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9 Healthy Treats Your Chickens Will Love

9 Healthy Treats Your Chickens Will Love

We all love to spoil our chickens with chicken treats now and then.

Giving treats to your chickens helps to give their diet some variation. It also helps to keep them happy and laying eggs.

If you’re not careful, buying chicken treats for your chickens can cost lots of money. That’s why most of our treats are normally kitchen scraps and leftovers… In fact, 75% of the cost of keeping chickens is made up of chicken feed.

With that being said, I still love to spoil our chickens, and they get more than their fair share of treats! Be it strawberries, celery scraps, and many more treats.

Let’s take a look at our girls’ top 9 favorite healthy treats.

If you’re looking for even more treats, you can use this handy chicken treat chart.

Our Choice of Chicken Treats

Supreme Grubs Natural Black Soldier Fly Larvae for Chickens, 85X More Calcium Than Mealworms-High Protein Grub Food Chicken Treats for Hens, Probiotic-Rich Chicken Feed, Calcium-Dense Bird Treat 5lb
  • Nutrient-Rich Grubs for Chickens - Feed your flock the nutritious chicken treat it deserves with Supreme Grubs. These farm-grown, gmo-free black soldier fly larvae are loaded with protein, minerals, and 85x more calcium than regular dried mealworms. Grubs are especially helpful during molting to help chickens recover quickly.
  • Helps Produce Stronger Eggshells - Our dried bugs for birds have an optimal phosphorus to calcium ratio, making them ideal chicken food for laying hens. Get oven-dried grub food with no additives and preservatives for every 1.1 lb or 5.5 lb bag.
  • Promotes Healthier Feathers - Apart from being a delicious source of protein for birds, each bag is rich in fiber, amino acids, and essential fats for bright and lustrous feathers. Your birds will definitely love these tasty treats for chickens!
  • Offers Immune and Gut Support - Serving these probiotic fed, lauric-acid rich bird treats helps boost the immune and digestive systems of your flock.
  • Easy-to-Store Chicken Feed - Our plump dried fly larvae are stored in a resealable bag within a sturdy box, ensuring freshness and mess-free handling. Just reach in and grab a handful of chicken treats for your birds’ daily nutritional boost.

Oatmeal Chicken Treat

healthy chicken treats

 

Oatmeal is one of our girls’ favorite treats, and it’s probably their favorite treat during the cold winter months.

Picture the scene: it’s 6:30 am pitch-black and thick frost on the ground.

I let our girls out of their coop, and straight away, they can smell the oatmeal. I pour the oatmeal straight out into their trough- I’ve found in the past they can bully each other if I just put the pan down because they can’t all get to it at once.

You can also add either maple syrup or bananas to the oatmeal to help give it some variety.

Cottage Cheese Chicken Treat

healthy chicken treats

 

There’s something about cottage cheese that our chickens love. Maybe it’s the cheese taste, or maybe it’s just the consistency?

Either way, they love it!

You can give this chicken treat straight out of the tub, or you can mix it with vegetables. Both carrots and broccoli go really well with it.

It provides your chickens with several essential nutrients such as calcium which helps keep their bones strong. It’s also a great source of protein, as laying chickens need around 20 grams of protein a day to produce an egg.

Pasta and Noodles Can Be A Chicken Treat

healthy chicken treats

Have you ever seen free-range chickens running around the garden with streams of pasta flowing out of their beak!?

Cooked pasta can be a cheap but filling treat for your chickens. Two cups of pasta are more than enough for a flock of six chickens.

Again, like with cottage cheese, you can mix other food into the pasta. A nice creamy sauce or chopped-up vegetables can go a long way to keeping your chickens happy.

However, they will be pleased with just dry pasta.

If you are going to feed your chicken pasta, make sure to cook it beforehand! I’m not sure they would appreciate hard, crunchy, raw pasta…

Their Favorite Chicken Treats Are Mealworms

healthy chicken treats

Mealworms are, without a doubt, our chickens’ favorite treat of all time.

