Chickens love a tasty treat every now and then, and it’s your responsibility as a chicken keeper to keep your flock happy and healthy so that they can continue laying plenty of eggs for you. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at the 9 best treats for backyard chickens.
Berries
The absolute best treat that you can give your chickens is berries. It doesn’t matter what kind of berries you give them, be it strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries, chickens just love berries. Just scatter some berries across your backyard and watch their faces light up.
For chickens, berries of all kinds are like multi-vitamin pills that taste really good. Berries are full of healthy nutrients such as vitamins A, B complex, and C. Not only that, but they’re also a really good source of beta-carotene, which helps promote good eye health and vision.
Cottage Cheese
Next on the list of best treats for backyard chickens is cottage cheese. While we’re not quite sure why chickens love cottage cheese, we’re quite confident that you’ll be hard-pressed to find a chicken that doesn’t delight in its taste. The awesome thing about cottage cheese is that you can mix it with vegetables such as broccoli or carrots to add more nutrients.
Speaking of nutrients, cottage cheese is one of the best treats you can provide to your chickens because it provides some of the essential nutrients that your flock needs such as calcium, which is beneficial for their bones, and protein, which chickens need to produce eggs.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is one of the best treats that you can offer your flock in the cold months of winter. After all, oatmeal is a favorite for us, humans, in the winter because it helps warm us up. Additionally, oatmeal is full of nutrients that will help keep your chickens healthy and happy.
When making oatmeal for your chickens, make sure you add water instead of milk. You can also add an extensive range of toppings like sunflower seeds, berries, raisins, scratch, or mealworms in order to make it more tempting and even more tastier for your hens.
Yogurt
Yogurt is another great food that you can give sparingly to your chickens as a treat. Yogurt can help promote a healthy digestive system when given in small portions. If you give your chickens yogurt on a regular basis or in large portions, it’ll be hard for them to break it down properly.
We feel the need to stress that yogurt or any other treat specified in this list are only to be given sparingly so that they don’t end up doing more harm than good. In addition, these treats need to be a part of a varied and balanced diet that offers your hens the essential nutrients they need.
Mealworms
A list of the best treats for backyard chickens wouldn’t be comprehensive without highlighting chickens’ most favorite treat, mealworms. The great thing about mealworms is that they require no preparation whatsoever. You can simply feed them to your chicken right out of the bag.
Your chickens won’t be the only ones enjoying their treat, you’ll also have plenty of fun watching them run around your backyard with mealworms in their mouths. Typically, you can get a bag of mealworms for $20 from your local tackle/fishing store. You can also farm your own mealworms or click on this link or the photo below to get the ones we buy from Amazon.com.
Watermelon
Not only is watermelon the perfect summer fruit for humans, but it’s perfect for chickens as well. Watermelon is full of water and it’s rich with vital vitamins and minerals that will keep your flocks both refreshed and healthy. Simply slice it into small chunks and keep them in your freezer.
Whenever it’s hot outside, grab a few watermelon chunks from your freezer and put them in the hens’ water bowl so that they can peck at it all day long. You should also try mixing plain Greek yogurt with the watermelon chunks to increase its refreshing effect on chickens.
Sweetcorn
Corn is yet another wonderful treat that you can give to your chickens loosely, mixed with their own pellets, or straight from the cob. You can also hang a few cobs around your backyard with some strings and let your chickens peck away at them. It’s a great source of amusement.
The great thing about corn is that it’s affordable. It’s also rich with phytochemicals like lutein and zeaxanthin which help keep the vision sharp. In addition, corn contains plenty of fibers that your hens’ bodies are in need of. A bushel of corn will typically cost you around $3.7.
Pumpkin
Pumpkin is one of those treats that can keep your hens refreshed during the summer season. In addition, it’s packed with a wide range of nutrients that can help keep your chickens healthy and happy. Eating pumpkin helps make your chickens’ egg yolks turn vibrantly orange.
However, pumpkin isn’t the easiest treat to cut into pieces. What you need to do is grab a whole pumpkin and place it inside your chicken pen. Next, grab a dead blow hammer or a mallet to hit the pumpkin with so that it’s broken open for your chickens to peck away at.
Ginger
While ginger isn’t the tastiest treat on this list, it’s probably the most beneficial. We all know that ginger is a superfood that has an impressive range of health benefits that humans and hens can use. There are studies that claim that ginger can help increase the size of chicken eggs.
Ginger is one of the best treats to give to your chicken when they molt, as it can help them grow their feathers back very quickly. All you have to do is mix some ginger powder with their water or pellets. Make sure you feed your chickens ginger no more than once a month.
Final Words
There are plenty of other treats that you can give to your chickens, but we’re quite confident that your hens would appreciate it if you give them any of the above-mentioned treats more than any other treat. Ultimately, the best treats for backyard chickens is the way you care for them. The fact that you read this article shows how much you love them!