Why not spoil them?

[Ms Biddy]

Obesity in chickens contributes to fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome, egg binding, prolapse, heart problems, joint problems, decreased laying, heat stroke and decreased fertility to name a few.

So no, we don't spoil our chickens with treats. Their primary treat is being allowed outside to exercise and look for seeds and insects. As a boredom buster in summer they get some garden veggies that I chill for them. In cooler weather I like to ferment some of their feed. The veggies are low calorie cucumbers and zucchini, one or two a day split between whole flocks of 13+ birds. I throw a handful of meal worms or scratch to get them in their run if I need to, which is one or two worms per chicken two or three times a month at most. Mealworms and scratch are junk food in my opinion and should be used really sparingly just like me with french fries. If I had someone to be as strict with me as I am with my chickens, I'd be better off for it for sure.

 

[igorsMistress]

I mean, chickens will also fight themselves bloody over styrofoam packing peanuts.

I don't think we should use the 'oh, but it makes them so HAPPY' argument for anything. They'll be happy if you give them blueboard.

They obviously enjoy eating things other than the same feed over and over. I mean, how would you like to eat the same crap day in and day out? So yea, I think certain things make them happy and that's important as far as I'm concerned.

 

[llombardo]

First of all... I love Bob Hope!

My oldest chicken is going to be 11 in September. I have never put any of my chickens on a strict diet. I have a feeder that holds 30 lbs of feed and I fill it up with layer mash (and occasionally I'll mix in some cracked corn or oats...) and they will eat what they like when they like. "Jewel" my oldest hen (she is a Black Sex Link) loves cat food and if we don't keep her off of the back porch everyday her lunch will consist of a cup or two of Kit & Kaboodle

We typically give the whole flock some table scraps everyday (this could be anything). And they all get some peanuts or oats at least once a week.
Our Black Australorp hen "Bibby" is absolutely spoiled rotten. Every afternoon without fail (she is very faithful) she'll come walking up to the front porch, and beg and beg until someone comes out and throws her a handful of something (her favorite treat has always been rolled oats).

All of our chickens free range dawn till dusk, so at the end of the day their crops are bulging to no end

So, to sum it all up: Treat your chickens if you like, just make sure their 'feed' doesn't consist of potato chips or crackers. And that they always have access to a good healthy feed

They can eat peanuts? Mine went crazy over raisans.

 

[Dona Worry]

They obviously enjoy eating things other than the same feed over and over. I mean, how would you like to eat the same crap day in and day out? So yea, I think certain things make them happy and that's important as far as I'm concerned.

I'm not a chicken. Not sure they dwell on it the way we do.
My chickens get stupid excited over me tossing the exact same food that's in their feeder into the run for them to peck at, and the exact same food that is in there feeder dumped in a pan and soaked in water.
They don't get the occasionally frozen pea because they are living some miserable treat-less existence and need the peas to be happy. They get the frozen peas because I think it looks funny when they run around with peas in their beaks.
Your chickens would be totally content without anything besides your chicken feed. They don't need extras to be happy or healthy.

But if it brings you, their keeper, joy to give them treats, then go ahead and do it!

 

[snow5164]

[/QUOTE]They obviously enjoy eating things other than the same feed over and over. I mean, how would you like to eat the same crap day in and day out? So yea, I think certain things make them happy and that's important as far as I'm concerned.[/QUOTE]

And here lies the problem, they are not you, not human , they are animals.They don’t have cravings , don’t eat for entertainment , they can’t process that cake and cookies are not a meal .

WE are SUPPOSED to be the ones with the bigger brains in charge of their diet and well being.

If you think that “ treat” makes them “ happy” , go ahead !

My birds like the feed I put in three different places and my lab eats poop.To each their own

 

[Coop de Grass]

I give my chickens pasta as well as leafy veggies and carrots, and all kinds of fruits.

I haven't even gotten to the second page, but iot looks like we all have different ideas on what is and isn't a treat, as well as what it means to spoil your chickens. I cannot let mine roam free, so to me that would be a treat. It seems to be on the odd occasion when I can just sit outside and watch chicken tv for an hour or so.

It also depends on how many chickens you have, which I suppose determines how close you are with your chickens! I am on my second flock for reasons to complicated to explain, but though I "love" my girls, it's not quite the same as it was with the first flock... probably because I didn't spend that much time with them when they were small because I wasn't sure I would be able to keep them.

Anyway, I'd say that you have to feed them sensibly, and give them treats the way that you want to. As long as they keep feeding my soul, they deserve those treats!

 

[Seaecho]

I don't have any grass or even weeds to feed my chickens, here in the desert for most months of the year. There might be two months that I'll have some grass (not a lot) growing for them. So yeah, I feel a little guilty. They really enjoy that grass when they are lucky enough to have it! So that may also play a part in why I like to treat them.

 

[Morrigan]

I think it is a fine line between what is a "treat" and what is a normal and healthy thing for a chicken to eat. In the spring, when it is green here, the chickens eat a lot less bagged feed and more grass, dandelions, mallow, insects, etc. And, their eggs that time of year are a thing of beauty -- deep orange yolks, and dense whites.

When that green spring, goodness dries up, I like to keep their diet varied by giving them older, or buggy vegetables and fruit from my garden, sprouted fodder, as well as meal worms and sunflower seeds. I give them alfalfa in the winter. I can never replicate the "spring" eggs completely, but I can come close.

I'm also skeptical that the bagged food is "perfectly formulated" for the chickens. Bagged food has been formulated to be the absolutely cheapest way of keeping a chicken in reasonable enough health to lay as many eggs as possible. And, that is perfectly fine. It's convenient and inexpensive, is does the job, and is certainly worlds better then tossing in a loaf of Wonder Bread and a handful of scratch.

But, if bagged food was perfect, the supermarket eggs would look as good, or better, than the eggs from a free-ranging chicken eating a varied diet.

 

[Seaecho]

Good points, Morrigan. I also want to sprout a few things for my chickens and will this fall, when it gets cooler. For now, I'm trying lentils. No earthworms or grubs here! In fact, little in the way of bugs because we're so arid here that not a lot of bugs can tolerate it. I do supplement with alfalfa, as I have two horses. The chickens LOVE scratching through it! Gives them a lot of entertainment.

 

[igorsMistress]

They obviously enjoy eating things other than the same feed over and over. I mean, how would you like to eat the same crap day in and day out? So yea, I think certain things make them happy and that's important as far as I'm concerned.[/QUOTE]

And here lies the problem, they are not you, not human , they are animals.They don’t have cravings , don’t eat for entertainment , they can’t process that cake and cookies are not a meal .

WE are SUPPOSED to be the ones with the bigger brains in charge of their diet and well being.

If you think that “ treat” makes them “ happy” , go ahead !

My birds like the feed I put in three different places and my lab eats poop.To each their own[/QUOTE]

Surely you're kidding? There's nothing particularly"good" about prefab food. It's garbage just like the food most humans eat. All animal food is made to be as cheap as possible, that's why I choose to feed things other than premade food. To my dogs and my chickens both.

I never said that chickens have cravings. I said they enjoy having things other than their feed to eat. They do have likes and dislikes. To simplify for you: some will eat raisins, some won't, ever. Likes and dislikes based on observation.

When you become a chicken you can report back on cravings. That I wouldn't know about. If you feed your chickens cake and cookies, well that serms like a personal issue. I don't.