They are a speedy and easy chicken treat and require no preparation.

I buy a 1lb bag of them and dump them into a pile inside our girls’ pen. It’s very entertaining to watch the chickens run back and forth with the mealworms in their mouth.

You can normally buy them from your local fishing/tackle store, but they can be quite expensive- $20USD for 1lb. If you give your chickens mealworms regularly, it might be worth considering farming your own mealworms.

Corn Is A Chicken Treats

healthy chicken treats

 

You can either feed sweetcorn to them loose, mix it in with their pellets, or you can feed it to them straight from the cob.

Here’s a great idea if you want to keep your girls busy. You can buy several cobs of corn and hang the cobs using some string. You can then let the girls peck away at them- this should keep them amused for several hours.

Not only is sweetcorn a cheap treat, but it’s also packed with lutein and zeaxanthin, which are phytochemicals that help keep your chickens vision healthy. It will also provide your girls with some much-needed fiber.

Ginger

healthy chicken treats

 

We’ve already written about the superfood ginger, and some of the health benefits your chickens will experience when eating ginger. Certain studies claim that feeding chickens ginger can increase the size of the eggs and improve the number of antioxidants in the egg yolk.

I tend to use ginger chicken treats when they molt to help them grow back their feathers quicker.

If you feed your chickens ginger, you can mix the ginger powder with their pellets or mix it with their water.

However, make sure you only give your chickens ginger no more than once per month. Feeding your chickens too much ginger can cause muscle swelling and occasionally death.

Watermelon Is A Summertime Chicken Treats

healthy chicken treats

Watermelon is the perfect summer snack for chickens.

Not only is it full of water and extremely refreshing for them, but it also contains lots of essential vitamins and minerals.

I buy watermelon cheap when it’s in season and slice them up into small chunks. I then take the small chunks and freeze them.

I get the frozen chunks out during a hot summer’s day and place them into the chickens’ water bowl. This helps keep the water cool, and the chickens can also peck at the watermelon.

You could also mix the frozen watermelon in with plain greek yogurt. This helps spread the watermelon out, and greek yogurt is also very refreshing for them.

Pumpkin

healthy chicken treats
Pumpkins are another one of those refreshing treats with added health benefits.

The seeds inside pumpkins help with worming. According to Delaware State University, pumpkin seeds “contain a deworming compound called cucurbitacin which has been used to expel tapeworms.”

Pumpkin can be tough to cut, so I just put the pumpkin inside our chicken pen and then hit it with a mallet to break it open for the girls.

They will entertain your girls for hours as they merrily peck away. You will notice they will eat the pumpkin in its entirety- bar the skin.

Another benefit I found was that their egg yolks turned vibrant orange for a few days after they’d eaten the pumpkin.

Meat (Because Chickens Love it For Dinner)

healthy chicken treats

When you have leftover meat, trimmings, or even leftovers from a hunting harvest, your chickens will be grateful for the extra handouts. You see, chickens are omnivores, and they love to eat meat. 

Have you ever noticed your chickens attacking cat food, for example? Or chasing mice and frogs

Well, this is because both examples are full of protein, and most cat foods are targeted at carnivores, like kitties. But low-and-behold chickens love to get in on the meaty action as well. 

If it bothers you to feed your chickens chicken or poultry meat, you can stick to other types of proteins, like red meat.

Scrambled Egg As Chicken Treats

Sometimes during the peak of summer, our girls can get carried away and lay too many eggs for us to cope with!

I could store the eggs or freeze them to use later, but instead, I prefer to cook several of them and make scrambled eggs for the girls.

A scrambled egg is full of protein and can quickly fill your girl’s up.

Scrambled eggs are a superfood for chickens. Since their eggs are full of protein, they are perfect for giving your chickens a boost when their immune systems fail them.

If I have a sick or injured chicken who is stressed, I always try to include some extra protein, often in the form of scrambled eggs, for the distressed hen. 

Bonus: Don’t throw away the shells! Bake them for a few minutes at 350 degrees and then crush them up. They pack an extra punch of calcium!

