Just wanting to know if their is any treats that i could give to my chickens,
and chicks. does any one know of any??
I gave them bugs, and grass..
Tracey
Does anyone know of any treats for chickens?
There's nothing they like more than bugs, and of all the bugs, the earthworm and grub get highest ratings from my girls. Thankfully, they like Japanese beetles, too.
Mine get lettuce and other greens, leftover fruit (but not banana), and they LOVE cleaning out a watermelon or pumpkin half.
Thanks Zeppy!! Have you heared any thing from catncrows yet??? I hope her Hen is okay.. I hope she is okay if the poor thing didn't make it but I think the hen will be okay i hope...
My son's bus driver said to help push the egg out if it broke but
that i think is bad for the hens ribbs..
Tracey
Hey Tracey, I agree with Zeppy! The more of the Creepy Crawleys , the happier the little ones are! I give mine fruit too, but..Zeppy, Why not Bananas? I give them to mine and they love them! Is there something about bananas I should know about?!!!
I give my chickens oil seed sunflower seeds . They just love them .
Linda
Mommagoose, Now we are talking!!! Mine get a daily treat of wildbird seed, the sunflower seeds in it are always the first to dissappear!
Don't know! Someone told me no bananas, and I didn't even question it. :) Plus, I never have any leftover bananas: the ripe ones are eaten, and the overripe become banana bread. And the peels go into the compost!
Another thing chickens love is shredded leaves, a bale of straw, or grass clippings. These things bring up the worms, and the birds just love scratching through a loose surface. This keeps them very busy, and busy hens are happy hens.
Eu, Zeppy,mommagoose,
I will be back on wensday my other computer is down...
Thanks for the treat ideas..
Eu, hows the parents doing any better??? How are your little chicks and chickens???
Tracey
Thanks for asking Tracey! Mom and dad are great! And the chickies are really growing! Just trying , right now , to keep them protected from predators that have come out of the woodwork around here , all at once!
Zeppy, mine go nuts over bananas and it hasn't seemed to hurt them yet!
I had one hen who was crazy about grapes, but I always broke them up first, b/c I was afraid they'd get stuck in her crop.
Mine love the little bits of avacado that are left in the peel, spaghetti, lettuce, most everything except onions, peppers and garlic. Too bad about the onions and peppers! I was hoping that I could feed them to the girls without the DH noticing! LOL! Just like feeding your veges to the dog, I guess :) Except they won't help me out with that one!
Has anyone else given their chickens the fuzzy caterpillars, only to have them look at them with a leary eye ? Mine cock their heads back and forth as if trying to figure out what they are, and then back off and ignore them. They never do eat them. I find that so strange, because they will eat anything else, including each other if given the chance.
They love the big green horned tomatoe worms I pick off the tomatoe plants. But fuzzy caterpillars.......no way.
I asked on another thread but will ask here too. How soon can they start having all these goodies? Mine are on day 10 (9th day here). So far their diet has been pretty boring. LOL They probably would have enjoyed some of the leftovers from our chicken wraps (lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers) but we never considered giving any to the poor chicks! The bunnies did enjoy them. Ahem.
Peggie, funny you mention that: I broke open a tent caterpillar nest and my hens looked at it and did nothing.
Well, maybe the caterpillars are bad for them. I say, trust the chickens! :)
Badseed, I give me girls treats. They are 7 days old. What I do ( see the fabulous idea from classroom@ the coop thread) is give them a little corn and call "HERE chickchickchickchick" and they have learned it means yummy food. 10 out of 13 chicks clamor to come see me now, which will be helpful later when they are in the big world, plus it's just so darn cute!
That being said, they need to eat primarily chick starter.
I've also tried peas, rice, cucumber and hard boiled egg. The corn is the favorite, but cucumber and egg go over pretty well too. You have to try it. it is so funny!
Thank you ByH! You are a wonderful chicken mentor like so many here. :)
I think I only have canned corn on hand so I'll have to see what other goodies I have around.
You know if the chicks were with their actual Moms they would be eating as soon as they could hop out of the nest and follow her around. They would eat anything that moved or that they could catch anyway! And definitely anything that their Mom would scratch for them! I think all animals have an inborn instinct about what is good for them and what isnt! We all have the tendency to treat our new babies like they were human and try to protect them toooo much! If they were "Aunatural"(sp) They would definitely not be so picky about what they ate, or from where it came!!!
We've always given them small worms and roly polies from day one. They'll be outside in a chicken wire enclosure during daytimes anyway, and it's fun to watch them try to catch little flying bugs.
