My family line and I desire chicken for old age , but it never seemed like the right meter . Once the springiness of 2020 rolled around and all travel plans were canceled , we settle to get our own flock base . We were all home more than ever before and in the end had the time to empower in such a project — include making and serving tasty treats for a new fold of chickens .
We live just out of doors of Minneapolis , Minnesota , and our home plate is in a residential area , which limits the issue of chickens we can have . The city ordinance only allows three hens and no rooster ( unless your neighbors do n’t complain , which they did ) .
So , we have three hens — an Easter Egger , a Gold Star ( a hybrid between a Light Sussex and Rhode Island Red ) and a California White .
All stock were decided upon by what their adult exercising weight would be ( our quad is limited ) and by their cold hardihood ( we often get negative winter temperatures ) . Between the three biddy , we get nearly 800 eggs per class , which is more than enough for our pocket-sized family .
With 800 eggs , we always have enough extra to share with folk , neighbors and friends .
Personality Plus
Before owning our diminished flock , I had no idea that chickens had such personality . Even from the first day they hatched , they had distinct personality trait .
Phyllis was the sweet , most lovable skirt . Smarty Pants was much smarter than the others ( she was born one daytime to begin with , and it showed ) . And Little B. was — well , you get the power point . They ’ve become a part of our family .
I enjoy their “ aid ” in the garden and their silly chicken prank . Smarty Pants loves to sneak into my landscaped mulched areas when I ’m not looking and scratch around , even though she know it ’s off limits to her . Little B. loves to hop up the run of my daughter ’s vacillation set and take in the persuasion from the high points , and Phyllis loves to walk into my garden and take a nimble bite here and there of my Brassica oleracea acephala , chard , broccoli and cauliflower .
Stephanie Thurow
Phyllis thinks she ’s being sneaky , but the trueness is that I do n’t mind one bit and am felicitous to share .
I especially enjoy former morning in the summer with them , before the sun rise and heats up everything . I get them out of their poultry pen , and they tour the gardens with me , while I bask a mug of coffee . Those morning are my favourite .
Five of my favourite treats follow that we once in a while make for our grownup chickens . Please take note that treat are to be yield in relief , and hens should n’t have more than a duo tablespoons of delicacy per day .
Stephanie Thurow
scan more : Here are some more tasty kickshaw that also encourage engagement in the coop .
Treat 1:Leftovers
Whenever we cook up a batch of organic rice , I always appropriate a little for the hens . Then I mix in whatever chicken - favorable fight I have and add whichever produce I involve to habituate up , such as grated zucchini , chopped kale , chard or other leafy K .
I continue add in whatever I have on manus — unseasoned nuts or seeds , chop apples , mashed bananas or other yield — and then I coalesce in some herbaceous plant . My biddy peculiarly bask oregano .
I shake it all together and top it off with some dry mealworms or dried tent flap larvae and some oyster shell . There is no measuring need for this recipe , just a little of this and trivial of that , and our chicken adore the pleasant-tasting treats . Plus , it ’s a large way to get rid of some kitchen fleck .
Stephanie Thurow
Treat 2:Fruit & Veggie Garland
Celebrate the holidays with your hens or celebrate “ just because . ” Start with salutary firm chain or telegram . Then find a dick to push through the fruit and vegetables . I made a big needle out of conducting wire , but a screwdriver or with child sewing needle would work as well .
Tie a knot in the string with at least a 6 - in fanny and start out threading a variety of chicken - good fruits and vegetables onto the garland . abridge larger produce into 2- to 3 - column inch clod .
Keep the garland 18 in or shorter so that it does n’t get too heavy , then tie another knot , leave at least a 6 - inch hind end . Attach the garland to the wimp telegram / fencing , and view the hen savour their special treat .
Be sure to keep an eye on the hens while they eat , and remove the string / wire once they are finished snacking . String is dangerous for wimp to consume .
Garland ingredients your chickens will love include kickshaw such as Brussels sprouts , grapes , apple , zucchini , cucumber , lettuce , squash , strawberry or watermelon .
Treat 3:Suet Treat
For this homemade treat , use the following .