Note: Always make sure you cook any eggs which you feed your chickens. You DON’T want your chickens getting a taste for raw eggs because they will start eating their own eggs.

One important point to make here is that you shouldn’t give your chickens too many treats, as this can actually cause your chickens to stop laying eggs.

Just make sure that their treats are part of a consistent and varied diet, and your chickens will be fine.

Our Choice of Chicken Treats

Supreme Grubs Natural Black Soldier Fly Larvae for Chickens, 85X More Calcium Than Mealworms-High Protein Grub Food Chicken Treats for Hens, Probiotic-Rich Chicken Feed, Calcium-Dense Bird Treat 5lb
  • Nutrient-Rich Grubs for Chickens - Feed your flock the nutritious chicken treat it deserves with Supreme Grubs. These farm-grown, gmo-free black soldier fly larvae are loaded with protein, minerals, and 85x more calcium than regular dried mealworms. Grubs are especially helpful during molting to help chickens recover quickly.
  • Helps Produce Stronger Eggshells - Our dried bugs for birds have an optimal phosphorus to calcium ratio, making them ideal chicken food for laying hens. Get oven-dried grub food with no additives and preservatives for every 1.1 lb or 5.5 lb bag.
  • Promotes Healthier Feathers - Apart from being a delicious source of protein for birds, each bag is rich in fiber, amino acids, and essential fats for bright and lustrous feathers. Your birds will definitely love these tasty treats for chickens!
  • Offers Immune and Gut Support - Serving these probiotic fed, lauric-acid rich bird treats helps boost the immune and digestive systems of your flock.
  • Easy-to-Store Chicken Feed - Our plump dried fly larvae are stored in a resealable bag within a sturdy box, ensuring freshness and mess-free handling. Just reach in and grab a handful of chicken treats for your birds’ daily nutritional boost.

Let us know which treats your chickens love to snack on in the comments below!

READ NEXT: Should You Be Feeding Your Chickens This Superfood?

Chickens Treats

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141 thoughts on “9 Healthy Treats Your Chickens Will Love

      1. Daily I soak a pkg Roman noodle Worms overnite, add oatmeal, cereal, greens, can cat food, banana, left over fruits, bread, nuts, berries, anything to clean out the frig. Mix all up to serve in recycled trays. Have 14 in hen house, hen w/18 teenage chicks, 12 little new peeps. When it rains I get earthworms, pull grass & dandelions in the yard. Always something to feed them. They get excited when they see me coming with food! They all have pellets available all the time.

    1. Thanks for the tips. I read all and put to our routine and it has really helped my girls. Taste of my eggs are like Bam!!! Taste so good make your cook happy and Homemade cakes yummy!!!!! Straight from the Barn and Richest Farmer. Don’t sell our girls and is not an advertisement. We love our pets!!!!! Man’s best friend!!!!!!

      1. Yes, man’s very best friend. The chicken members of our family have trained us to include blueberries and grapes in their breakfast salad, as well. Grapes chopped in quarters or eights, depending on the size. Frozen blueberries are entire, as-is from the package, except they soak in warm water before being served.

    2. My 3 silkie hens love black pudding, they get one between them in the morning aswell as their sausages bacon

          1. It’s congealed blood, essentially.
            I know people who adore it, but as a vegetarian I won’t be a fan, other than to say “at least no part of this animal was wasted”…
            But it is popular in a British fried brekkie – with eggs, potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms, sausages, bread and whatever else – so give it a go if that’s your thing.
            I’ll stick to my cereal 😀

        1. Aww mine love black pudding aswell everytime i have a full breakfast i give my 3 silkie hens some black pudding sausage egg beans some toast they love all of it

    3. My girls love dried mealworms. Me too, as they are a fraction of the cost of fresh. Hanging a small cabbage keeps them entertained for hours. Thanks for the tips on eggs, yogurt and cottage cheese.