I've been giving mine alfala and mung bean sprouts and they go nuts for them. I assume they're good for them since they're chock full of vitamins. However, I just give them a little bit each day because I don't want them filling up on junk food and turning up their beaks at the chick starter.
Eu, I'm happy for you and your chicks too ..
Why not bananas???
Tracey
It is comical watching them try to catch flying bugs. They surely must like carrots......their eyesight to see those little bugs is amazing. LOL
Evidently they don't get quite enough of them though..... their night- vision is worse than mine ! LOL
Mine love all the flawed tomatoes, worms and all,........ from the summer garden. They love just about anything that comes from the garden.
I meant that I don't *know* where or why "no bananas." I just heard it and didn't do it. Way for me to be a critical thinker, huh.
Mine get everything. We are farmers and have lots of culls and leftovers after the trucks are loaded out and rolling.. My chickens and goats get all we grow.. We have peanuts, soybeans, corn(stalk and ears), okra, tomaotes, squash, cantelope and one of their favorites is watermelon.. They clean down to the shell and leave it as thin as paper..lol.. Also, peas, butterbeans, rice, any pastas , breads, cheese, you name it, they love it.. This has worked for 35 years, they are eating whatever is in season, and that is a lot here in the south..When penned for a long time, the greens seem to be a favorite,,Turnips, collards, mustard...
Larkie
If you all are looking for an easy green to grow for your chickens, swiss chard is about as easy as it gets and provides greens all summer. It doesn't bolt like lettuce, collards, etc. The Bright Lights mix is really pretty colors too.
I am planting pumpkins and squash for my hens to eat next fall and winter. The chickens also love those zuchinni and yellow squash that get too big to eat too.
Avocados are not good for birds. If they aren't good for birds I would think they wouldn't be good for chicks.
why is that makshi?
I've given my chickens avocado rinds and they seem to really enjoy it. But if it is bad for them, I'll stop. What have you heard?I'd love to know more about that.
I gave my chicks some boiled egg yolk and avocado mixed together (left over from a recipe) and they seemed fine. Of course, they don't get much, because I like to eat it myself!
I agree with Eufaula, that they are pretty good about picking out what to eat and not eat.
I would have to agree with Eufaula, BackyardHens on that one..
Tracey
One of my chicken books says certain fruit, fruit skins or rinds will give an off flavor to the eggs. But this book, which is not my favorite because of things like this, never details what fruit and what rinds.
Obviously if you all are feeding bananas and avocados and not noticing any effect on the eggs, there must not be a problem.
The bananas are okay just don't give them the peel...
Tracey
Well my chickies about blew out the side of the pen trying to get to an apple slice so my daughter gave it to them. They didn't like it. LOL They went back to attacking the spider they had before she got there....
Just getting set to plant my garden. I'll be sure to plant a few "goodies" for my girl Guinevere - Ah shucks - guess Poorbird can have some to if he's a good boy and lays off the attacks.
catncrows,
How is the hen doing ????
avocados can cause edema in birds and death.
I'll be skipping the avocados, then!
I really think that is a good idea. I sure wouldn't want to think I might have killed my babies.
Look at bad day...
I throw my gals opened bananas and they never eat the peel.
The only thing I ever saw hurt a chicken that they ate, was my mother's chicken ate a big toad ( she was horrified when she caught her, but it was too late) and then very soon afterwards had a seizure and died. I'm not 100% sure if they are related or not.
Backyard that is a sad thing for the chicken. You know I wish I could do better at eating only veggies and such and not eating anything that has been alive. The older I get the more it bothers me.
I found this on avocados and birds;
"On a practical level, it should be advocated not to offer any part of avocado trees to birds even as perches or as chewing devices. Birds should not be caged or flighted under or near avocado tree groves where falling leaves or fruit may lead to serious or fatal consequences. If the circumstance arises where the possibility of avocado poisoning exists, take your bird to your avian veterinarian as soon as possible. Have your veterinarian contact either the National Animal Poison Control Center or the Veterinary Poison Center in Urbane, Illinois, at the University of Illinois, School of Veterinary Medicine, (800) 548-2423.
Robert Clipshnm, DVM, previously owned the California Exotics Clinic. He currently writes and consults on avian medicine and surgery."
This is mostly targeted at "exotic birds" like parrots, but I'd count chickens in there as well.
Treats? Well, grapes are a favorite, cooked pasta (chickens running with spaghetti is a wonderful sight), and I get "broken" melons from local markets, and they sometimes almost disappear into a watermelon...
Margo
Thanks Catmad for the post.