Can chickens actually taste what they are eating?

[Henriettamom919]

I do too, not that I ever get to eat them anymore. They've been added to the list of foods I don't get to keep if they see them.
If I want raisins I gotta hide in the house and eat them

.

This is me with anything that comes in a crinkly plastic bag. Mine will literally jump onto my shoulder for tortilla chips and flax seed/rice crackers And they love Gatorade, which my teenage son found out after leaving one open on our picnic table

 

[Chickassan]

Oh hush lol! I figure nobody likes raisins because they're always on sale here, most weeks they're bogo. Still the grocery.store shelf is just packed with raisins.
It's like i'm the only one buying them, they're cheaper than mealworms so i'm not questioning it too hard.
I'm still training chicks. I do not want to jinx my raisin supply.

Me too.... maybe we should stop liking raisins if we really want to be something... I’m kinda okay with being nothing though

 

[Henriettamom919]

Oh hush lol! I figure nobody likes raisins because they're always on sale here, most weeks they're bogo. Still the grocery.store shelf is just packed with raisins.
It's like i'm the only one buying them, they're cheaper than mealworms so i'm not questioning it too hard.
I'm still training chicks. I do not want to jinx my raisin supply.

I still fondly remember carting a little red box around as a kid but now that you mention it I never see little boxes of raisins in kids' lunches anymore!

The only time I do NOT like raisins is when they're given out at Halloween. That's just wrong

 

[gtaus]

I am looking forward to seeing what foods my chickens prefer. In the past, I only raised meat chickens and they were only fed bagged food - and then harvested at about 8 weeks. This is my first year with laying hens and I hope to get to know them much better over the next few years.

My chicks are 4 weeks old today, and I have started introducing small amounts of other foods to them in addition to their chick starter. They will peck at dandelions and other green weeds, and they eat some of it, but I remove any uneaten greens after a few hours. When I start mowing, I will be giving them some grass clippings. And I hope to start introducing kitchen scraps soon. I have been told just to introduce only very small amounts of these foods as the chicks mainly need chick starter. I cannot help but to wonder what a mama hen would be doing with her chicks in the wild because I think they would be eating greens, bugs, etc... from day 1.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Oh hush lol! I figure nobody likes raisins because they're always on sale here, most weeks they're bogo. Still the grocery.store shelf is just packed with raisins.
It's like i'm the only one buying them, they're cheaper than mealworms so i'm not questioning it too hard.
I'm still training chicks. I do not want to jinx my raisin supply.

You had me at “oh hush”...

...but “cheaper than meal worms” gets you one of these:

 

[Henriettamom919]

I am looking forward to seeing what foods my chickens prefer. In the past, I only raised meat chickens and they were only fed bagged food - and then harvested at about 8 weeks. This is my first year with laying hens and I hope to get to know them much better over the next few years.

My chicks are 4 weeks old today, and I have started introducing small amounts of other foods to them in addition to their chick starter. They will peck at dandelions and other green weeds, and they eat some of it, but I remove any uneaten greens after a few hours. When I start mowing, I will be giving them some grass clippings. And I hope to start introducing kitchen scraps soon. I have been told just to introduce only very small amounts of these foods as the chicks mainly need chick starter. I cannot help but to wonder what a mama hen would be doing with her chicks in the wild because I think they would be eating greens, bugs, etc... from day 1.

Mine are around the same age as yours and are, as of two days ago, enjoying grass, buttercup weed and dandelion. They also shared a large worm and caught a few flies! SO CUTE!

 

[Chickassan]

They do need chick food but if you let them out to forage they'll leave that chick food sitting without a second thought.
Alot of info on chicks is BS it isn't how it actually is the info is more of what people want it to be for convenience.
It is much easier to fill a feeder and walk away rather than sit and guard your babes while they do what they're ment to do. Stepping off my soapbox, it is still warm if anybody wants to use it.

I am looking forward to seeing what foods my chickens prefer. In the past, I only raised meat chickens and they were only fed bagged food - and then harvested at about 8 weeks. This is my first year with laying hens and I hope to get to know them much better over the next few years.

My chicks are 4 weeks old today, and I have started introducing small amounts of other foods to them in addition to their chick starter. They will peck at dandelions and other green weeds, and they eat some of it, but I remove any uneaten greens after a few hours. When I start mowing, I will be giving them some grass clippings. And I hope to start introducing kitchen scraps soon. I have been told just to introduce only very small amounts of these foods as the chicks mainly need chick starter. I cannot help but to wonder what a mama hen would be doing with her chicks in the wild because I think they would be eating greens, bugs, etc... from day 1.

 

[ShrekDawg]

My big girls HATE squash for some reason. Idk why but they just refuse to eat it lol but they do like cucumber and kale. They love kale and broccoli. They love pecking at the heads of the broccoli ha and they LOVE berries. Except strawberries. They hate those. Or at least don’t prefer them. They eat them but just slower lol but I think blueberries and blackberries are their favorites and they do like raspberries too and bananas and apples. And they love watermelon.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

... I cannot help but to wonder what a mama hen would be doing with her chicks in the wild because I think they would be eating greens, bugs, etc... from day 1.

I have a hen raising a brood that are about 3 weeks old now... they are confined to a covered run for their protection.... but she does hunt for anything that looks edible and then ‘tid bits’ at them to come check it out...

...but at this age already they’re hunting any bug that enters the run... or anything I throw to them...

... chicks come with a pretty sophisticated “firmware” preinstalled for this kinda thing...

... chicken in general do... this hen for instance, was raised in a plastic tub brooder and has never seen a chicken older than herself... but she’s preprogrammed to be a chicken momma ...

 

[ShrekDawg]

Oh and mine loveeeee grapes too. They are big fruit lovers as you can tell.