What treats do you give your chickens?

[Byrd gal]

HI LizzyJo.

What part of Northwest, Ohio? I am originally from Cincinnati, Ohio and would like to know. It is not often you meet someone from your area. Occasionally I think about a meet up with people but they are usually too far away. I am currently living in northern KY. Welcome by the way!

Southwest here im close to cincinnati and ky

 

[Sycamore Hill Chicks]

Hello! I'm starting this thread to see what treats everyone gives their chickens (as stated in the title). As of now, I don't have a proper calcium container for my girls, so I make it up to them by giving them a daily bowl with baked & crushed egg shells and whatever table scraps/treats I have on hand. If I don't have table scraps, I'll make them something. #spoiled chickens. Today they got: half a mashed banana, some oatmeal, raisins, cranberries, cabbage, scratch, a couple chunks of stale bread, and a tiny bit of cinnamon for respiratory health (this isn't a regular thing). Sometimes I'll even scramble an egg for them and add that too. Aside from this, I'll occasionally give them some mealworms and wilting lettuce/kale. What does everyone else give their chickens?

I give about 1/4 cup of mealworms/sunflower seeds ( 1 tablespoon per chicken) to my flock of 4. Sometimes I give greens instead.

 

[icy_flames]

My flock's favorite treat is definitely hard boiled eggs mashed up. Their first treat as babies. Gone in seconds.

organic scratch in their run ( they get about half a cup every morning), kale , broccoli, carrots, cabbage, basil, canned corn, sweet potatoes, flaxseed.

Mine do NOT like mealworms

 

[DouglasB]

Broccolli, strawberries, sweet potatoes, parsley, crickets, grasshoppers, carrots, seedless watermelon scratch. All in moderation but these are what I feed. Oh, i forgot sometimes scrambled eggs.

 

[RebeccaRN]

Ill throw out a few fruits and veges during the day, but they free range and have feed out free choice. I usually give a bedtime treat on cold evenings of canned salmon, corn, scrambled eggs, fermented scratch with BOSS that kind of thing.

 

[NicevilleJenn]

Oh my goodness do they love meat. Whenever we eat t-bone we throw in the bones and the velociraptors get to work and pick it clean. They also love chili. Remember, they can't taste spice.

Never thought of chili! We have a dog, so she gets almost all of the table scraps, though she'll have to do without the chili now. The girls can have it and I can have a gas-free dog and avoid the bad air asphyxiation!

I give fruit and veggie scraps; watermelon rinds in the summer are the best. When we first built the coop and pen, I actually planted herbs in the pen surrounded by a wire cage so the girls could eat the leaves without destroying the plants.

I have a metal food dispenser (as from a rodent habitat) mounted in the pen in which I keep a steady supply of crushed oyster shells. It's easier to fill that than to mess with egg shells.

Apparently I feed them wild bird suet, too. I had a feeder hanging low to the ground and the girls discovered it. I had fun watching them stand on their tiptoes to reach it until one girl strained her neck muscles. Luckily she recovered well, but I lowered the feeder after that incident.

My girls free range during the day, though the pen is always open so they have access to clean water and layer pellets. I'm always a bit surprised to see how much feed they consume even though they have access to the whole yard. Now that I think about it, though, I have seen the dog eat their feed pellets, too. Weirdo.

Like a previous poster, I give the girls leftover bait. They don't care much for worms, surprisingly, but they *adore* crickets. Two or three times a summer I'll even go get a bag especially for them.

I do give them a quantity of scratch grains each morning when I free them from the coop. When I open the pen door the girls think I'm the Pied Piper. I have my own personal feathered entourage as I walk around to the shed side to get the grains. It makes my day to hear them chattering away. "Hey, good morning, big tall chicken. Where you got the goodies stashed? We're right here, supporting you."

"Oh, girls! She's getting the good stuff. Oh man, oh man. Here she comes. Get ready. Oh, my gosh! It's raining food from heaven! Hey you lazy bones in the coop; the good stuff's here!"

"OHHH!! Wait for us! We're coming!"

 

[Egg Snatcher]

Mine get cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers during the summer when we have a garden. Pumpkins in the fall after Halloween. During winter they get what ever fruit that goes bad. They also get to free range some.

 

[EverV]

Nice! We've had a huge snow storm (1 1/2 feet-that's a ton for us) here and the chickens, very mad at us, have been hiding in their coop all day. I think they blame their snowy run on us. The part of the run with the food and water was covered, but they're still annoyed about losing their leg space. To make it up for them, I've been giving them a medicine measuring cup full of oatmeal as well as a couple raisins cranberries each, a small handful of scratch, and a little cinnamon and cayenne pepper. It does sound like a lot, but it doesn't even cover the bottom of the tiny bowl when I spread it out. When I bring the bowl back inside, my dog knows what was in it and begs me to let him lick the bowl which I (usually) let him do once he's sat nicely. Today I also gave them some kale and lettuce that was just starting to droop. However, one was still in the nesting box when I brought the bowl out, and therefore missed out . She'll be so mad later.

 

[salshep20]

Nice! We've had a huge snow storm (1 1/2 feet-that's a ton for us) here and the chickens, very mad at us, have been hiding in their coop all day. I think they blame their snowy run on us. The part of the run with the food and water was covered, but they're still annoyed about losing their leg space. To make it up for them, I've been giving them a medicine measuring cup full of oatmeal as well as a couple raisins cranberries each, a small handful of scratch, and a little cinnamon and cayenne pepper. It does sound like a lot, but it doesn't even cover the bottom of the tiny bowl when I spread it out. When I bring the bowl back inside, my dog knows what was in it and begs me to let him lick the bowl which I (usually) let him do once he's sat nicely. Today I also gave them some kale and lettuce that was just starting to droop. However, one was still in the nesting box when I brought the bowl out, and therefore missed out . She'll be so mad later.

feed mine fruits watermelon bannas bad bread leftover waffles grits and berries

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

I feed mine mealworms, but some of them don't eat them . I also feed them diced apples now that they figured out they like them. Watermelon is a favorite, too!