Treating your Chickens?

[Toothpick]

I don’t give them special “treats”. But they get table scrapes several days a week. So that’s basically a treat for them since they are on layer feed every day.

 

[Cryss]

Table scraps and vegetable trimmings. Today I am going to hang a small cabbage for them to play with.

 

[Kathy Sistare]

I give them scratch grains. I try to mix it in with their layer feed, and sprinkle in the run so they have to search for it. I also try to let them free range at least for an hour everyday.

 

[kokosmom2]

I give them (24 birds) a cup of scratch a day that also has meal worms and black oil sunflower seeds in it. When I have produce that is getting wilty, I give them that too. They love tomatoes, overripe bananas, watermelon, cantaloupe and frozen blueberries. They do not like oranges (peeled). I love watching them run around with cherry tomatoes trying to steal them from each other.

 

[KLIL]

Today's Treat.
Carrot, Sunflower Seeds, Oats and Shell Grit.

 

[Ribh]

It depends. The grocery puts out boxes of outside leaves of cabbage, lettuce, past by date broccoli, tomatoes etc. If I'm lucky enough to nab one of those I give a shredded bowl a day until it's all gone ~ enough that 4 chooks clean it up before roosting. I keep cracked corn in the fridge but only occasionally parcel that out [1/2 a small cup between 4 big girls] & mealworms, dried or live a couple of times a week. I know they enjoy the variety but I try to keep it under the 10% of their diet. The bulk of their food is premium layer ~ & whatever they can scrounge themselves.

 

[peastix]

I'm going to be horribly honest and disgrace myself in the process.
I give treats every day. but the quantity in relation to their feed and what they forage is very small; less than 5% of their daily food intake.
I don't feed what you call scratch in the USA.
I give a small amount of fish or meat every other day in their feed during the winter months and every three days in the spring and summer when there are more bugs available. I don't count this as treats. It's to ensure they don't all start wearing beads and sandals and ask me to buy them Vegan cookbooks and try to sit cross legged in the nest boxes; it confuses the chicks for a start.
Now some hens prefer some things while others prefer other things.
Fat Bird for example loves a bit of Pizza; Bracket won't touch the stuff and complains that the Mozzarella gums her beak up
The wine grapes that grow here are really popular. I've stopped peeling them for them because I just get mobbed when they get tired of waiting.
Vintage cheddar cheese seems to go down well with all, but I can only do this once in a while because it takes ages for the peck wounds on the ends of my fingers to heal up.
Walnuts are liked by all. I've always got some in my pocket, whereas I found with meal worms I was getting strange looks in the local bars when I pulled a handkerchief out which wiggles a bit.
Punch is rather keen on a bit of yogurt with the local honey mixed in but he's not the tidiest of eaters and the clean up operation after is a bit of a chore.

Funny post Love it!!

 

[Chickengene]

I've got 4BO that will be a year next month. They get 1/8cup BOSS & 1/8cup MW daily at close up, they're confined to their "open air" Chicken House. Fed fermented Flock Raiser 2x day.

What the heck do all those acronyms mean?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What the heck do all those acronyms mean?

I've got 4BO that will be a year next month. They get 1/8cup BOSS & 1/8cup MW daily at close up, they're confined to their "open air" Chicken House. Fed fermented Flock Raiser 2x day.

LOL
I'll help translate ChickNanny speak for you!

BO = Buff Orpington (breed of chicken)
BOSS = Black Oil Sunflower Seeds
MW = Meal Worms

I think sometimes we forget about using acronyms and think everyone will get what we say. I'm bad to do that too!

 

[Chickengene]

I give my girls a handful of cracked corn every morning and evening.
Oops! I forgot Rodger the rooster.
Also drief mealworms once or twice a week. They have gotten in the habit of following me around as I am cleaning and/or preparing different sections of the property for planting, and grabbing anything that moves when I turn over a rock or board.
And table scraps when available.
They free range every day, and my wife has bird feeders all over the yard, so the chickens probably eat more spilled birdseed than they should.
My layer pellets consumption has declined probably 75%, but I am getting three or four eggs a day, so I haven't given it much thought just yet.