4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[K-F-C]

I've read that it is good to give chickens Marmite on toast when they arrive (30th June for mine! Yay!) and as a regular treat. But has anyone tried the Marmite Rice Cakes? Or indeed, any other rice cakes?

[Budgies]

Hiya and welcome to the forum! So exciting, waiting for your hens!!

 

I know it says it somewhere (is it in Johannes' chicken keeping book?) about feeding toast but if I might give you a bit of advice, I'd avoid it personally. Toast and bread swells once the chooks have eaten it, and in some instances can cause a blockage in the chicken's crops. Wouldn't be a great start to chicken keeping!

 

As for rice cakes, I've no idea, maybe well crumbled up, but don't give them too much. Sorry to be boring but I'd hate to think of you having problems right at the off!

 

You'll soon find they develop a taste for all sorts of nice treats that actually are good for them, cabbage leaves, grapes, mealworms and sweetcorn to name a few. It's a great idea to have some of those things handy in the first week and try and tempt them in the afternoon once they've eaten most of their ration of pellets or meal. You'll soon have them eating out of your hand!!

[K-F-C]

Thanks...

 

I just saw some in the cupboard and realised that I had not read anything about them on here... am trying to read as much as possible before they arrive.

 

We grow a lot of our own veg so they should get lots of fruit and veggie treats and I'm defo gonna order some mealworms!

[Phosphorus]

Mine tend to have them when my son has some in the garden - he loves feeding them, whether I tell him not to or not Doesn't ever seem to do them any harm and they love them I would keep it to the odd treat though.

[Margaret]

Oh blow,

didnt realise bread was bad for my girlies, they love it and I use it to stop them eating the plants when I let them out to play!!

[*mummy_hen*]

Bread shouldn't be fed to any birds including ducks and geese. I always start saying to my husand when we are out and see people feeding birds bread 'should i go over and tell them...bla bla bla'

 

I'm sure a little rice cake wouldn't hurt them though, as long as this is occasional.

[Phosphorus]

Mine are always having bread

 

They're still boking

[Lewis]

Mine always have bread too

I make sure I run it under the tap first so it swells up before they eat it.

[Egluntyne]

I give mine bread too. Not in huge quantities or massive chunks. It hasn't killed them yet.

 

One note of caution re rice cakes.....check the ingredients for salt levels.

 

They always taste devilishly salty to me.

[PurpleTree]

The breeder I got my girls from said marmite was a good thing to give them because of the vitamin B in it. He said to mix it into the pellets with your hands, rub them all between your fingers until they stop feeling sticky - very gooey!

[C&T]

Mine have had marmite on toast - only a small piece of well toasted bread, once every few months or so.

 

But you have to put marmite on both sides, otherwise when it flips over they get bored and walk away...

 

Maybe it's just mine not blessed with brains...

[Scooby]

my girls would be very lucky to get a marmite rice cake off me - I LOVE them and always have them in the house