What scraps do YOU feed your flock in winter?

[KikiDeAnime]

Very interested in hearing what scraps/treats other people feed their flocks during the winter.

We feed our flock less scraps than we would during the rest of the year. This ranges from old salad mixes and plain cooked veggies from that day's dinner to whatever veggies and fruits we have leftover in the fridge. Sometimes they even get leftover shrimp! They always enjoy that.

 

[Chickenman MAN]

My chickens are very picky....it's normally kale, salad leaves, sweetcorn. Haven't tried much else, they don't like apple, spinach or carrots

 

[woodworm]

Not had them that long but they LOVE sweetcorn - they are feathered locusts if I hang a corn on the cob - they will easily clear it in a few minutes.

I also tried a cabbage and they were not impressed.

 

[Callender Girl]

My sister and brother-in-law own a grocery store. When she visits, she always brings boxes of produce that make customers turn up their noses (bruised apples? Salad mixes past the sell-by dates? Ugly sweet potatoes? Cauliflower with a few dark spots? Egads!!).

While I have to admit that SOME of the produce never makes it out of my house -- I actually cut off some of the "bad" parts and eat the rest -- my chickens are thrilled when the gift boxes include cantaloupe -- also a BIG favorite with geese and ducks -- apples without the seeds and head lettuce.

Sweet potatoes, cut into slices, go to the sheep and goats. Geese seem to like those but the rest of the birds have little interest, and none of my poultry cares for cabbage.

 

[jreardon1918]

All kitchen scraps go in a bowl. That can include, veggie cuttings, dinner scraps, left overs that are old but not bad, crushed egg shells, fruit and veggie rinds, coffee grinds. No bones. This mixture goes in the secure run, they eat what they want, the rest gets scratched into the compost.

 

[FortCluck]

I feed mine whatever I have leftover from the day. Usually mine like popcorn, any type of meat, beans, lentils, noodles, eggs, all veggies, and fruits.

 

[Sally PB]

A neighbor saves things for me: carrot pulp from juicing, decorative squash and pumpkins. My birds also get some greens that are left over, or whatever I can find in the way of weeds. (That will end soon, when everything is under snow, which hasn't happened yet, for some reason!) I might get another half bushel apples at the end of season sale at the farm market to make more apple sauce. They get skins and cores, chopped and seeded. I'm growing a lot of sprouts, and they get at least half of those.

 

[aart]

Little to None.
Have never been a big treat feeder, why dilute the nutrition in the regular feed?
They get a bit of scratch daily while I clean coop.
Might get some BOSS on occasion, mostly for my amusement or to stimulate activity.
Rolled oats soaked in electrolytes/vitamins during extreme cold temp times.
Wheat grass fodder, again more for my amusement and need to see something green.

 

[LaFleche]

decorative squash

Decorative squash should not be fed as they contain too much cucurbitacine (bittern), that causes bloody diarrhea and tachycardia which might even lead to death depending on the amount ingested.

 

[AccidentalFarm]

I get chicken carcasses from a neighboring farm and make bone broth with it, then give everything that remains after straining the broth to my chickens...bones and all. They eat every bit of it.