What Special Treat or Yummy Did Your Flock Get Today?

[lotzahenz]

Mine got the not so perfect cherries off my sour cherry tree along with some grape pulp from a jar of last years grape juice that I strained today, along with the leftovers from supper and some Romaine lettuce. The worms got boiled egg shells and onion peels. Yummy. HenZ

 

[RuPaul the Rooster]

Yesterday mine got their first baby mealworms mixed with what was left of the uncooked oatmeal I grow mealworms in. (It was my bi-annual clean out the mealworm farm and start a fresh batch day)

They also got some leftover cooked rice.

Question- I have been giving my chickens the leavings from my lovebirds seed cups. They also love to clean up goodies that the wild birds throw out of the feeders. I kinda worry about the chickens eating after the wild birds, but there is little I can do.
But is it OK to give them leftovers from the small parrots I have had for years. They have never been exposed to other birds. Tonight I was cleaning the lovebird cages and changing toys and things when I thought about the cuttle bones I took out. I have put them into a ziplock bag and broke them into small pieces and planed to give them to the chickens. OK or not?

 

[rooster47]

I'm still new at this . . what is BOSS? My 5 chicks - almost 7 weeks old now and have turned down all treats. I've tried strawberries, lettuce, grapes, cheerios. I believe they are scared to try anything new. I'll keep trying, though. Think I'll try hard boiled eggs today.

 

[bigdaddyabc]

Todays treats are watermelon, and also amaranth in milk my son left over from his cereal.

 

[schmije]

Quote:
BOSS is Black Oil Sunflower Seed. Your chicks may not realize that you're giving them food. Try putting some in your hand and holding it out to them. Or maybe put some on top of the food in the feeder. Once they get the idea they'll run to you for treats.

 

[ChksontheRun]

Mine got scratch, yogurt, grass clipping, and banana. I will say that mine only started enjoying treats about 2 weeks ago--they are just 9 weeks old. Now they come running every time they see me, and everything in my hand is interpreted as "tasty treat"

 

[suzettex5]

My girls, (and 1 boy) got a whole chicken carcass today. Major fun was had by all those cannabalistic dinosaurs!!!

 

[suzettex5]

Quote:
I wouldnt worry about the wild birds, alot of us free range our flocks (although 'freerange' means different things to different folks), but pretty much anywhere you go, if you have chickens freranging, you will have wild birds that are hoping to grab a quick bite of what ever your hens scratch up. So they do often 'share' food, intentionally, or not. I dont think its dangerous, but I'm no expert.

My scratch feed from the store has lots of seeds similar to wild bird seed and commercial housebird feed, so I dont think a tiny bit would hurt them, but as for your house birds sharing the same dish of food? I dunno- I guess it would be possible to share a cold, or upper resperatory system virus, so maybe that isnt such a great idea? Again, I'm far from being an expert, maybe someone with more knowlege will chime in.

I would be curious to know about the cuttle bone thing, since it seems like a good idea, and lessens waste, but you could face the same cross-contamination issues again.

Hows the meal worm farm thing goin? If my flock got wind of me farming meal worms they would probably learn how to pick locks and be burgaralizing my house to get to them while we sleep!!

 

[shopchicks]

Mine got:

An ear of corn on the cob (raw, husked)
An overripe banana
Stale French bread

They did not seem overly impressed with any of these items.

Tomorrow they'll probably get:

Grapes
Napa cabbage
Cottage cheese

 

[MotherJean]

Mine got:
cooked brown rice
peas
clover
bok choy
chickweed
scratch