Charley Devouring Fresh Romaine Lettuce
My morning ritual for my hens is complete by giving them fresh treats. Chickens love a treat, and I know my hens, Charley, a White-Crested Blue Polish hen, and Dahlia, a Silver Spangled Hamburg hen, look forward to their special treat each morning. Treats are given in addition to their endless bucket of chicken laying mash and plenty of fresh water.
Remember, what your hen eats will determine the flavor of her eggs. Avoid giving your hens anything with strong flavors such as onion and garlic greens.
Examples of great treats for chickens are fresh lettuces, sorrel, spinach, chard, corn on the cob, and cut up fruit (apples,figs, peaches, strawberries). Giving them a fresh treat is healthy, and occupies them in a good way.
You can train your hens to eat their treats out of your hand, too. It is a great way to bond with your chickens. Please share if you give your chickens special treats. Please comment on what treats you give your chickens.
VintageGardenGal Tidbit Thyme…..
Recently, online design and trend magazine, Standard Magazine, Fall 2011, gave VintageGardenGal’s hens and chicken coop a few cameos. Check out their trendy article on diverse chicken coops.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
What lucky chickens you have!
Hi Bonnie,
We give our flock plain Kefir. They absolutely love the tangy taste of fermented raw milk and the benefits are so good for them: calcium, protein and more probiotics than yoghurt. The girls really go crazy for it!
I noticed that you do not have a rooster, Bonnie. May I ask why you chose not to have one? We always suffer the dynamics of including a rooster in our flock. But boy do we have funny stories about him!
Best,
Amanda
Amanda, I’ve never heard of kefir for chickens. Wow, I bet they love it. No roosters in my flock presently for the neighbor’s sake. Thanks for sharing…VintageGardenGal
I steam in the microwave a huge chunk of pumpkin or other hard squash. The cool it a bit and rake it well with a fork. I then spinkle on acidophulus and Tumeric, sometime raw garlic…. so we boost the immune system, and get rid of worms! Plus the girl love it and pick at it all day until nothing is left. Whatever the treat, when they see me open the back door the come runnin’ as fast as they can. I love to watch my girls run.
Lucky hens, too.
Oh and — Kefer or plain greek yogurt is wonderful for hens. They like it with grated apple, maybe some flax seeds or other fruit. Keeping their intestines happy keeps then healthy.
Hi Bonnie, My girls thoroughly enjoy warm cooked oatmeal, kale, watermelon, grapes and watermelon. On occasion I also give them crickets and mealworms. Their favorite. I want to thank you for all your interesting info and stories. Love it. Patti
Wow, lucky hens….
I just added another Henhouse to my series. This makes #6. One of the unique elements in Joey’s henhouse is his homemade oystershell dispenser to provide the chickens with grit all winter. Great idea.
Commonweeder, great idea. I’ve never heard of that….VintageGardenGal
My Brahamas and Ameracaunas go crazy for Cheerios. They’ll jump up in the air for their treat.
Liza, our hens for ripe grapes on the vines. I have never tried Cherrios. Thanks for sharing…VintageGardenGal
Hi Bonnie, My girls are absolutely fascinating!! They Love Raisin Bran and whote wheat plain spaghetti. They also really enjoy tomatoes and cooked sweet potatoes. As someone else said, they come running when ever they hear me opening the back door and they want to eat out of my hand. They actually seem to know their names when I talk to them and call each one to eat. If they have been in their open pen when we have gone out for a while they come running for us to open the gate to greet us together with our 2 mini dachshunds. We can’t tell who is barking or who is clucking to greet us. I am a three time cancer survivor and am battling Chronic Kidney Disease, and my husband says it is music to his ears when he hears me talking and laughing with my girls. I don’t know what we would do with out these wonderfully beautiful chickens. I had no idea three years ago how much fun and entertaining they would be.
Mother Nature, chickens have the most wonderful and colorful personalities. And yes, they can be very therapeutic. Thanks for your wonderful comment…Bonnie