    4. Cottage Cheese my ladies loved it, also we have a chief forage in our brood and once she tucks in everyone else follows.
      Also tried water melon, they were sceptical at first but then little Splash tucked in, now there is nothing but rind.

          1. how much ginger do you add to their feed once a month? A teaspoon, a tablespoon?

  1. My chickens like ants and meal worms. The hens catch them on their own in the yard, it keeps me entertained.

    1. When I’m digging in the garden they literally sit on the fork waiting for me to lift them with the mud and then they pounce on whatever is unearthed.

  2. How often do you give your chickens treats? we usually have scraps of veggies and fruits from our meals (ends of cucumbers and carrots… outer leaves on a head of lettuce, and other various veggies/ fruit scraps). I wasn’t sure how often it was ok to give them these along with some of the other treats listed above.

    1. Hello,
      It tends to be at least once a day!
      Yes this is perfect for the girls, they will love it. You can give them this sort of thing each day, just place it down on the floor for them to peck at.
      Claire

    2. i take all of my veggie trimmings and put it thru the food processor, then place in a dish fill with water and freeze for a summertime treat. they love it

    3. I give my girls treats every day but always in the afternoon so they are filling there crop of there own food first

  3. Hi, I have 2 hen chickens (Hybred Rhode Island Red) from hatchlings which are now 10 wks old, I started them off with the crumb mixture until they were 7wks old then switched to grower pellets as they are getting big. unfortunately they don’t seem to like it, and will only eat a very small amount. I let them free range for most of the day and I do give them a couple of handful of live mealworms in late afternoon and they eat them so quickly, it’s like they are starving. (Now I’ve just read on line that I shouldn’t let them eat them on regular basis as it could cause them harm) but I worry they are not getting enough food. They will not eat any other food ie veg, fruit, scraps and pasta etc which they are supposed to like. I’m running out of ideas what to give them. Also in the coop they sleep in the nest box instead of the perch, is that normal? Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

    1. Hi Frances,
      It doesn’t sound like anything to worry about yet- they are still very young and they don’t have any older hens to ‘show them the ropes’…
      With the grower pellets have you tried crushing them up into smaller pieces?
      Claire

    2. If you started them with crumble then I would stick with grown crumble as well. Sometimes its hard for them to go from crumble to pellets.

    3. I had the same problem when my hens free ranged. They barely ate their feed, wouldn’t touch scraps. They got everything they needed free ranging so don’t worry ?

    4. You should cover up your nesting boxes though and not let them sleep in them. It might not be an issue now but once they start laying you will have dirty eggs

    5. We have an adopted Orpington. She eats very little of her feed…until I scrape some of it out on the patio & splash a little water on it. She goes crazy on it & eats like she hasn’t eaten in days. My theory is that the pellets are too dry to swallow comfotably.

  4. Broccoli – hang a piece on a string. Good exercise for the ladies and often hilariously funny to watch!

  5. I give my girls kale and other greens from the garden. They love the greens so much that they come running whenever I come outside.

    1. Hi Ellen,
      Oh I haven’t tried my girls with Kale!
      Do you cook it first or just give it to them raw?
      Claire

      1. we grow a whole bed of kale beets and spinach just for our hens they love it ………. they also love yogurt with spaggeti its so funny to watch

  6. Salmon!!! Our girls have quite the variety of snacks… But one evening eating dinner outside they came up to me very interested in what was on my plate- gave them a little bit (made sure there was zero bones) gone instantly! We’ve got 8- 2 of each RIR, Wellsummer, Deleware and Americana! They all enjoy it equally! So much so we have a call into the fish departmebt if our local store for day end sale salmon- I’d rather buy it for 80% + off than have them toss it (legally they have too) I cook it up and the girls are set! Friends that go salmon fishing keep the scrap pieces for us as well! Who would’ve thought?! Haha!

