Best snacks/treats/food for a mixed flock

Muser

Songster
Jun 30, 2023
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Wales, UK
I live in the UK so our weather doesn't get too warm, but I try to get the girls a variety of seasonal veggies in.

I can't give our flock mealworms or black soldier fly larvae as these are illegal to feed chickens in the UK (due to the rubbish processing, sometimes animal deritives are included and can give give various diseases e.g. Foot and Mouth - they are only legally sold as OK for wild/garden bird usage) so I have had to resort to feeding mixed corn specifically made for Homestead Chickens.


Spring: Spinach, Kale, Any mixed Spring Salad and leafy greens.

Summer: I make sure to have Watermelon, Cucumber and Baby Gem Lettuce in for the girls since I have a mixed flock containing some fluffier and less fluffy girls and all like a bit of a cool off when it is warm. They also wander around my garden picking off all the lower blackberries I have scattered around. Cherries and Berries go down well.

Autumn: I intend this year to get a Pumpkin or Squash for them. I also like to get mixed corn as a treat for when it starts getting colder. They like Banana occassionally too.

Winter: Sweet potato and Parsnips, a cheeky Christmas sprout and Cabbage. Mixed corn as a treat for Winter is nice too, gives them a bit of a boost in the colder months.


What do you give to your flocks all year around? Maybe we can share some tips/things each other's flocks like to diversify the snackidge!
 
Cantaloupe! We eat the fruit, and the chickens love the guts and picking the rinds clean.

For year round treats, I buy blueberries when in season/cheap and freeze them. When I thaw some out to use, I will save a handful for the chickens.

Any produce I buy that ends up getting past it's prime before we can eat it, or the discards (like ends of a squash), all goes out to the coop.

I also freeze any tomatoes from my garden that don't come out well from the garden and on hot days, toss them into the run. The frozen bags of tomatoes will keep until next summer.
 

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