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

[witzend]

OK, so I'm NEARLY at the point of ordering my chooks - pen still to be built!

 

Next job on the list: Source feed/treats etc etc

 

What have people found works/doesn't work .................bantam sizes (if that matters)

x

[mollyripkim]

My bantams favourite treats are Grapes ( cut into small pieces ), mealworms and a small handful or corn thrown into their run is a failsafe way to get them back into the run. They also go mad for grated cheese.

[mollyripkim]

Sorry, forgot to say that in the winter they loved warn porridge with raisins before bedtime!

[Chooks76]

Dried mealworms, corn, salad tomatoes and pasta...they love pasta!! Wholemeal Fusilli.

[bostock422]

good call on the pasta, my chickens love pasta too, we get cheap spaghetti and break it up and boil, they run around like they have a worm.

[auntielizzie]

My two go absolutely mental for chopped up grapes as well as tinned sweetcorn and they absolutely love pasta. They enjoy mealworms and mixed corn. They also love slices of melon to peck at (complete with seeds). Sometimes I give them the melon chopped up. They also love a little bit of grated cheese. I have given them natural probiotic yoghurt and they loved that too - it ended up all over the place though They enjoy some nice mixed salad leaves and other greens. I haven't tried anything else yet (tell a lie, I gave them a few left over chips once and they really liked them too ).

 

They do get a bit naughty when they get used to too many treats though and have a tendency to ignore their pellets preferring to wait to see what else you might bring. Betty will fly up and sit on my arm now like an overgrown pigeon (Im not sure if that's a good thing or not:!: ). Bessie jumps up and down as if she's got springs on her feet

[zakjon-98]

My chickens...

 

Really love...

Live crickets

Live mealworms

Grapes

 

Love...

Dried mealworms

Pasta

Rice

Bread

Tomatoes

 

Like...

Lettuce

Corn

Swede

Cucumber

[migsy]

The expensive seabass I cooked for tea tonight went down a treat with the chickens. Glad it was not only me that appreciated it. What a waste - kids eh?

[witzend]

Sorry, forgot to say that in the winter they loved warn porridge with raisins before bedtime!

 

OMG - it's my breakfast !!!

[witzend]

good call on the pasta, my chickens love pasta too, we get cheap spaghetti and break it up and boil, they run around like they have a worm.

 

What a fabulous picture in my mind!!! x

[Duncan08]

Its probably easier to ask for a list of what they don't like / isn't good for them

 

Ours will take your hand off for grapes, cheese and dried mealworms, and I was really surprised at how much they love sloppy food. a small dish of porridge oats with Probiotic yoghurt and sunday dinner left overs mashed up with cheese sauce.

I love the way they run around trying to clean their beaks afterwards.

 

I throw in garden worms when digging in the garden, that always causes a s"Ooops, word censored!"

 

I have tried hanging things up in the run but they have ignored everything so far.

They seem to enjoy veg when it has been softened in the microwave for a couple of minutes beforehand.

[The Dogmother]

Be careful to keep treats to a minimum or you'll get non-laying hens! Only feed a small amount of treats in the evening/afternoon when they have filled up on their pellets in the morning.

 

Mine like super mixed corn (just one handful) or dried gammarus shrimps, which are 47% protein, so a very beneficial treat indeed.

[craftyhunnypie]

Heritage layers pellets - main feed.

 

Mine also get..

Mixed corn

Wheat

Oats

Raisins

Muesli

Bran flakes

Boiled rice

Pasta

Lettuce / mixed salad

carrot tops

Cabbage

Cauli

Sprouts

Mealworms

Sweetcorn

[cheekymonkey200]

my two would kill each other over a grape- i consider it good excercise to chuck it up the garden and watch them race and then rugby tackle each other over them! Mildred will jump about 5ft in the air and hang off the grapes in my hand until I release them for her! nutty girls!

 

I also bought a a wildbrid suet feeder from a pound shop which I fill with old cabbage leaves, cauliflower middles, dandelion leaves (whatever is lying about really) and hang it to the top of the run- they spend hours jumping up and pulling tasty bits out of it.

