Is your dog's unusual barking a secret code for something mysterious?

[SteveC]

Can anyone advise me what makes for a good green / healthy treat for the girls? I've tried the following:

 

Brocolli (Fresh) - Not interested

Grass Cuttings (Fresh) - Gobbled the lot up!

Mixed Corn - Loved it!

Meal Worms - Loved it!

 

Don't know what to try next - really expected the Brocolli to be a winner!

 

Help please!

[Tweety]

You might find that they will eat the broccoli if you cook it first. My girls won't touch it raw. Their favourite green treat is Spring Greens - but they prefer that raw. Fussy or what!

 

Be careful with the grass cuttings - I have read somewhere that they can cause crop problems.

[TheFeatheredFiend]

Mashed sweet potato and/or swede. Our girls for mad for it!

Grapes.

Wholewheat spagehetti.

[Duncan08]

Our girls only like their Brocolli cooked, just stick any veg in a bowl with a little water and microwave it for a couple of minutes to soften it up.

The also love green beans, lettuce, cabbage, shaved carrots, sweetcorn, apple, oats, I think their favourite is the green beans - all the veg cooked, they are not keen on new potatoes (Must BE COOKED).

they will eat bread but don't go mad for it.

We have been digging out a patio and have been giving them clumps of grass, now they love scratching about in that!

Don't know what they will do when it runs out, I am not chopping up the rest of the lawn for them, although i have read that someone sows grass clumps in trays for their chooks.

Dried Meal Works are defintely the all time favourite though.

[Henergy]

Mine are the fussiest - I've tried dandelions, cooked brocolli, plantain weed, cabbage leaves etc - in fact they will not eat their greens !! Also tried tomatoes, apples - but no.

 

What they do like though are dried mealworms, corn on the cob, boiled potatoes, raisins & plain yoghurt. (in an emergency could I give fruit yoghurt ?)

 

Oh and I've ordered some live waxworms which hopefully should be here today ! (although whether I can bear to pick them up is another thing !!!)

[SteveC]

Our girls only like their Brocolli cooked, just stick any veg in a bowl with a little water and microwave it for a couple of minutes to soften it up.

The also love green beans, lettuce, cabbage, shaved carrots, sweetcorn, apple, oats, I think their favourite is the green beans - all the veg cooked, they are not keen on new potatoes (Must BE COOKED).

 

I hadn't appreciated that they would go for cooked veg. Is that normal?

[Duncan08]

No idea Steve,we give it them as leftovers usually so it is already cooked, but the odd time they have had it raw they are not too keen. Now if we have no leftovers we just pop whatever is about into the microwave, (let it cool down of course)

 

I know they have no teeth so can't chew in the way that we would imagine, so the softened veg is probably a lot easier for them to peck away at. I do know that you should Never give them raw potato peelings.

[coco]

Mine love freshly picked dandelions, broccoli but it has to be cooked, raw cabbage and apple or pears and anything else I give them. Greedy lot.

[gongladosh]

I've been known to buy strips of turf in B&Q for the hens...

 

In addition to the above posts, ours love porridge with raisins in it (some like it dry, some prefer it gloopy). Also, if you buy the garlic powder from Omlet, if you leave the lid off and it goes a bit damp, it turns into garlic 'toffee' - the hens love it.

 

Also our boss hen, Kiki, by autumn is obsessed with the apples and pears that drop on the lawn from the trees in our garden. Not the nice looking fresh ones but the really skanky brown ones. We worked out eventually it's because the fruit was fermenting and she was getting tipsy from it...

[Henergy]

The live waxworms went down a storm today ! They went beserk (the chickens that is !)

[auntielizzie]

My two absolutely love raisins. They also love pasta. Bessie adores mealworms but Betty isn't keen!

[SteveC]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone - I'll try some of these things out - hopefully the girls will appreciate the effort!

[peckingham palace]

My ladies love love love mealworms and raisins. They jump up and down excitedly when I approach with a packet of either

[poachedegg]

Ours eat raw veg no problem, ours like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower leaves, apples, pears, tomatoes, banana, lettuce.

 

We hang the veg in fat ball cages and the fruit in spiral ones and watch them play swing ball!