  7. My 3 hens absolutely love cucumbers. Especially the seeds. I grew three plants this summer and had more cucumbers than I could use/giveaway. I started feeding them the cucumbers and they went crazy over the seeds. Sometimes a cucumber will get lost in the leaves and end up becoming monstrous, LOL. Those ones are especially great to give to my girls, as the seeds are bigger and more plentiful. It is such a nice treat for them as they are chilled in the refrigerator so it cools them off in the summer heat, and I can tell that it really helps with their digestion. Not to be gross, but their poops just look healthier now.

  8. Every morning my 3 year old has to go in the fridge to get treats for her hens. She’ll pick out the fruits and veggies she thinks they will like for that day. So far cherries and corn on the cob are the definite favorites!!

  9. My girls LOVE worms from my compost! I don’t know if worms are OK but they sure love them! When they see me they run over to the compost bin and just wait .

    1. Worms are great for chickens – just think, that would be a big part of their natural food if they were in the wild. And they’re high in protein (good for egg-laying).

  10. What age can you start giving them treats? We just got 5 baby chicks and this will be my first time raising chickens! I am so excited to be getting fresh eggs and just the experience of raising such a beautiful animal. I am trying to do everything right, as I don’t want to harm or lose any of them. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated for this first time “mother hen”!

    1. Hi Rosanna,
      First of all, good luck on your chicken journey!
      I would wait until they are around 20 weeks old until you start with the treats 🙂
      Claire

    2. We’ve been giving our chickens treats since they were about a week old, just making sure everything was small enough not to choke them. If they were with a mama hen they’d be foraging for food, there’s no reason they can’t have those same foods as pets.

  11. My Leghorns, and especially my Chanteclers, just LOVE spaghetti squash…they devour it with enthusiasm like they were piranha, or bees to honey…zucchini is another favourite but not as much as the squash

    1. Hi Siquala,
      I haven’t tried our girls with spaghetti squash before- I’m sure they will think it’s mealworms!
      Thank you for the tip,
      Claire

  12. Chickens also love mixed grain bread & strawberries.I disagree with the cottage cheese because it has too much salt & salt is not good for chickens

  13. My poultry love anything dairy incl yoghurt, kefir etc – which I find so strange as it wouldn’t be in their natural diet. And they’ll follow me anywhere for bread. Also useful to have chooks in the food chain for when the cats turn up their noses at some food 😉

      1. I give it to the chickens dry. That is what I saw at the feed store. My first chickens absolutely loved it

      2. My girls love uncooked old fashioned rolled oats. They also love cooked oatmeal with fruit and nuts that is still warm. My girls have been willing to try everything I’ve ever given them.

  14. We nearly collapsed the other day, witnessing one of our hens, taking over from the cat and swallowing a pygmy shrew….. who knew!

  15. I give mine watermelon pumpkin corn any green and tomatoes. They seem to like the tomatoes more than anything

    1. Be careful, green tomatoes can be toxic to chickens. I would not even feed tomatoes with seeds.

    1. Hi Alexis,
      Cottage cheese is fine, just make sure to avoid the high salt versions.
      You can feed them their own eggs to give them a healthy boost of protein 🙂
      Claire

  16. I have 2 RIR, 1 Buff, and 1 bantam Millie Fleur (I think that is what she is). The reds are “partners” and the other girls are “partners” too. I’m excited that our ordinance has changed and now will allow us to have 6 chickens so we will be adding to the family in the spring. The buff has gone through one molt and now is back to laying and funny that her “partner” the bantam started laying again just after she did.
    I often juice and will give them pulp from many fruits and veggies, avoiding anything stringy like celery. They love it!
    We recently moved and our fence is in need of repair and we can’t pour concrete with the cold so they are staying in their 8 x 8 run mostly, so I am looking for any suggestions for keeping them entertained and the corn on the cob sounds great. For the corn on the cob, do you cook the corn or just give it to them raw?

      1. A word about corn etc, unless you know it is organic it is GMO and highly sprayed with poison. Be sure you are giving your chickens organic foods. I only eat organic and give organic to my ‘girls’ as well. If you are concerned about the higher cost, you should know that when eating organic foods the nutrition is higher so you don’t need as much! I have also, found that lots of the organic vegs are often the same price as the ‘other’ vegs. The more people eat organic foods the prices will go down.

