What and what not to give to chickens as treats is a controversial matter. Some people say "no treats", some people say feed only what your birds would encounter in nature, and some say table scraps are the best. In this article, I will cover what is and isn't safe to feed your flock.
In general, anything from your garden is safe. In fact, you can let your chickens run in your garden after you've harvested everything, and they will clean up all the rotten fruit and vegetables. I grow tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, beans, peppers, hot peppers, corn, and carrots in my garden and the only things I don't let the chickens eat are the cucumbers, carrots and hot peppers.
If you put up sufficient barriers, you can let your chickens roam in the garden while your plants are small. They will clean out the insects that might harm your plants, such aphids, thrips, spider mites, grubs, cutworms and other little pests. If your chickens free-range, they won't need many treats because they will pick up so many bugs from the ground.
As far as store bought treats, I reccomend things like mealworms, crickets, army ants, poultry 'snack mix' and other, similar products. Manna Pro has a wide selection of healthy poultry treats, especially in their Flock Party line.
Now let's talk about how much treats to give.
There is really no magic amount for feeding treats. You just have to follow the instructions on the package.
No matter how much you love your birds, DO NOT give them too many treats. This can cause a whole passel of health problems, including impacted crop, sour crop, and pendulous crop, among others.
Now let's discuss what NOT to feed chickens. DO NOT feed chickens citrus fruits. Their digestive systems can't handle them. DO NOT feed chickens
potatoes. They contain a chemical that is HIGHLY TOXIC to chickens and can kill them. SWEET potatoes, on the other hand, are a member of the morning glory family, and are safe for chickens to eat. Long grasses are not good for chickens, as they can wad up and cause crop problems.
In the event of your chickens eating too much of something they shouldn't have, it's necessary to know what to do. For a crop blockage, the crop must be emptied by turning the chicken upside down and massaging her or his crop until the contents come out of their mouth, because chickens cannot vomit on their own. Keep in mind, this is a risky move, because if the chicken isn't tilted forward enough, they will aspirate the vomit. It just may save the chicken's life, though, so it's worth the risk. If you do nothing, the chicken will likely die.
I hope this article helped you on your chicken care journey. Have a great day and good luck as a chicken parent!!
In general, anything from your garden is safe. In fact, you can let your chickens run in your garden after you've harvested everything, and they will clean up all the rotten fruit and vegetables. I grow tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, beans, peppers, hot peppers, corn, and carrots in my garden and the only things I don't let the chickens eat are the cucumbers, carrots and hot peppers.
If you put up sufficient barriers, you can let your chickens roam in the garden while your plants are small. They will clean out the insects that might harm your plants, such aphids, thrips, spider mites, grubs, cutworms and other little pests. If your chickens free-range, they won't need many treats because they will pick up so many bugs from the ground.
As far as store bought treats, I reccomend things like mealworms, crickets, army ants, poultry 'snack mix' and other, similar products. Manna Pro has a wide selection of healthy poultry treats, especially in their Flock Party line.
Now let's talk about how much treats to give.
There is really no magic amount for feeding treats. You just have to follow the instructions on the package.
No matter how much you love your birds, DO NOT give them too many treats. This can cause a whole passel of health problems, including impacted crop, sour crop, and pendulous crop, among others.
Now let's discuss what NOT to feed chickens. DO NOT feed chickens citrus fruits. Their digestive systems can't handle them. DO NOT feed chickens
potatoes. They contain a chemical that is HIGHLY TOXIC to chickens and can kill them. SWEET potatoes, on the other hand, are a member of the morning glory family, and are safe for chickens to eat. Long grasses are not good for chickens, as they can wad up and cause crop problems.
In the event of your chickens eating too much of something they shouldn't have, it's necessary to know what to do. For a crop blockage, the crop must be emptied by turning the chicken upside down and massaging her or his crop until the contents come out of their mouth, because chickens cannot vomit on their own. Keep in mind, this is a risky move, because if the chicken isn't tilted forward enough, they will aspirate the vomit. It just may save the chicken's life, though, so it's worth the risk. If you do nothing, the chicken will likely die.
I hope this article helped you on your chicken care journey. Have a great day and good luck as a chicken parent!!
