Ways to feed yogurt to your chickens?

[smallbluejellybean]

I read you can feed yogurt to your chickens.
I have natural plain Greek yogurt, with all those lovely healthy bacteria cultures in it.
Do they drink it or do you have to give it to them in a special way for them to like it?

 

[jerseychicken]

My neighbor gave his chickens yogurt and he said they LOVED it! I think he just took a plastic container and put some in it and gave it to them that way. Maybe, if you give them kitchen scraps, you can plop it right on top of it! He said it was hysterical to watch! They all had yogurt all over their face!!

 

[smallbluejellybean]

My neighbor gave his chickens yogurt and he said they LOVED it! I think he just took a plastic container and put some in it and gave it to them that way. Maybe, if you give them kitchen scraps, you can plop it right on top of it! He said it was hysterical to watch! They all had yogurt all over their face!!

Thank you for replying.
I will give it to them that way today and let you know what they did. I just want to keep their calcium up, as they are not eating their oyster shell grit and laying soft shell eggs, so I have been giving them anything with calcium in it. At the moment I think they are eating better than I am. I have also been crushing up calcium pills and putting it scrambled egg with eggs shell crush up. Also I have been giving them things like kale and broccoli. They also get warm oatmeal made with milk that has extra calcium in it and some cuttlefish bone crushed and mixed it, This has all been improving their egg shells, but I am looking for other things to give them to help them lay proper eggs and to stay healthy.

 

[Kelsie2290]

I like to mix it up in mash or crumbles so its not quite so messy, though have to admit it is fun to watch them. How old are your girls? What is their regular food that they seem to be so short on calcium?

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Remember that hens can't digest milk sugars, so yogurt isn't the best thing for them. There are sources of probiotics especially for chickens if that's your purpose in feeding it.http://www.jefferspet.com/poultry-probiotics/camid/liv/cc/36031/

Oyster shell or even dark leafy greens are better sources of calcium for chickens.

 

[smallbluejellybean]

I like to mix it up in mash or crumbles so its not quite so messy, though have to admit it is fun to watch them. How old are your girls? What is their regular food that they seem to be so short on calcium?

I feed them layer pellets mixed with layer scratch. Both have calcium, but it hasn't seemed to be enough for them. I feed them yogurt this morning and they loved it and had it all over their face. I just thought I could feed this to them once a week. I also feed them scrambled egg with eggs shells crushed up and with a couple calcium pills crushed up and mixed in. They get this everyday with kale or dark greens.
My girls are new layers and about 7-8 months old. Unfortunately I have tried hard to make them eat oyster shell grit, but they just don't seem to like it at all. I still keep a dish in their coop of it in case they change their mind.
I try to give them a variety of healthy food for them to eat each day. I give them fruit every couple days. I never really give them kitchen scraps, but I will make up a special bowl of spaghetti bolognese when I make it. I just let it cool down and give it to them. They love it and they slurp up the spaghetti like worms, very funny to watch.

 

[smallbluejellybean]

Remember that hens can't digest milk sugars, so yogurt isn't the best thing for them. There are sources of probiotics especially for chickens if that's your purpose in feeding it.http://www.jefferspet.com/poultry-probiotics/camid/liv/cc/36031/

Oyster shell or even dark leafy greens are better sources of calcium for chickens.

Thank you for the link, but I don't think they send stuff to Australia.
I talked to my Vet about what was going and he told me to try the calcium tablets. When he last checked them over he said they were very healthy. I talked to him about their total dislike of oyster shell and he said they were fine and showed no signs of calcium problems. This problem has only happened since they started to lay. He also said that they might be laying these weird eggs because their reproductive systems are still getting the hang of it. Also I do feed them a lot of dark greens and I often see them in the veggie patch nibbling on parsley and coriander, which they seem to like and also they love the grass (they have so much of that to peck at each day).
I still keep a dish of oyster shell in their coop, just in case they want to give it a try again.
I try to give them a variety of food as well as their layer pellets and layer scratch.
They are spoiled chickens, but all my animals are.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Thank you for the link, but I don't think they send stuff to Australia.
I talked to my Vet about what was going and he told me to try the calcium tablets. When he last checked them over he said they were very healthy. I talked to him about their total dislike of oyster shell and he said they were fine and showed no signs of calcium problems. This problem has only happened since they started to lay. He also said that they might be laying these weird eggs because their reproductive systems are still getting the hang of it. Also I do feed them a lot of dark greens and I often see them in the veggie patch nibbling on parsley and coriander, which they seem to like and also they love the grass (they have so much of that to peck at each day).
I still keep a dish of oyster shell in their coop, just in case they want to give it a try again.
I try to give them a variety of food as well as their layer pellets and layer scratch.
They are spoiled chickens, but all my animals are.

Sorry, didn't even see your location!

If the vet didn't see signs of calcium problems then the hens might not need the additional calcium, which would account for their not using it. Hens are very good at knowing when they need extra calcium. For instance, only some of my hens use the oyster shell. None of the pullets or cockerels touch it. Too much calcium is as big a problem as too little.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Sorry, didn't even see your location!

If the vet didn't see signs of calcium problems then the hens might not need the additional calcium, which would account for their not using it. Hens are very good at knowing when they need extra calcium. For instance, only some of my hens use the oyster shell. None of the pullets or cockerels touch it. Too much calcium is as big a problem as too little.

X2, if your girls are young, it sounds like they are just getting their laying system in gear. Are you getting eggs with normal shells at all? Soft or no-shell eggs are pretty common with pullets, they should straighten up with time. From what they say, usually those eggs in youngsters have nothing to do with the available calcium, it usually has something to do with their shell gland being immature and not being able to utilize it correctly. There are other causes but hopefully it is just their age right now.
The Poultry Site's web page on it.
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publi...ndbook/16/thinshelled-eggs-and-shellless-eggs

 

[smallbluejellybean]

Thanks WalkonSunshine and Kelsie,
I will keep the calcium, as two of three have nice shells again. Don't if it was the extra calcium or just their gear started to work at last. They seem not to be worse for any extra calcium and I have always gave them a variety of healthy food since I got them, when they were 8 weeks old.
My daughter just had her after school chicken cuddle. They all come and want to have cuddle on her lap. They are spoiled chookies and we love them.