Tips needed for treats, please

[bokboklady]

hi everyone, sometimes i get a bit stuck as to what i can get my birds to enjoy as treats , at present they love meal worms, sweetcorn ( tinned !), grass, plums, cooked rice ( sometimes !), they seem to turn their beaks up at lettuce, carrot, tomatoes , and all the other stuff that i'm told they love, i spose they are like us, we dont all like the same stuff, but i would love to give them something that will make them go crazy like the meal worms do, or maybe they are just picky ?, any advice please, i will try them all !!!::

 

[beachchickie]

they all love meat. fish. mine love peanut butter and yogurt mixed. They are waiting by the gate at 4:30 sharp for the treat like it is the first time they ever had food.

 

[ibpboo]

I named my chicken Bok Bok.

Now I am on Bok Bok 3.

I give my chickens almost everything.
Another thing they love is pomegranate.

 

[Happy Chooks]

You've spoiled them with mealworms!

Here's some ideas: Weeds, watermelon and the rind, cantaloupe the seeds and the rind, Honeydew the seeds and the rind, any overripe fruit, broccoli, spinach, parsley, pasta (especially spagetti and mac and cheese), bread, left over mashed potatoes (cooked of course), cherios, oatmeal, grapes, strawberries, kale.

I'm sure I'll think of more.

 

[oldchickenlady]

Mine like cottage cheese (good calcium and protein source), watermelon, peaches (this is their fav!), scratch of course. They will eat tomato if I cut it up in little pieces, they dont care to peck on a half one for some reason

I have given them cooked rice. Fresh corn on the cob was also a hit! You could take squash and grate it on a cheese grater and give that to them. I have heard of people hanging a whole cabbage head or broccoli in the run. I haven't tried that yet but plan to this winter. Oh some people swear by yogurt but I haven't tried that either. Black oil sunflower seeds are a good treat in moderation. Green beans, English peas (frozen ones in summer are good!) just about any vegetable (not potato peelings!) will be good if it is cut, chopped or grated up into a eatable size for them. I always make sure any raw vegetable I give them has been washed! Pesticides might kill them or end up in the eggs, don't want that. Oh dont forget grapes, bananas, or other fresh fruit. That is all I can think of right now!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Oh yeah, peaches. I was picking peaches last night and the girls were trying to steal them out of my bucket.

 

[bokboklady]

thanks everyone, started my list, although some things mentioned they didnt rate too much, like bananas for one, potatoe, i tried an old fashioned mash mix with mashed spud and veg,s, but that was ignored, i'm afraid i have spoilt them with the meal worms, if i havt got any , like today ,its a sort of ' hey lady, wheres the worms ' kind of look, so i aplogise and promise to get some tommorrow !!,

 

[bokboklady]

Quote:
i thought it a good name as they bok bok a lot and so do i when i go into the run, crazy or what !

 

[Happy Chooks]

Mix the overripe banana's with cooked oatmeal. Mine go nuts for it! Especially on cool mornings!

 

[Judy]

I don't bok bok at them. I say, here, chippy chippy. Who's nuttier, people or chickens?

There is a list on BYC of chicken treats. Really you can give them almost anything, avoiding the unhealthier stuff like sugar, chocolate or lots of sodium.
Different chickens like different things, even in the same flock. Has anyone mentioned melons? You can give them your rinds or the whole thing just cut in half; they will peck it down to almost nothing. You'd be surprised how much watermelon they can eat after the people are through with it.