treats for chickens

[lyn]

hello everyone from sunny north wales (for a change) my chickens are doing really well now and i am wondering how often i can give them treats like cooked spud peelings carrots and stuff i already give them over ripe toms which my son has grown and they love them especially ellie the sussex white she goes mad for them all help much appreciated
Lyn

[Snadger]

Mine love tomatoes as well!

I've been getting my hands slapped on another chucky forum for feeding mine treats though!
I used to give them mixed corn, bread and a cabbage a day as well as as many layers pellets as they can eat!

Now they still get the layers pellets but only a small amount of mixed corn and only a few cabbage leaves per day! (I still sneak them in a bit bread now and again though)

There diet seems to be working for them as 6 out of 10 are now laying, their combs are red and they look to be putting on a bit of weight. (they were quite emaciated when I got them!)

[MaureenHall]

I wait until late evening before giving them any treats, by that time they've usually had enough of the pellets. I give them a handful of mixed corn scattered over the run, and if there's any odd veggy bits around, they have those too. I sometimes make up a "mash" with pellets, cooked potatoes and warm water, especially if they've had a crappy day in the rain - they love that. I used to buy them a cabbage every so often and hang it up for them to jump up to get at, but since I've had the lottie, I've been cutting off cabbage leaves that have caterpillars on and giving them that. If I get a glut of cabbages, they'll be having more

[kirsty b]

Mine are going mad for blackberries at the moment. The brambles are staging a comeback on the plot and I noticed the girls scrapping over any that fall in the run so I pick a handful for them every evening while I'm down there.
(I'm picking the blackberries for jam anyway before I cut them back)

[terrier]

...and dont' forget the strawberries, my lot would kill for a strawb, any that have been attacked by slugs are their special treats.

[Jardiniere]

not to mention what someone earlier called Sushi for chickens - slugs and snails.

[Birdie Wife]

...and dont' forget the strawberries, my lot would kill for a strawb, any that have been attacked by slugs are their special treats.

Mine too, it's so funny watching them swoop on a strawberry and run around being chased by the others! Echo Maureen's comments about not feeding any treats until late afternoon/evening though, especially corn at this time of year - it burns quite hot and slow in their digestion so it's good when the weather is cold and they need a bit of central heating through the night, but at this time of the year I worry (maybe un-necessarily) that it can make them uncomfortably hot.

[milly2306]

hi
mine love nothing better than cooked pasta tubes. they run around with them on the end of their beaks, it looks really funy
xxxmillyxxx

[Twinkle]

I had an out of date fromage frais that nobody wanted the other day and gave it to the girls as a treat....

In the ensuing scramble for it, they all dived straight for it, resulting in creamy facepacks for 6 out of the 7..... hilarious, till I had to go in and catch them later on to clean them up a bit.

[MaureenHall]

Oh yes, mine love cooked spaghetti too - I think they think it's long white worms

[sunflower]

Chicken chocolate.....................................GRAPES!!! Mine go mad for them. It takes me about 15 minutes to cut up the large grapes into peck size pieces, then 1 minute for my hens to scoff the lot. Then, they spend the next 5 minutes looking at the empty dish making very sad noises because all the grapes are gone!

[frias]

Mine too, it's so funny watching them swoop on a strawberry and run around being chased by the others! Echo Maureen's comments about not feeding any treats until late afternoon/evening though, especially corn at this time of year - it burns quite hot and slow in their digestion so it's good when the weather is cold and they need a bit of central heating through the night, but at this time of the year I worry (maybe un-necessarily) that it can make them uncomfortably hot.

Now I'm wondering If I am doing things all wrong. I give mine a handful of mixed corn every evening as a bribe to get them back in the run. I don't like them free ranging in the garden if I'm watching TV is case Mr Fox pays us a visit. I started on layers mash and have been gradually introducing pellets but they don't like them so have gone back to mash which seems to have corn in anyway. The pellets I now mix with a little poultry spice and warm water, along with any veg and give this in the afternoon. They love it.

[Bephlam]

The thought of devouring a slug or snail makes me feel quite ill! But, I have hundreds of the blighters in my garden, so I can't wait to see them slowly disappear!

[frias]

Wait 'til they devour a frog. Now that does make you fel ill!