In a medium - sizing bowl , mix dry element together . dethaw coconut oil in a small saucepan on miserable until liquid . employ a warmth - safe glass or metallic element baking pan as the suet block mold ( heavy enough to conform to 3 cups of commixture ) , and describe with parchment report .
I personally favor to use silicone polymer easy lay mould for my suet blocks ( never used for soap - making , only suet ) , because the placed suet brick easy pop out without any trouble of line them with parchment composition .
fill up the prepared mold with the ironic ingredients , and slowly pour the liquid coconut oil over the intermixture . permit this to cool for many hours or move to the refrigerator to speed up the process .
The coconut oil colour will harden and turn blanched once completely cooled .
To serve , simply give the suet brick to the hens or cling it in a suet feeder . It ’s undecomposed to void service on very warm day , as the coconut crude oil will soften and melt .
Treat 4:Fermented Food
The first prison term I made fermented poulet solid food was when Phyllis cracked her beak . She could n’t peck the way she commonly did because it would rush haemorrhage . I decided to tally water to her intellectual nourishment and let it soak up overnight .
I quick noticed the hens were extremely enjoying this dampen food for thought . Little did I know that I was not only making the solid food leisurely for my hens to corrode but also making it more beneficial for them .
I learn in Anne Kuo ’s book , The Beginner ’s scout to Raising Chickens , that by work chicken feed , it allows the of course occur bacteria to unlock the grains — make their enzyme , proteins and nutrient more readily usable for the body to engage — just like in fermented intellectual nourishment that human eat .
She goes on to say that studies show that ferment volaille provender has many benefits , include better intestinal health , strong immune system , shinier feathers , increase egg size , less smelly droppings and stronger disease resistance , include resistor to salmonella and E. coli .
I do n’t turn each meal for my chickens . However , I work 1 quart on a hebdomadal basis and they very much treasure it .
quantity 2 cups of chicken provender into a clean quart canning jar . Add water until the provender is covered with at least 2 inches of water and stir well . Add more piddle as needed throughout twenty-four hours 1 so that the feed stays submerged .
Cover with canning jar chapeau and pack andtighten . Ferment at room temperature , ideally between 60 to 75 stage F , and keep out of direct sunlight .
Ferment between 1 and 5 days .
belch the shock day by day : Unscrew the lid briefly to allow ramp up up gas to bring out ( and avoid possible jolt breakage ) , then screw it back on tightly . It ’s wholly normal to see little bubbles or even foamlike ripple occur at the top of the fermentation .
employ a clean spoonful to stir down the feed , as it will promote up toward the sassing of the jounce as it ferments .
The fermented provender may have a sour feeling , which is another normal sign of the zodiac of fermenting . To attend , pour the turn feed into a clean dish for your flock as - is , or stir in any chopped fruit , veggies , leafy greens , huitre shells or treats as you see primed .
Discard if mould is present .
Read more : Do chickens really need Malus pumila cider acetum ?
Treat 5:High-Protein Molting Mix
It ’s obvious when my flock is approaching molting season because they begin instinctively trying to boost their protein intake . They explore for bug and insect in my landscaped gardens and space where they normally stay out of during the summer . They screw many bugs hide out within the mulch . Stephanie Thurow
At this point , I help them by hoist pots and stone around the railway yard , so they can pick up and scrape up the soft soil full of insect that enshroud below . I also aid them by make gamy protein snack , such as this formula .
This is another recipe that I in general do n’t measure , I just add a piffling of this and a little of that . But here is the general outline that I follow .
manipulate one egg per every two hens , and scramble with coconut crude and one ail Syzygium aromaticum , chopped .
bring up egg into1⁄4cup cooked oatmeal . Mix in1⁄4cup high - protein wheat and ejaculate . Top with brewer ’s yeast and grub dirt ball .
Because we live in a residential country without too much space to drift , we like to know things up with different snacks and dainty for the chickens . I especially like to comprise treats in the winter , when our ground is cover in snow and frosty solid . The chickens need more solid food during these months because they ’re using energy to stay warm , and treats do the trick !
More Information
Chickens love herbs , and they make a great treats for a little great deal to nosh on .
This article primitively appeared in the January / February 2022 takings ofChickensmagazine .
