Topic of the Week - Feeding Treats

[hayleys212]

For everyone who feeds mealworms and crickets, where do you buy them from?

We buy ours from our local feed store!

 

[maya.fh]

What's better about buying live mealworms vs dried?

 

[thewatsonfarm]

What's better about buying live mealworms vs dried?

Chickens are predators -- they like to hunt.

 

[thewatsonfarm]

What's better about buying live mealworms vs dried?

Chickens are predators -- they like to hunt.

 

[thewatsonfarm]

Chickens are predators -- they like to hunt.

But if you can't deal with the live ones because they're just icky, at least the chickens get protein from the dried ones.

I was in the garden Monday & found a LONG (like 5-6") earthworm. My hen Buttercup swallowed the darn thing in one gulp!

 

[AquaDuck]

I give my chickens blackcurrant as a vitamin-treat in winter time.

Where I live, every farm has some blackcurrant bushes. They were planted in the 60's to 80's and people used to, and still do, make lemonade from them. Personally I don't much care for sweet drinks (and I'm a terrible cook!), so I freeze them in portions, thaw them up and give them to the chickens with regular intervals. Some consider it an atrocity that I give such precious berries to the chickens. Haha!

I fill around two 10 liter buckets each fall. For 10-15 chickens and ducks it's a reasonable amount of easy to eat, all natural winter vitamin addition.

 

[HaltaLotta]

For a cheap winter treat, try growing a tray of cat-grass. Grass seeds are cheap, you grow them in a windowsill, and the flock will tear all the grass upp and eat it in 5 seconds flat.

 

[Venumfire]

My birds go crazy for sprouts! www.serenitysprouts.com has an excellent sprouting mix that is balance for the right protein and nutrients so their treat is also their meal.

 

[bajabirdbrain]

For something different I bought some wheat grass seed on Amazon. Takes a week or less to get the grass high enough to feed to the girls. Pretty easy.

 

[chickengr]

my chickens usually don't eat a lot of whole barley and oats so they sprout in the run. that way they eat all of them.