Chickens love snacking on nutritious treats throughout the day. These treats contain vital vitamins and minerals to keep their flock hydrated and health.
Berry snacks are an enticing treat for poultry – just be sure to provide these nutritious treats in moderation! Cantaloupe offers stress relief and cell health benefits, while pumpkin seeds act as natural dewormers.
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Cheese
Chickens can enjoy snacking on healthy treats from time to time, provided that these don’t interfere with meeting their daily vitamin, mineral and protein requirements that their feed provides them.
Cottage cheese makes an easy and calcium-packed snack for backyard flocks to digest, while pasta, vegetables and bread scraps attract their interest as food sources. Ginger also stimulates appetite while alleviating stress in their home environment.
Apples
Apples make an ideal treat for chickens as they contain many essential vitamins and nutrients that help boost digestion, improve cellular function, aid healing and overall health, but be sure to remove their seeds first as these contain amygdalin which breaks down into hydrogen cyanide when consumed by chickens.
Try hanging apples from twine in your coop as a fun treat and providing other chicken-safe treats like peanut butter, seeds or dried cranberries to your flock – though be mindful not to overdo it with treats as too many can lead to nutritional imbalances.
Greens
Chickens can benefit from eating various greens, such as mustard greens which are high in Vitamin C, folate and fiber and offer them extra nutritional support.
Other green treats include the leaves and seeds of zucchini (just be sure they’re cooked before eating them), banana flesh when it is ripe, as well as raw potato skins (but only cooked ones!).
Feed treats sparingly to your flock to avoid nutritional imbalances and allow their digestive systems time to adapt. New foods should be introduced gradually so as to allow their bodies to digest them properly.
Scratch Grains
Chickens love scratch grains, which consist of whole, unfortified grain seeds and corn, to satisfy their natural instinct to peck and search for food.
Scratch was once used as a cheap feed solution to reduce waste and save on costs; however, its lack of nutritional balance hindered its usefulness for supporting a healthy flock.
Use scratch sparingly as an occasional treat and limit its usage to no more than 10% of your flock’s diet. Too much scratch may lead to overweight hens, potentially interfering with digestion of complete feed products.
Scratch Veggies
Home cooking can be an excellent way to control what your family eats, but that doesn’t mean every meal must be homemade from scratch. There are many simple recipes out there with healthy ingredients your flock will adore!
Tomatoes are an enjoyable source of essential vitamins and minerals, although pepper plants should be avoided due to being members of the nightshade family which contain toxic elements.
Eggs
Chickens love eggs as a source of protein; these tasty treats can be scrambled, fried or hard-boiled for optimal consumption.
Hens who reside in natural settings with access to greens and other nutritious treats produce more nutritous and delicious eggs.
Some foods can be toxic to poultry, such as avocado pits and skins which contain persin – a substance toxic to birds – or chocolate which may lead to diarrhea in birds. But table scraps and leftovers from kitchens can still make tasty chicken treats!
Ginger
Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is an underground stem with many powerful compounds, often used as an anti-inflammatory, diarrheal treatment and circulatory stimulant.
Gingerol in high concentrations may irritate chicken’s crop and digestive tract, so only offer as occasional treats in small doses. Ginger is beneficial in aiding digestion while increasing egg production; cooked ginger also stimulates these processes. Ginger can also help stimulate digestive function. When given regularly as treats it will aid egg production. Ginger is used sparingly as it may irritate them so use sparingly!
Broccoli
Chickens require an abundance of dietary fiber to maintain a healthy digestive tract. Broccoli offers this crucial nutrient as well as essential vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin C, Calcium Potassium Zinc.
Broccoli is rich in chromium, an element known to regulate neurotransmitters like serotonin. Try feeding your flock raw or by steaming into small florets and stalks – just be careful that nothing fibrous gets lodged in their throats!