        1. My chickens ABSOLUTELY LOVE corn. 😀
          we give it to them about once a month because corn is hard to get here and a bit expensive.
          Also, I know this doesn’t apply to the article, but one of my roosters are limping and this morning can’t even walk!
          I’m really not sure what to do so any advice would be appreciated.
          He is a beautiful light Sussex and he is about one or 2.
          Thanks so much! 🙂

    1. I read that tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant, can be poisonous to chickens because they are part of the nightshade family.

      1. Yes, the tomato plants are toxic – don’t feed them (or yourself) anything other than the fruit. I cut out the entire stem end, just to be safe, both for the chickens & for us.

  17. Since chickens lack the enzyme to properly digest lactose, how much cottage cheese is too much? I prefer baked, crushed egg shell or oyster shell for supplemental calcium.

    1. Hi James,
      To be honest with the cottage cheese they don’t get it too often and when they do it’s in small amounts 🙂
      I’m with you on the egg shells- great for calcium!
      Claire

  18. My chickens love most of the things already mentioned (especially pasta and scrambled eggs). I will just add that they also love blueberries. I will toss them out one by one and watch the girls run after them. It is a race to see who gets to each one first. very entertaining. I have given my girls raw oats and raw corn on the cob. I was interested to read that you cook them, Claire. I will try this next time. They probably would like the corn and oatmeal better cooked. Also, when I need to get them back in their run, I come out with a bag of shredded cheese. They come running. They love it.

  19. Thank you for all the information you laid in this forum! Very helpful for a beginner like myself.

  20. I just became a chicken mom. I have 8, 2 each wyndottes, murans, freverolles, and Ameracanas. They get some kind if treat everyday. They get salad days, which includes frozen vegies ( corn, peas, beans, carrot) then I add chopped broccoli, cauliflower, lettus, red cabbage, and carrots. They love it. Then 2 days they get cooked oatmeal with chopped up strawberries, blueberries, Greek yogurt, and cinnamon. 2 days they get meal worms. Then day 7 whatever comes out of the fridge. They still eat all their regular food. They are not spoiled at all, as my husband rolls his eyes. They have their own herb garden, and flower garden, and once my garden takes off they will have tons of other things to choose from.

  21. My chickens LOVE grapes.. they even beat me to the refrigerator when I open the door.. so funny

  22. Our chickens could care less when I give them freeze-dried mealworms, but throw in a couple of handful of popped popcorn (minus salt and butter, of course) and they go crazy!

  23. Boil veggie skins until soft, let them cool and squeeze through your fingers to form a mash, keeps em going on cold winter days, you can add some meal to them as well.

  24. I have 5, 3 wk old chicks, a legbar, an easter egger, a blue splash maran, and 2 d’uccles. they go crazy over a little string cheese or a smear of Greek yogurt!!! So darn cute! Any ideas for other baby chick safe snacks?

  25. I’ve 3 RIRs, they’ve warm porridge for breakfast, mashed potato & veg for dinner, always pellets there, but they will do absolutely anything for sweet corn, they jump through hoops, follow me up and down the garden, they even jump into my arms, and run in and out through my legs all at the same time, put on music and call them the dancing chickens ? it’s hilarious ?

  26. My chickens and ducks love a mix of sprouted oats,corn,wheat and lentils. What doesn’t sprout ferments by day 3. I top them with a mix of kelp, probiotics, brewers yeast,garlic and DE. In the winter I add meal worms and minced greens. ACV in the water to keep them healthy. Is there anything else I should consider for a healthy treat?

