whole dish out in their yard and now they have a cold, refreshing treat on a hot day, and they have to pick through the ice a bit to get the treats out! Keep them busy and entertained as well.

 

[mockingbird]

Blueberries! Unfortunately my chickens found my bushes but luckily they can only jump so high. Saves me from having to crawl on the ground to pick the lower ones and it's great for their diet.

 

[nenebynature]

Mine loved the cantaloupe rinds I put out for them. I've also been hand picking Japanese beetles for them. They go nuts! They are also loving the spent sunflower heads I've been pruning.

 

[nenebynature]

Blueberries! Unfortunately my chickens found my bushes but luckily they can only jump so high. Saves me from having to crawl on the ground to pick the lower ones and it's great for their diet.

Ha! The trade off! My girls eat my tomatoes on the lower part of my bushes. Had to plant extra kale to share too. They kept jumping up to eating it from the edges of the barrel it was planted in. Also made the mistake of leaving the pot of Swiss chard on the ground where they could reach...they only left me the ribs! Lesson learned. Haha.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

Grubbles = dried black soldier fly larvae

Live meal worms = raised in USA!

http://grubblyfarms.com/

Mine love ripping into leafy greens. They also love duckweed and water hyancinth. They go nuts over june bugs, earthworms, and grubs. I also give them black oil sunflower seeds a few times a week. The goopy seeds from musk melons are also a favorite of theirs, but they aren't as excited about the flesh and rind. I pull the shuck back from ears of sweet corn, take off the silk, and tie them to the hardware cloth on the side of the run with strips of the shuck and they peck them clean in no time. Mine aren't too keen on whole fruits, or the tougher raw vegetables. I've been known to chop kitchen scraps up in the ninja, and they'll eat it that way. I think they're a little on the lazy side. They also love scrambled egg.

I'm not sure if mine are lazy or picky. They eat apples but only the thin skinned ones will they peck through the skin. A red delicious I have to cut in half. Then I find shriveled up apple halves with the hard part of the core and the skin.

 

[SpaghettiJo]

My girls absolutely LOVE watermelon. They will also come running for greek yogurt mixed with some dry oats. (the oats help so its not so messy ) I've tried cabbage, and they aren't too fond of it... but I'm sure if i tied it up with some string, theyd find it more fun and maybe enjoy it a little more

 

[FlyWheel]

Mealworms, scrambled/cooked eggs, any left over cooked or especially raw vegetable cuttings (the ones that are safe for chickens to eat), any poultry or fish that still has bones. All other meats go to the dogs.

I forgot about corn. Goodness, there are too many good treats out there, i can't remember them all!

Corn is mostly empty carbohydrates and sugars, as are many fruits like watermelon. But I like to treat them every now and then, I buy the cheap ears of corn from the market (4-5 for a $) peel off the husk and silk and hang the cob from the roof of their pen like a pinata.

I like the idea of putting a whole pumpkin out for them so they have to peck their way through to get the treat inside. That might even keep them occupied for more than ten minutes LOL!​