Waste of treats? Ideas on what went wrong, and what to do now?

[CabritaChicks]

I bought a couple bags of three different treats thinking, “Oh, my chickens are going to love this!”

Spoiler: they did not.

Both the older girls and the younger crew couldn’t care less. They turn their beaks up and head straight for the fresh veggies, greens, and fruit instead. Meanwhile, I’m sitting here with overpriced treats (shipped to an island so tiny you need to zoom in like 10x on the map just to find it- so you can imagine the shipping costs through freight).

Where did I go wrong? My chickens are clearly not normal. Or did I buy the wrong brands or something?

So here’s my weird question: can I bake this stuff into a chicken-friendly zucchini or pumpkin bread? (Yes, I have parrots—you can probably tell.) Has anyone tried that before?

 

[MysteryChicken]

I bought a couple bags of three different treats thinking, “Oh, my chickens are going to love this!”

Spoiler: they did not.

Both the older girls and the younger crew couldn’t care less. They turn their beaks up and head straight for the fresh veggies, greens, and fruit instead. Meanwhile, I’m sitting here with overpriced treats (shipped to an island so tiny you need to zoom in like 10x on the map just to find it- so you can imagine the shipping costs through freight).

Where did I go wrong? My chickens are clearly not normal. Or did I buy the wrong brands or something?

So here’s my weird question: can I bake this stuff into a chicken-friendly zucchini or pumpkin bread? (Yes, I have parrots—you can probably tell.) Has anyone tried that before?

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Give them time. Sometimes if you introduce something new, it takes them a couple days to figure it out.

Also offer as the only treat option if possible, it may help.

 

[CabritaChicks]

Give them time. Sometimes if you introduce something new, it takes them a couple days to figure it out.

Also offer as the only treat option if possible, it may help.

I’ll keep at it, but I’ve been trying for a month now with my 2.5-month-olds, and they just won’t go for it. I’ve mixed up treat times, tried different approaches—nothing.

Every time, I just end up finding the treats abandoned. And in this climate? Once they get damp, they’re basically a fly magnet.

I’m starting to think they’re just too spoiled by all the live jungle bugs they get while free-ranging.

I even put some dried worms in my lap—figured that would seal the deal. The girls jumped up, gave them two half-hearted pecks, and walked off.

Isla—my main girl—gave me this look like, “Really? You’re still trying to trick me with this stuff? I’m not eating that garbage.”

How long does a bag of mealworms last once it is opened?

 

[MysteryChicken]

I’ll keep at it, but I’ve been trying for a month now with my 2.5-month-olds, and they just won’t go for it. I’ve mixed up treat times, tried different approaches—nothing.

Every time, I just end up finding the treats abandoned. And in this climate? Once they get damp, they’re basically a fly magnet.

I’m starting to think they’re just too spoiled by all the live jungle bugs they get while free-ranging.

I even put some dried worms in my lap—figured that would seal the deal. The girls jumped up, gave them two half-hearted pecks, and walked off.

Isla—my main girl—gave me this look like, “Really? You’re still trying to trick me with this stuff? I’m not eating that garbage.”

How long does a bag of mealworms last once it is opened?

Maybe teach them by mixing in feed a couple times?

I'm not sure, but it should last as long as it stays closed, & dry after using.

 

[CabritaChicks]

Maybe teach them by mixing in feed a couple times?

I'm not sure, but it should last as long as it stays closed, & dry after using.

Ill try that. Maybe ill mix them in with their hard boiled egg treat as mixing in with their fermented feed or dry crumbles didnt work before.

Maybe break them into smaller pieces...

 

[MysteryChicken]

Ill try that. Maybe ill mix them in with their hard boiled egg treat as mixing in with their fermented feed or dry crumbles didnt work before.

Maybe break them into smaller pieces...

They'll eventually learn it's edible.

 

[ChaosMom]

…I’m starting to think they’re just too spoiled by all the live jungle bugs they get while free-ranging…

This is my guess. Or rather, they are already getting plenty of protein in their feed and from free-ranging.

I have a bag of the same black soldier fly larvae, and frankly, they smell… burnt? Something not enticing.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Odds are this stuff is from China? If so, lord knows what the larvae were fed on. Human waste, cadavers, pig waste...

Just saying the hens might be knowing or smelling something we don't know.