 

Dried corn is another big hit- I soak it in their wormer and its gone in 20 seconds. They thought all their brithdays had come at once when my OH filled up their grub with corn instead of pellets one morning- shows how often he feeds them eh!

 

good luck with your new girls!

[loumabel]

My girls love dried Meal worms, mixed corn and little gem lettuce hung up in their run. I hang it just over head height so they have to jump for it to give them a little exercise. They also love boiled potato peelings mashed in with their layers mash and boiled carrots too.

[witzend]

silly question: 'head height' MINE or THEIRS ?? How high will they jump?

[Chucky Mama]

Be careful to keep treats to a minimum or you'll get non-laying hens! Only feed a small amount of treats in the evening/afternoon when they have filled up on their pellets in the morning.

 

I agree If you are giving treat amake sure it is just a treat and that is make up a small amount of their diet only. It is best to try to stay close to the sort of things that they would pick up naturally. Greens, seeds, fruits, grubs, veg etc rather than 'human' food which can contain salt, caffeine, refined sugar and saturated fat. Dairy is non digestible and so should be avoided. Probiotic yoghurt is good for the probiotics but the rest is not of nutritional value to them. Large amounts of treats can leave them short of the nutrient required for them to form a decent shell and can lead to softies which make them feel pretty poorly when they have one brewing.

[chestnutmare]

Mine are fed Garvo layers pellets with a handful of Garvo mixed corn late evening. They have some free ranging time most days and have plenty of grass and leaves that way. Most days I give them a handful of brussel sprouts and or/savoy cabbage in a food ball (from Omlet shop) which they really enjoy. I might try something more adventurous if I'm trying to catch them - I tried raisins but they were more interested in grass. I've heard sweetcorn is a hit and grapes too.

As for their main food - they loved Omlet food but Garvo has a good reputation and is cheaper for me to get hold of.

[johnandkymberley]

Our girls are pretty easy to please,

in the winter they have a warm breakfast of pellets mixed with warm water, that way they still get there feed (which is essential) but in a different form.

They LOVE tomatoes, strawberries, carrot, lettuce (leafy veg) - they dont like peppers or onions!

We also give them corn on the cobs, so funny watching them try to figure out how to get the sweetcorn off! takes them at least half and hour!!!

 

I am deffo going to try the spaghetti idea, i can just see them running around with spaghetti hanging from there beaks!!!

[Henergy]

I only do treats post 4pm, but they love corn (on cob or straight from tin), mixed dried corn, mealworms (live or dry), raisins, handfuls of chickweed (I grow it specially in pots for them because they won't touch dandelions or other greens) , yog & oats for runny tums, pasta, baked bean leftovers, the hulls of strawberries.

[surfer_chicken]

My chickens got hold of a party ring (the biscuits) when we were eating outside once (three year olds + chickens... ) and they went MAD for it. I haven't given them any since as I didn't think biscuits are really designed for chickens, but they loved that more than all the grapes and mealworms in the world

 

 

But yeah, otherwise my chickens are into the usual (grapes, mealworms, pasta...). In fact, they will basically got for any chicken friendly leftovers

 

(And loumabel- I love to watch them jump too, it's such a funny little hop! Chicken head height for my girls though )

[Forestchook]

I don't understand: my three don't seem that interrested in treats. They get a handful of mixed corn when let out to FR (some from the hand when first let out , then the rest rattled in a jug to attract their attention then thrown into the run to persuade them back inside). Even that they don't go crazy for. Everything else i have tried them with (except bread which I don't like to give them) is more likly to get trampled than eaten. There are currently two corn cobs in the run. They have been their since yesterday evening and one has maybe lost a quarter of its kernals if that!Oh well, maybe i should be greatful they are happy with their pellets.

N

[loumabel]

silly question: 'head height' MINE or THEIRS ?? How high will they jump?

Hi, sorry I should have said their head height They are hilarious when they jump and can be very determined to get the crunchy heart part of the lettuce.

[witzend]

Cheers!!!

[Space Chick]

I do laugh at finely chopped grapes, I used to chop mine into quarters until I saw a girl eat a WHOLE vole, I now cut grapes into 2 but only to prolong my enjoyment of feeding them