Treats

[Squizz]

What type of treats can I feed my chooks and how often? Is cereal ok like cornflakes and rice krispies or are these too salty and should grapes be cut in half or smaller? Thank you

[Flummery]

Well, I have precisely 5 days' experience so maybe you shouldn't listen to me! Processed cereals might be salty - not sure, but I know you can make them up a bit of poridge from oats and water. Particularly in the cold weather they appreciate this. Mine have just had some soaked home-made bread crust torn up small and scattered in their run. They loved it - and I know it doesn't have much salt in.
They do love their greens too. I've been cultivating a big patch of chickweed in the geeenhouse which I'm taking in a bunch a day for them. And of course, the classic chicken treat is mixed corn but it's very fattening and not good for them in quantity. I've heard it described as 'chocolate for chickens' and our supplier siad it's like doughnuts! Nice but naughty. I give them a small handful between the four of them each evening.
A few dried mealworms go down well too, as do grapes, but mine were's keen on raisins though some people's chickens will kill for them.

I'm sure you'll get loads more advice.

PS I cut up the grapes but I'm not sure if you need to.

[MaureenHall]

If they've never had grapes (or cherry toms ) before and they're not sure what to do with them, cut them in half. Mine just grab and run with anything I drop in the run now
Only give treats late on in the day, make sure they've eaten all their "rations" first, that way you'll be sure they're getting the right nutrition from their pellets or mash before they fill up on naughties. A sprinkling of mixed corn in the run makes them work for their treats too

[Eyren]

I cut grapes in half, but only because my bantams find them a bit big otherwise. They also love tinned sweetcorn (give in moderation - after all, it's pretty much what the French use to fatten geese for foie gras!). Small moist treats are a great way to dose them with worming powder too!

As an alternative to mixed corn, I sometimes buy indigo wheat from Wiggly Wigglers - it's higher in protein than maize or normal wheat, so a bit healthier. Sunflower hearts are also popular but should be fed only in very small quantities, as too much sunflower oil is apparently bad for them.

I also give mine the occasional over-ripe banana, or a wrinkly apple (cut in half so they can peck at the flesh). I put these larger treats into one of those rectangular cages sold as wild bird feeders, for use with fat blocks - it stops the food getting trampled or left around the garden (I'm extra careful since we had rats before Christmas - now gone, thankfully!).

Any kind of greens are good for healthy treats - my pekins love parsley, spinach and especially chard, but are not keen on broccoli. The leaves can be packed into the fat-block cage and left for them to peck at...

[Nicos]

Mine love raisins and sultanas- I also give them a small handful of crushed maize or porridge oats every couple of hours - just to call them to me so they don't get too independent!

Just a small amount of each to call them over!

[Suechooks]

Live white fishing maggots are the current fave at Suechooks! You need a strong stomach to watch them heaving about in the box but good protein. I have to flick them out with a plant label! My ex-batts were a bit bemused at first but soon got the message!

[KimT]

They will love grapes and tomatoes, pasta, rice, bread mash spud, cabbage and especially dried mealworms expensive but they will love em!

I know it’s hard but try not to feed them to many treats as it will make them fat say's she who spoils her girls!

[RedThorn]

We halve our grapes other than that, Chard & Perpetual spinach, Pasta, Rice, Corn, dried meal worms, mashed potato and other bits and pieces

Treats in favourites order

Meal Worms
Chard
Perpetual Spinach
Grapes
Mash
Pasta
Rice
Corn

It's so hard not to spoil them too much!

[MaureenHall]

If you want a good giggle, give them some cooked spaghetti It's like watching then dashing around with long white worms dangling from their beaks, and there's always someone who wants "that" bit chop it up a bit, but not too much

[RedThorn]

Agreed Aunty Mo it's great fun watching

[Twinkle]

ours get....

grapes (mainly for giving them wormer)
sweetcorn
scrapings from the tin of tuna, plus when I drain the oil from the can I mix it with some layers pellets for them
any leftovers (not usually that many as we're a "clean plates" house mostly")
any cold pasta or mashed potato going spare

I use feed wheat (handful between 7) scattered into the run to get them to come in on an evening... It's got now so that all I have to do is bang on the wheat bin with the scoop and they come running... We have 3 acres and they go all over, so nowt wrong with their hearing.

[Twinkle]

Agreed Aunty Mo it's great fun watching

just reminded me
We had an out of date fromage frais which nobody would eat so I put it out for the hens.... should have carried a health warning as they all dived into it head first... ever seen 6 hens with a raspberry yogurt face pack ???

[MaureenHall]

That deserved a photo too With captions of course!

[lynda66]

mine love soaked cat biccies, chicken carcasses and any other meat, shredded wheat, pasta, rice, cat food, sweetcorn, beans and especially love manky plums and peanut butter on toast ..... and after recently eating one of the cockerels for dinner, can definitely say their extras have definitely not made them fat, he was all meat .... they do get lots of excercise chasing strange cats out of the garden though

[frias]

My DIL gave me some yogurt no-one would eat, so I also gave it to the girls. It should contain a warning as not only do they get covered so does anyone else in shaking distance.