What is the strangest thing you've fed your chickens?

[KattyKillFish]

I've also given mine fresh roadkill. a rabbit to be exact. they loved it! hmm, lets see, what else. i just gave them quail guts, they ate them right up, fought over the head and all. my boyfriend was shocked!

 

[Nemo]

I know a guy who used to put out the deer carcass and let the chooks peck off all the little bits when he was done with it.

 

[pixie74943]

Must be something wrong with my girls then..

I gave them some cooked veggies and they wont touch them.

They're snobby little girls, I have one of those feeders you fill from the top and it falls down into a tray. They noticed that the stuff at the top was better than what they could get to (stupid window) and dumped all the pellets on the ground so they could get to the better stuff (was kinda a mix of scratch and pellets and grainy goodness)

And they peck at my Mum's Orchards.. she goes nuts.

-Pixie

 

[numamahen]

Well our girls love grapes, organic lettuce/spring green mix - no iceberg! Plain yougurt and some cooked vegetables. and I have tried noodles. They seem to like garlic - I had a big jar that we didn't like the taste of. They have eaten the green varigated coleus I planted in my flower garden so I think I will need to move my fencing. We were hoping they would develop a taste for maple seed helicopters - the yard is full but so far they won't eat those

I have been pleasantly surpised they have left raspberry bushes alone. I am sure that will change when the flowers and berries start. The most entertaining was when we were tilling up the gardens and they would sit and beg whenever we would pick up the pitch fork so we would dig up worms for them! Spoiled - yes!!!

 

[pixie74943]

My chickens learnt what the shovel looked like... Nearly lost their toes trying to get under it *tsk tsk*

 

[numamahen]

Another cute addition is my students at school have taken to hunting for worms and gubs for my girls!! I have one student who consistently is bringing in red worms and grubs - what a hunter she is. I take video when I pour out the contents for the chickens. The kids at school think it is crazy and then the next day I get even more!

 

[Blueline29]

I think one of the oddest things I've ever given them was Chicken in a Biskit crackers, and I debated for a while about that one because of the whole "cannibalism" thing.

They also got doughnuts one morning; my rooster looked hilarious when he finally came up for air out of the center of a jelly doughnut and had jelly dripping off of his beak.

 

[backintime]

My friend Jack owns a gourmet pizza shop. He watches the gals for me while I'm out of town, and he took to feeding them his gourmet blend of provolone, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. Mind you, it's not old stale stuff, it's top shelf. When Jack comes to visit, I run outside FAST -- and if I catch him feeding it to the gals, I snatch it away and put it in my own fridge to eat later. I told him it's TOO GOOD for the chickens!

 

[Shesapip]

Pixie 74943,
My girls come running to me when they see I've got the shovel, too!

They just know there'll be fresh worms when I turn the earth, and they are right in there! The dogs get digging fever when I dig, so it's a big ruckus to see who gets at the fresh dirt first. Lots of jockeying for position and pecking and snapping, all harmless.

Hard to get anything done, though.

I've noticed that my hens don't eat BIG slugs - so I happily chop them in bits with my shovel. I used to quail at the thought of killing anything, but now I kill slugs with glee.

 

[Bil]

Alpaca manure.

Ok, I really don't give them this to eat, but the love scratching through the communal alpaca bean piles looking for worms!