Treats every day?

[Agsgranik]

Here's my take. ...and it's not very kosher so it may or it may not be useful to anyone.

Chickens have been on the planet -- all over the planet -- for a long time. And they'll probably outlive us. In their natural state, they wander around eating the plant material and bugs they can find. They eat small rodents and lizards if they get the opportunity. They don't ask what the protein and calcium balances are or if it contains soy and they don't look down their noses at much. I don't know it for fact, but I bet they live longer than chickens in egg production plants and possibly longer than our own in our adorably painted coops with zinnias planted all around the perimeter.

So I buy my flock a good quality all-flock and I let them forage for what they can find. And, because they've pretty much denuded their chicken yard (that once had so many nasturtiums you couldn't avoid stepping on them) I take them all of my kitchen scraps, garden produce that the local rodents have snacked on and spoiled, landscape pruning, weeds I pull from the lawn (I don't use any chemical fertilizers or herbicides on the lawn or in the garden for that matter), kibble and wet cat food that my indoor pets don't finish and a couple bags of shredded cabbage every day. When I herd them back into their run at dinner time (that's the best time for me to make sure they're secured before the rodents get active and find the feeder in the run) I reward them with a generous feed scoop of black oil sunflower seeds. When it's hot, I give them cold cucumbers and watermelon and berries.

I have no idea how much of the feed they eat. No idea what percentage of their total diet it is. I just know I have to top up and refill the feeder every day. As for the "treats" there isn't anything that I wouldn't want my grandson to eat. So I consider that "healthy". Of course, my grandson's never been big on pruned squash vines or leftover cat food... But the chickens go for it!

I believe my chickens are healthy. They may or they may not be fat. I'm not sure how I'd know. They look like "chickens" to me. And, what the h*ll!, I'm fat too so who am I to be critical?

I'm not interested in being the owner of the oldest living domestic chicken. I have enough eggs to share with my neighbors and family so I don't need optimal egg production. I want happy healthy chickens and a happy chicken keeping experience for me and my grandson when he visits. And the chickens sure seem glad to see us when we come out to gather eggs and give them a bag of cabbage shreds.

So that's what works for me. ...and the chickens aren't complaining.

That really lines up with my overall thinking about chickens as a part of our household! Thanks very much!

 

[IamRainey]

This is gold, can I print this off and tape it to the coop door?!

I certainly don't mind. But can your chickens read???????? I'm impressed!

 

[IamRainey]

I completely agree and suspect the "only 10% rule" is propagated by chicken feed manufacturers.

I never thought of it that way but you may indeed be onto something!

 

[CatsandCrops]

I look at it the same as others - my grandparents raised chickens on their farm who roamed and ate whatever they found, on top of being fed table scraps and garden weeds. I know my girls are eating their fed and I know they leave leftover weeds in their enclosed runs if I bring them "too much" in a day. I'm not all that worried; they are happy and laying eggs

 

[NatJ]

They sure do come running to the end of the run when they see us coming, so that's nice, but we want to keep them healthy and not overdo it.

Another "treat" you can give: wet chicken food. Just put a small amount in a dish, add water, and they seem to love it. You can use warm water in cold weather, cold water in hot weather.

I don't see any problem with the treats you mention.

I think "too many treats" is mostly a problem when people pick a specific kind of treat that is high is calories and then feed a lot of it (scratch, mealworms, and sunflower seeds come to mind). Some people worry that vegetables and fruits are mostly water and are low in protein--but I don't worry that chickens will drink "too much" water, and I also don't worry that they'll have too much watermelon or carrot or apple peel or berries or grass or....

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I think a lot of the difference in opinion stems from the way people look at their flock and food scraps.

One person’s “my livestock are leveraging an underutilized resource” is another’s “my precious pet is eating garbage”.

 

[3KillerBs]

I have to admit that I'm thinking from less experience than some, having had the in-town flock for 3 years and only now starting the country flock, but I don't like seeing kitchen trimmings, garden waste, and table scraps defined as "treats" -- equivalent to feeding my kids on cake and donuts.

How is the cube of stir-fry pork that I dropped on the floor when stirring too vigorously *not* a healthy source of protein?

How is that last half-cup of chicken and rice (made with plenty of celery, onions, carrots, and peas as well as salt-free homemade chicken stock gelled so stiff that you could literally slice it), which isn't enough for anyone's lunch or even a snack for the 14yo *not* as healthy as their crumble?

How are the cantaloupe guts, veggie trimmings, and the good half of the sunburned tomato I had yesterday *not* as healthy for them as the grass and weeds in their pen?

Of course quantities matter. Since my current flock is only 7, 5 and 7 week-old babies I only gave them part of the tomato and threw 1/4 of the cantaloupe guts into their pen for them to seek out instead of putting it into the coop. But defining nutritious, natural food as a *treat* irks me.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Agree 100% @3KillerBs!

Quantities and a good mix matters, but this isn’t rocket surgery!

 

[NatJ]

defining nutritious, natural food as a *treat* irks me.

I think a lot of people use "treat" to mean something that the chickens like to eat, that the chickens get excited about, that can train the chickens to be friendly or to come when called. (And it makes the person feel good too, when they give this wonderful thing to the chickens.)

But some people use "treat" to mean the chicken equivalent of junk food, that should be strictly limited (or not fed at all.)

I prefer the kind of "treats" that the chickens like but that do not need to be limited. My personal favorites include lawn grass chopped very small (for baby chicks still in the brooder), and wetted chicken food (for any age chicken).

One person’s “my livestock are leveraging an underutilized resource” is another’s “my precious pet is eating garbage”.

To me, one benefit of pets like chickens or dogs or even pigs is that they can safely eat many things that people choose not to eat. Of course it requires some common sense to avoid the animals being malnourished or too fat, but it's not too difficult.

 

[RumneyRoost]

Nutrition is about balance. Everything in moderation is usually a safe bet.
I try to limit so that my girls only get a treat once a day, when I need to bribe them back into the run when I leave for work. Many days that “treat” is just their food mixed with water.
The rest of the time it’s a variety of fruit/veg and I just started a meal worm colony for something higher in protein.

I don’t feed scratch as it has very little nutritional benefit.
I always have oyster shells available in case they need a boost.