What treat did your chickies get today?

[Stephanie R]

Yesterday morning my girls got scrambled egg with leftover salad. In the afternoon they got a few peanuts and part of an apple.

 

[Spartan22]

Just curious - do I need to chop up everything, or do they like to pick at things?  Cleaning out the fridge today, and figure they might like some leftovers.  Also, just curious - are wilted veggies ok?  I had some cilantro that has the mushy spots in it, could I have given them that? 

Sorry this answer might be too late, wilted veggies is ok but I would have not given the mushy/moldy ones.

 

[Spartan22]

Bread & peppers

 

[Teila]

Mixed leaf lettuce, green beans and roast chicken

 

[Teila]

Hi MelodyC

I agree with Spartan22 in that I would not give my gals mushy/wilted veggies .. if I would not eat it, they do not get it either.

With the chopping up question, some chickens do like to break things up but my fussy bantams do not and I have to chop up everything for them. A whole head of lettuce or whole corn on the cob is a chicken trap!

The only 'large' food item they will attack is watermelon.

However, if you are chopping stuff up for them, make sure that it is chopped up small enough that it is not a choking hazard.

When they break bits off a large portion, they either break off bite sized pieces or break off a larger piece and ‘smash’ it down to bite sized. If chopped, they can just try and gobble it down, so chop small.

 

[MeepBeep]

Just curious - do I need to chop up everything, or do they like to pick at things?  Cleaning out the fridge today, and figure they might like some leftovers.  Also, just curious - are wilted veggies ok?  I had some cilantro that has the mushy spots in it, could I have given them that? 

Sorry this answer might be too late, wilted veggies is ok but I would have not given the mushy/moldy ones.

Yes, moldy bad, but wilted and even mushy to some degree are AOK with me and my chickens don't complain either as long as it's not total slime... A lot of times if I have a lot of wilted vegetables I'll cook them into something else for the chickens like an egg quiche or make a bread like stuffing with the veggies cooked in using left over bread or crackers...

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yes, moldy bad, but wilted and even mushy to some degree are AOK with me and my chickens don't complain either as long as it's not total slime... A lot of times if I have a lot of wilted vegetables I'll cook them into something else for the chickens like an egg quiche or make a bread like stuffing with the veggies cooked in using left over bread or crackers...

Yeah, I never heard of wilted being bad. Mushy fruit maybe because that usually leads to discoloration or mold and is bad by that point but I cant see it for lettuce. And besides, if it's just barely wilted or starting to i would still eat it

 

[MeepBeep]

Yes, moldy bad, but wilted and even mushy to some degree are AOK with me and my chickens don't complain either as long as it's not total slime... A lot of times if I have a lot of wilted vegetables I'll cook them into something else for the chickens like an egg quiche or make a bread like stuffing with the veggies cooked in using left over bread or crackers...

Yeah, I never heard of wilted being bad. Mushy fruit maybe because that usually leads to discoloration or mold and is bad by that point but I cant see it for lettuce. And besides, if it's just barely wilted or starting to i would still eat it

I believe there needs to be clarification...

Wilted defines a physical look or characteristic, it in no way is a measure of wholesomeness aka fit for consumption of the food...

There are four primary reason vegetation wilts..

1. Dehydration, in this case the food is almost always still wholesome... This is the primary cause of wilt in the fridge, drop it in a bowl of ice water for 30 minutes to re-hydrate it and it generally will look fresh again...
2. Exposure to temp extremes, in this case the food is almost always still wholesome... Example, freezing or cooking will wilt vegetables but they are still wholesome...
3. Disease, of course you should avoid diseased food as it's likely not wholesome...
4. Decay, rot and mold these can result in food that is not wholesome anymore, but there are exceptions for example fermentation, that is a controlled form of rot that produces wholesome food... Or controlled mold growth like that found in blue cheese that is still wholesome as well... Or in many cases the obvious 'rotten' parts can simply be removed and the remaining being wholesome...

As I have said multiple times I get a lot of day old produce and bread from a local grocery store for free, some looks great and perfect some is wilted and sometimes moldy but a vast majority of it is still perfectly wholesome... And during cold or hot weather if I store the food for a day or two or if the birds don't eat it right away it's almost always wilted, but it's still perfectly wholesome in most cases despite it's appearance...

At the end of the day you have to evaluate it on an individual basis and make a judgement call while remembering for example that a free range bird is almost certainly going to consume some moldy and wilted food in it's daily journeys, it's just part of nature and their bodies can handle it in moderation...

 

[MelodyC]

Ok, so either chop fine, or leave in big chunks. I'm thinking we need to cut back on their treats, as every time we go outside they come a running! LOL

 

[ShrekDawg]

I believe there needs to be clarification...

Wilted defines a physical look or characteristic, it in no way is a measure of wholesomeness aka fit for consumption of the food...

There are four primary reason vegetation wilts..

1. Dehydration, in this case the food is almost always still wholesome... This is the primary cause of wilt in the fridge, drop it in a bowl of ice water for 30 minutes to re-hydrate it and it generally will look fresh again...
2. Exposure to temp extremes, in this case the food is almost always still wholesome... Example, freezing or cooking will wilt vegetables but they are still wholesome...
3. Disease, of course you should avoid diseased food as it's likely not wholesome...
4. Decay, rot and mold these can result in food that is not wholesome anymore, but there are exceptions for example fermentation, that is a controlled form of rot that produces wholesome food... Or controlled mold growth like that found in blue cheese that is still wholesome as well... Or in many cases the obvious 'rotten' parts can simply be removed and the remaining being wholesome...

As I have said multiple times I get a lot of day old produce and bread from a local grocery store for free, some looks great and perfect some is wilted and sometimes moldy but a vast majority of it is still perfectly wholesome... And during cold or hot weather if I store the food for a day or two or if the birds don't eat it right away it's almost always wilted, but it's still perfectly wholesome in most cases despite it's appearance...

At the end of the day you have to evaluate it on an individual basis and make a judgement call while remembering for example that a free range bird is almost certainly going to consume some moldy and wilted food in it's daily journeys, it's just part of nature and their bodies can handle it in moderation...

Ahhh okay, this makes much more sense! Yeah, most of it probably just gets dehydrated or near the date but hadn't realized you could rehydrate it. And, yeah, my mom sometimes gets discountef produce but its only cheap, not free. Wonder if they have any free stuff.