Treats????

[teapot10]

So I've seen a few people on here reference giving their chickens treats and/or kitchen scraps...so far my 9 week olds have just been getting chick starter...can someone enlighten me on what kinds of treats I can give them

What's safe? What's not?

I'd love to give them something different once in a while.

 

[bigstack]

I give mine pretty much anything out of the house! They love it all!! The only thing I hold back is big chunks of meat or steak. Those go to the dogs. I just make sure to cut up the big stuff so they can eat it better. Large soft stuff is fine but say... The big chunks of squash, I will cut up so they can eat it easier. They get everything else! They love pinto beans, spaghetti and sauce with hamburger, rice...etc. Beans are their ultimate favorite followed closely by spaghetti!

Just make sure they are getting grit before giving treats! I gave mine grit at about 8-9 weeks then a week later I started giving harder treats. I only gave soft treats ( bread, mash patato's, outmeal, rice, or spaghetti noodles (cut up)) Before they got grit!

God Bless!

P.s. Large amounts of garlic or onion can affect the eggs taste.

 

[bturbo87]

heres the treat chart from the learning center
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-Treats_Chart
just make sure you are giving them grit, even if they are outside on the dirt. coarse construction sand from homedepot or lowes or a local nursery/quarry will work well for grown birds and is very cheap, for babies, try parrot/parakeet grit from a petstore just make sure it doesnt have any added calcium. If you live way south where they dont salt the roads, you can take a shovel out to the side of the road and use the coarse stones there. on the hotter days down here, a cold watermelon fron the fridge is the biggest hit in the world, and it helps keep them hydrated.

 

[bigstack]

OH Yeah!!! DO NOT GIVE RAW PATATO PEELS!!!!!!!!

large intake of raw peels can be toxic! ( to everything not just chickens!)

 

[teapot10]

YEAH!! I'm so excited now...I love this forum, I learn something new every day

 

[saladin]

I give mine lots of squash and zucc. during the summer; pumpkin in the fall and winter.

They also love hearts and livers. When I dress chickens I just toss these into the hen yard and they take care of the rest!

 

[Me & My Peeps]

Now that corn on the cob is in season, we buy lots of it from a farm down the road. I tossed one into the run one night after supper to see what they'd do with it. It got pretty scary! lol, I had to go in and seprate some and add another ear of corn - so nobody got hurt.

Now I just throw it in there with the husk off, uncooked. They "know" it's coming and get all excited when I start stripping the husk back! I also put a small piece of watermelon in there....same result!

Mine also love pasta.

 

[Tomhusker]

Yeah, I save the battle and just cut the corn off of the cob, but they LOVE it.

 

[bluechicks]

I have been giving my chicks bananas and plain yogurt. They love it and are very excited when i come out with it. They also enjoy corn on the cob, i just break two ears in half and that seems to work for 11 girls.

When feeding the banana, they will eat it right out of our hands, with our dog taking turns getting bites. It's really cute!

 

[Me & My Peeps]

I got the wife to sit in the run and feed them some corn on the cob. Of course, I didnt tell her that they LOVE it and they all fight over it. I had her sit on a pail, they all came around to meet her - then I pulled out a piece and told her to hold it and feed them.

They were fine for about 6 seconds, then they all swarmed her (12 of them) and started pecking her hands! She started to get up and I gave her another piece - which made them all jump on her lap! LOL She was wearing her shirt for work and it had pictures of ladybugs, ants and butterflies on it so they were all pecking at her shirt trying to get the bugs!

I said "aint this great? I have dinner with them every day. If you didnt move around so much and scare them, you could have pet them! They like that you know....chickens are a very social animal and love your attention. Now you've got them all worked up from waving your arms and wearing that crazy shirt.".

Im not sure what she said, because she was mumbling as she walked away - but it sounded something like "we should have gotten fish instead. Fish dont attack you"! Why she still puts up with me after 15 years, i'll never know...........


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