Do you have chickens? Yes?
Welcome to the Backyard Chicken Club!
If your chickens are like my chickens, then they most definitely love treats.
Disclaimer: Treats are not meant to be their total food
supply. Make sure they have enough feed
and give the treats in small amounts.
Here’s what we give to our 10 girls:
1) Apples – poke a hole thru the
apple (I cut mine in half) and then string them together and hang on a
pole. It gives them something to do
(boredom buster) and gives them a sweet treat.
2) Cabbage – I do the same thing
as the apples. Cut in half and pull
string thru and hang on a pole. I hang
each half separately. Another boredom
buster! Keep your girls busy and there
will be less trouble (pecking each other).
3) Cucumbers – I cut the cucumbers
in half long ways and just lay them on the ground.
4) Cantaloupe – I cut up the cantaloupe (I save
some of the fruit for me) and throw the rest (seeds and rind) to the girls.
5) Corn ice cups – in the summer I
make ice cups to help them cool down. I take a can of corn and scoop some into
each of the cups in a cupcake pan, add water and freeze it. I use silicone cups – makes it a lot easier to
get the ice cups out. On a hot summer day, the girls love these!
Also, in the summer, I will make
ice cups with pieces of watermelon, tomatoes, cantaloupe, etc. Chickens can get over-heated during the hot
summer and the ice cups are a nice cooling treat.
6) Pumpkins - Cut a pumpkin into several pieces – leave the
seeds and guts and give it all to the girls.
My hubby just takes an ax and chops it into a few pieces.
7) Watermelon – Another treat for
a hot summer day. Cut up a watermelon –
they will eat it all!
8) Sprouts – I make sprouts from
lentils – another treat that the girls go crazy for! It takes 6 days for the sprouts to get to a
good size. Here are the instructions:
Day 1 – add ½ cup of lentils to a quart size mason jar
and fill with water. Put in a dark place
over night.
Day 2 – take jar from dark place –
drain out the water and then rinse the lentils twice (it is very helpful to
have a strainer type lid). Rinse them twice
a day. I usually rinse in the morning
and in the evening.
Day 3 – Rinse the lentils twice again (morning & evening). You will notice that they are starting to sprout.
Day 4 – Rinse the lentils twice
again (morning & evening). You will notice
that they are expanding in the jar.
Day 5 – rinse twice again (morning
& evening) – almost ready!
Day 6 – Ready!
9) Tomatoes – chickens are drawn
to the color red. I buy the small
tomatoes (cherry tomato size) and just throw them and watch the chickens run
for them.
10) Raspberries – the same as
tomatoes – they love the color red. I
just throw them and watch then chase each other to get to them first.
11) Banana peels – peel the banana
(and eat it yourself) and then give the peels to the girls. Nothing goes to waste!
12) Corn on the cob – another favorite. Peel the husk off and give it to them. They will peck every single piece of corn off
the cob.
13) Strawberries – when I buy
strawberries for myself, I cut off the tops and give them to the girls. It’s another favorite!
There are lots of treats that the chickens
can have. I pulled together this list
from various websites:
(This list is not all inclusive –
check out some chicken websites for more options.)
Enjoy your girls!