  27. We are learning more and more the longer we have our hens. We have an assortment – Wyndottes, Americanas, Orpingtons, a Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Reds and a couple Bantams. They receive pretty much all our scraps daily. Some of their favorite though are the bell pepper cut out with all the seeds. Lettuces and spinach are always a good one as well. It’s interesting we never really thought of our hens as carnivores even though they love for us to move troughs, buckets, etc so they can scavenge for the bugs. However one time we threw out a large ham bone and they attacked it like piranhas and in just a bit it was clean. We see them also hunt down the mice so don’t really need a barn cat… We learn more and more as we watch these gals!

  28. Hello my name is Nanci and I decided to raise chickens. I’ll be chicken mom very soon. Where I live there’s some stipulations to have chickens but most of all I live in Alaska and I know that I’ll need to take a good care of them specially on the winter time. I’m reading and trying to know everything before I start to be a chicken mom. I love all the tips and suggestions here but can anyone have any suggestion about how can I take care of them on winter time ? And can the chickens be free to walk on the snow or better not ? And I love eggs from chickens not from store I’ve being buying chickens eggs for long time and I noticed that blue eggs are the most kind of flavorful eggs I just love it. Does anyone knows what kind of chicken lays blue eggs ?
    Thank you so much for all the information everyone give here in this site !
    Everyone have a blessed and good day !!!!

  29. My chooks will be so happy I read all your comments! It’s winter now here in Australia and they’re feeling a bit blue but that will change now they’re going to get warm porridge, cooked spag and a nice big head of broccoli.

  30. I was given a single adult hen. Should I get another hen to keep her company, or is she Ok to be alone. I build her a coop large enough for 4 chickens and two nesting boxes. She is giving me an egg a day. She is shy and won’t let me near her yet. Can you help me tame her. Thanks

    1. Hi Kathleen,
      Chickens are social animals so tend to do better in a flock. Personally, if you have the space I would get a few more hens 🙂
      Claire

    2. Kathleen, I don’t have chickens at all but a friend does and posted this so, long story short, I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole & keep clicking! I’d be really interested to know if you’ve gotten another chicken or two to keep your hen happy. Please let us know if it’s changed her shyness at all, as well. I’ll sleep better at night knowing she’s happier! 🙂

  31. I have 3 hens about 5-6 months now, I never knew I could feed them treats however tonight I shared with them a peach and you’d think I gave them a juicy steak!
    They ate them up!!
    and as far as being chickens being affection -omgoodness ?I was consistent, calm total love and sweet words, they are the most unusual breed of feathers & love ?I’ve ever experienced. They run to me and squat so that I pick them em up, she’ll rest her head on my shoulder and love to hold my hand with Her claws while I’ll hold her. So much love To share, & so little time?

  32. Hello all! I am a new chicken MOmma in Minnesota. Have two hens currently on molt and not laying. How long will the molt last? As for treats what can I NOT feed my hens? I had no idea of all the treats they enjoy and have really loved to read about this.

  33. Funny, my 6 chickens will have nothing to do with anything green (except green beans). They love acorn squash as long as it is cooked. They aren’t crazy about pumpkin, yellow squash or zucchini. They absolutely love blueberries, watermelon and bananas-no strawberries, apples or pears. They love cheese
    oatmeal and greek yogurt. I wish they would eat greens.

  34. My hens love apples. I fed them a bit of chopped pink pearl apple (which actually has red flesh, oddly enough) and it’s a new favorite. Just don’t feed them the seeds because those are deadly. Also, beets and beet greens are a hit with my girls. After they eat beets, their beaks turn purple for several days! Lol!

  35. I love that most of the treats I feed our hens are on your list. I was horrified to learn that they especially love catching baby mice. I am always looking for new treats. Their favourites would have to be sardines and tuna. I hang a watermelon for them to peck at and I put raw muesli in a hanging container with holes that they must manipulate to eat. These hens live at a school, mostly in a large pen so I’m always looking for ideas on how to keep them amused and happy.

  36. We are new to keeping chickens and have just bought 3 silkies. When I give them food scraps like lettuce leaves and potato peelings do I need to chop them up or just throw them around the them to peck at? I put them thru the food processor this morning and they still ate it but I’m wondering if it makes a difference?

