Ultimate Treat

[NewToFarming]

Quote:
Welcome neighbor! I have 2 boys in the marines. You will learn alot here.

As for the OP, mine go nuts over almost anything but so far what I have found as their ultimate favorite treats are cottage cheese & oatmeal.

 

[gritsar]

My younger flock has a new favorite treat right now - the laying pellets meant for the adult hens.
Although both flocks are now on layer feed, I have continued to buy layer crumbles for the baby flock because of my two silkies. I'm just not convinced that they can eat the pellets, yet.
All I have to do is lay a handful of the pellets on the ground and the youngsters go nuts for em.

 

[kitkatnoah]

Once a week I load up their dust bath tubs full of compost soil which is loaded with grubs and worms. We then stand back because they will start flinging the dirt in every direction as they look for their "snacks"

When they find their snack, each one will fly out of the tub, eat it & then fly back in for another snack, flinging more dirt everywhere.

 

[InParadise]

The best treat I've brought to them yet was the refried beans this morning. Didn't leave a drop in the bowl!

 

[BWKatz]

Quote:
OK, here's the skinny on potato skins.

You can give your chickens potato skins. Raw, cooked, white, yellow, red, doesn't matter. What DOES matter is if the skins are GREEN. NEVER, EVER feed anybody or anything green potato skins or the flesh immediately underneath.

Potatoes are a member of the deadly nightshade/morning glory/tomato family. These plants have a toxic chemical called solanin. When potatoes are exposed to sunlight they concentrate solanin in the skin; that's what makes it green. There is always a bit of this chemical in potatoes, but when the skins are green, it's concentrated and in large doses can cause all sorts of harm, from digestive upsets to birth defects to death.

Solanin is the chemical concentrated in tomato hookworms (those huge nasty green worms birds won't eat). That's why monarch butterfly caterpillars look like tomato hookworms so the birds won't eat them. I heard of a recent case of a mom who told her son to pick off the tomato worms from her plants because she didn't use insecticide in her garden. He missed some and she punished him by making him eat one, thinking "oh, it's just a worm". The poisons concentrated in the tomato hookworm killed the boy.

Sweet potatoes are from an entirely different plant family. The leaves and young shoots are edible and used in salads. They're not the same plant as the yam, though in the USA they're often called the same thing. Sweet potatoes are much healthier for people and animals than regular potatoes.

I had wondered about the "why" also. Thanks for the info on that and the tomatoe worm...not that I would EVER eat that!

 

[papeine]

Quote:
OK, here's the skinny on potato skins.

You can give your chickens potato skins. Raw, cooked, white, yellow, red, doesn't matter. What DOES matter is if the skins are GREEN. NEVER, EVER feed anybody or anything green potato skins or the flesh immediately underneath.

Potatoes are a member of the deadly nightshade/morning glory/tomato family. These plants have a toxic chemical called solanin. When potatoes are exposed to sunlight they concentrate solanin in the skin; that's what makes it green. There is always a bit of this chemical in potatoes, but when the skins are green, it's concentrated and in large doses can cause all sorts of harm, from digestive upsets to birth defects to death.

Solanin is the chemical concentrated in tomato hookworms (those huge nasty green worms birds won't eat). That's why monarch butterfly caterpillars look like tomato hookworms so the birds won't eat them. I heard of a recent case of a mom who told her son to pick off the tomato worms from her plants because she didn't use insecticide in her garden. He missed some and she punished him by making him eat one, thinking "oh, it's just a worm". The poisons concentrated in the tomato hookworm killed the boy.

Sweet potatoes are from an entirely different plant family. The leaves and young shoots are edible and used in salads. They're not the same plant as the yam, though in the USA they're often called the same thing. Sweet potatoes are much healthier for people and animals than regular potatoes.

Thanks..that helps alot!!!

 

[Rachel'sFlock]

Corn on the cob is, by far, the Ultimate Treat.

However, oatmeal (cooked or raw), cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumbers (seeds, flesh and all) and tunafish are right up there.
It blows people's minds that I grow (or buy, in the off season) these items and give them to the chickens. Not the rinds or leftover used bits, but whole, fresh and delicious.
Seems to me, it's only fair, since they are feeding me back! Awesomeness in, awesomeness out!
Fun thread! I have enjoyed reading everyone's fave treats!


Bright Blessings