Citychick Posted October 28, 2004 Share Posted October 28, 2004 My new Bantams are being given a few leftovers from cooking (all veggies), but can anyone recommend really tasty snacks for small beaks? Thanks, CC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted October 28, 2004 Share Posted October 28, 2004 Hi CC and welcome to the fold! My girls are big hens but I'm sure little beaks might also go berserk for tinned sweetcorn and grapes. Mine love them so much that I've had to with-hold them at the moment as they're driving me mad, demanding food with menaces. If you haven't seen the "demanding hens" posting, that's what's happening here! As far as garden things go, mine love fat juicy earthworms and earwigs must be the hen Mars Bar! They won't touch slugs or snails which is a pain but they chase flies and that's hysterical! Good luck with your new girls. Hens are great company - never a dull moment! Kate, Jennifer (Pepperpot) and Clarissa (Gingernut) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parmaviolet Posted October 28, 2004 Share Posted October 28, 2004 My GNRs like raisins a lot, they also pecked away at some left over cooked brown rice from last nights dinner. I haven't really given my girls much in the way of leftovers as A) we eat a lot of home made curry and B) we're greedy and eat it all up! I have been a bit mad and have been freezing my organic potato peelings ready to cook up for them on a cold day. The story is that you can give them a bit of cooked potato peel mashed in with their feed to warm them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted October 28, 2004 Share Posted October 28, 2004 (edited) Our four love sweetcorn and cooked spaghetti. Like Kate we had to with hold all treats for 5 days because they wouldn't eat any mash at all. They now only have a small amount of treats in the afternoon but we have also started giving them mixed corn at lunch times. Tonight they have just had a bowl of cold Ready Brek with raisins, home made bread crusts, jacket potato skins and leftover apple all mixed up. Yes - it was a 'grandchildren day'! Today we draped the spaghetti all around the run so they had to stretch for it - excercise for the chickens and kept the grandchildren occupied for 20 mins. Lesley Edited February 20, 2005 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted October 28, 2004 Share Posted October 28, 2004 PS ParmaViolet Glad you've refrained from giving your girls curry - the amount of poo is quite enough without it! How come twice as much comes OUT at that end as goes IN the other, and that's excluding the eggs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicki Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Mine hate lettuce, spinach and cauliflower but like rocket. I have started giving them some corn with the mash as there is no sign of any eggs and I was told they need a few more calories in the winter. They adore Simon's home made bread but preferably without marmite. They also love chasing insects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Pur chickens go made for any boiled vegetables, so we do that for them specially! The also go crazy for pasta, and sometimes we pop a bit of marmite on the pasta too, for an extra treat! They also like black raisons and some cornflakes. Florence took a brave step the other day towards the dogs dry dinner - and almost got her head bitten off! She seemed completely unphased and is a lot braver than our other chicken, Gerturde. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathan&lucy Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Our two are also very partial to tinned sweetcorn, and it proved a good way to get the shy one to start taking food from my hand- she just couldn't resist! I tried them with museli on Sat too and they really went for that (the plain sort with no sugar) although they had some trouble coping with the raisins, which was quite amusing to watch Another hit is uncooked couscous. All of these things they attack as though we haven't fed them for days! Lucy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parmaviolet Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 In my bid to eat more fruit, I bought a huge bag of apples only to be defeated by them yet again ( as an idea, I do like apples. In practice, I prefer chocolate!) They were going a bit soft, so I was going to throw them in my compost bin, but seeing something on the TV yesterday gave me an idea. Dried Apple Rings. I cut the apples into slices and dried them in a low oven. The girls LOVED them, and were chasing after each other for the last few pieces. This is great.....what with the cooked potato peelings which they are also very keen on. Anyone else got more ideas for leftovers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Fisher Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 Some of my hens over the years have eaten potatoes in various forms and some have eaten apples in various forms. *All* my hens (to date) have loved apple pips. The inside of my Eglu looks as though a pillow has burst inside it. Zen is moulting - with a passion. Her zebra-striped (black and white) feathers have made a carpet inside and are blowing about outside too. Yet she's not showing any signs of the sad scruffiness which usually accompanies moulting. When she get her winter plumage I expect her to begin laying again. I'll keep you posted! Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 A favourite snack for Sybil and Pollo is left over cooked rice. They clear the dish in seconds - I suspect that cooked white rice is the chicken equivalent of junk food. Anyway this would be a great treat in small quantities for small bantam beaks. Another favourite is cabbage or any brassica leaves. I hang them up in the eglu from a hook or for individual leaves use a plastic clip. There are photos of this on the citychicken website photo album (link from the Omlet site) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Hi My girls go crazy over stale granary bread! there's a terrific local bakery here that makes a loaf called a Norfolk Blob and the girls think it is fantastic. They also like marmite on toast. all the best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie Posted November 7, 2004 Share Posted November 7, 2004 All our hens seem to have individual tastes, but it seems as though sweetcorn is generally quite a hit. I give mine corn-on-the-cob - it definitely keeps them occupied for some time If I have to leave them in the run I tie it up on the sides, so they have something to give them a bit of interest. Also found that broad beans go down quite well too! Best wishes Stephanie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geraldine Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 My girls go beserk for lettuce though not round lettuce. They really like little gems and iceberg. I have had to ration it - they have three or four leaves at lunch time and then in the evening when we want to get them in the pen. During the summer, they even seemed to know the lettuce time and would come clucking into the house, pecking and scratching at all the bits on the carpet and straight into the office when they thought that they were late for lettuce! Its very hard making a phone call when a chicken suddenly flaps up onto your desk and looks at you with menace. Still it can be a conversation point with a client sometimes if they are not too starchy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 Geraldine, Snap! My girls are just the same but they have decided that treat time should get earlier every day! They like iceberg lettuce too but sweetcorn and boiled rice are their current favourites. They make a racket in the garden or tap on the kitchen window when they think their treats have been forgotten. Unfortunately just lately, they think treat time comes straight after breakfast! My poor neighbours.....! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 Hi Cold Pasta. Its the treat of the moment and they chase each other round and round the garden if one gets hold of a piece. for those who like detail, they seem to prefer fusilli! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 Our four are off treats again for a couple of days as they are refusing to eat their proper food and are holding out for treats. This is because we have changed from mash to pellets. We mixed some pellets with mash before it ran out, hoping that would work but it didn't. Yesterday all of them were clamouring by the gate every time I walked past the window or opened the back door but only had treats (raisins) at 3.15. Today they only have plenty of pellets and water Lesley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 Diane and millie are often in the run for a couple of hours in the morning before I have a chance to let them out - and they eat loads of 'proper food' then - no alternative. Then they have a few hours in the garden - eating constantly - goodness knows what, but our garden is clearly full of interesting chicken grub - mostly slugs, snails and worms I think - but they seem to eat a lot of dirt as well. They don't get 'treats' until I have to do the afternoon school run and they need to go back into their run - it seems to work quite well this way - although some days they only get a very short time out of the run. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 Today they only have plenty of pellets and water Change of plan! Mrs White laid her first egg today So couldn't deny her a treat could I, so they all got spaghetti. Lesley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahJo Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 Well done Mrs White .... bet the others put her up to it when they saw more pellets!!!haha . Sarah Ginger Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 Hi I tried mine on pellets they would not touch them at all so I had to buy mash again luckily we have a mill near by that sells mash in 25kg bags for under a fiver and I treated them to some mixed corn and grit. nicola. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted November 11, 2004 Share Posted November 11, 2004 Well - they've still only got pellets tomorrow and the next day..... We buy the organic mash usually but it was out of date when we went to buy it last week so we bought organic pellets instead. It's too expensive to just abandon. They get organic mixed corn as well They obviously don't know when they're well off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glowingsheep Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 Favourites: - cooked potato - stalk of broccoli and cauliflower, they peck at these for ages - raisins - apple cores - tomato, esp cherry ones Dislikes - parsnip - lettuce leaves (no, really) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 14, 2004 Share Posted November 14, 2004 Our two love a bit of cold porriage in the mornings. For some reason they like eating their feathers...or at least i've seen them try one or two (yuck)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted November 14, 2004 Share Posted November 14, 2004 Hi the tips are great. Will try raisens and sweetcorn. At the moment ours go wild for Pasta - but I do have to say that they tend to have fads so it all might change next week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