    1. Are they peelings from sweet potatoes? I read in a few places (perhaps here as well) that if it isn’t a sweet potato then they shouldn’t have it…especially the skins from any other type of potato…?

  37. Hi I live in Cape Town, South Africa and just discovered your site. We’re getting our first hens tomorrow, 4, 7 week old Sussex. We are so excited. Thanks for the tips on treats. Looking forward to trying them out in the coming months.

  38. I saw a post the other day about how they love to snack on live goldfish from a small tub of water!

  39. My girls just love cherries. I take the pits out and they are pecking at my feet until I give it to them. I also take a cucumber and cut it in half and they pick it clean.

  40. My girls’ favourite is whole grain bread. But I am intrigued by the cottage cheese idea. I gave mine some leftover phyllo rolls filled with feta cheese. They loved them but that night one of them looked quite ill. Head down and drinking excessively and pecking at the crushed oyster and crazy runny poop. I was relieved to see her still alive the next morning and she’s recovered now. I thought that the feta cheese was the culprit so I have avoided anything dairy since?

  41. We cut melons squash and. Cucumbers into rings so they don’t turn the pieces face down and they don’t like the skins. Won’t eat any veg peels but absolutely love yogurt

  42. My hens love a chopped up apple, they love dried meal worms, I also give them sweet corn and garden peas mixed in with there layers mash in the mornings,they used to love bananas but for some reason they stopped eating them.They also love a romaine lettuce chopped up into pieces.

  43. My chickens get veg from the garden in summer and oatmeal or chicken biscuits that I bake in winter. I mix a pound of pig feed meal with 5-6 eggs, 6 ounces of molasses, a can of corn (drained) and raisins or chopped apple. I bake it in a greased jelly roll pan at 350° until set and lightly browned. Cut in squares like brownies.
    I use them to train pigs and chickens.

  44. Heather
    I have 3 Peking Bantams
    I love to cook rice for my girls, also throw in a few veggie scraps. I give them a bran mash now the mornings are cooler, just add boiling water to the bran and stir, they run as soon as I call them. Love my girls.

  45. After a day of fishing we feed our chickens minmows feom our bait bucket. Its like candy to them and they LOVE IT!

  46. I’ve got delivery service smoothies left over in my freezer from an impulse buy from DailyHarvest. I’m having a hard time finding the girls a bedtime snack. Is there any ingredient on this list that they can NOT have?
    Apple
    Cucumber
    Celery
    Kale
    Spinach
    Ginger
    Lemon
    Turmeric
    Thanks for the help!!!

  47. We have Rhode Island Reds They will not eat strawberries, apples, watermelon, or cherries. So far they only like cucumber in thin slices.

  48. I want to add that most fresh herbs are great for chickens, too. Ours go wild for dill – they prefer it over tomatoes, fruit, even dried mealworms.

  49. danger: dried mealworms should ;not be the microwave dried kind, as this removes all the nutrition, most retailers do not publish how the mealworms are dried, so its best to get them fresh ones. microwave dried leaves only the shells.

  50. We’ve had just one chicken a Rhode Island Red) all summer. Its my daughers pet. Can we safely add another hen so “Buttercup” isn’t lonely?

  51. My 11 girls love shredded carrots and swiss chard. I have a garden box just for them. When there is an overflow in the summer I process it and freeze it for winter time.

  52. My girls are crazy for their oat meal. I make sure it is just a little warm and very watery. I like to think it a good way of making sure they are well hydrated through out the cold winter. I also give them a daily supply of greens. A mixture of chopped up kale, spinach and if I have celery tops they love that. I get a kick out of my rooster, when I go out to give them their treats. He will stand guard making sure they know where I have put the treats and he makes sure they share them even to the point of picking some of the greens up and allowing the girls to take them from his beak.

  53. My chickens love to finish my breakfast cereal, life cereal or Chex and Cream of Wheat too!! They will drink up all the milk too!!

    1. They also love all the veggie scraps from my garden! Swiss chard, and a variety of lettuce!!

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