Offering your flock treats can help keep them engaged, healthy and content – just make sure that the foods chosen don’t contain toxic ingredients!
These easy DIY chicken treats can be created quickly with ingredients you may already have at hand. Simply fill a muffin tin or other mold with dry ingredients, and pour a liquid in the center.
Contents
Suet Cakes
Suet is made from rendered animal fat (typically from the kidneys and loins of beef cattle) formed into cakes, nuggets, or other shapes for use in bird feeders. Suet can contain seeds, bits of fruit, dried mealworms or other treats to attract birds of various species; many suppliers also offer plant-based versions using vegetable shortening or nut butters to accommodate vegetarian and vegan birders.
Homemade suet is usually reserved as winter bird food due to its tendency to spoil quickly in warmer temperatures, yet there are ready-to-use solutions with higher melting points designed to attract more birds while withstanding winter conditions more effectively than homemade varieties.
Birthday Cake
Birthday cake is an integral component of birthday celebrations and can bring immense joy and sweetness. It symbolizes hopes for an incredible year full of new experiences, happiness, and wealth – not to mention social interaction among family and friends! Additionally, its tradition has become an iconic icon throughout the world and widely respected.
Birthday celebrations typically feature various flavors and decorations to honor an individual, including cakes with different flavors or frosting, often decorated with images related to their name or favorite subject (ie images of their favorite things), as well as candles representing their age.
Chickens love birthday cake because it reminds them of their special day! For an easy DIY treat for your chickens, use any food scraps from around your home such as rolled oats, fruits or vegetables with cosmetic issues, or wheat seed to create this treat!
Peanut Butter Treats
Peanut butter is a favorite among chickens. They enjoy snacking on peanut butter sandwiches, apple slices with peanut butter dip, or peanut butter cookies; however, such treats should not replace a quality feed ration as they contain many extra calories and should only be given in moderation.
Make these treats in fun shapes using cookie cutters or simply cut circles using a floured-rimmed glass, and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
Note: Please ensure you use only 100% peanut butter that does not contain xylitol, which can be toxic for dogs. Furthermore, using a nonstick baking sheet can prevent your treats from sticking together too much.
These treats are an easy and quick way to ensure your chickens enjoy a cool refreshing snack during the heat of summer. Use leftover ingredients and kitchen scraps such as fresh herbs, fruit with bruises or vegetables with seeds in them as fillers or anything else you find handy for crafting these snacks!
Wheat Seed Treats
These treats are ideal for winter and molt when the flock needs an extra protein boost, as well as being an engaging project for kids to help with, providing an entertaining way to bust boredom while making use of leftover kitchen scraps.
Mix together any seeds, grains, and corn you have on hand (avoid anything with high levels of fungicide treatment as this could be toxic to chickens), adding some dried mealworms and crushed nuts for extra protein. Bind the treat with gelatin before mixing in flour so it forms into an easily-grasped puck for your birds to snack on!
Coconut oil can be extremely beneficial to my flock; it acts as an anti-fungal, aids digestion, increases circulation and is even considered a natural wormer! Regular cooking grease works just as well – just warm it until liquid before adding it to the seed mix.
