Official BYC Poll: What’s your favorite winter treat to give your chickens?

[AntiqueB]

The key to BSF is to completely go over. Feed BSF, and never feed mealworms again. They learn to love them as much as mealworms.

 

[UpstateChickenDaddy]

The key to BSF is to completely go over. Feed BSF, and never feed mealworms again. They learn to love them as much as mealworms.

Will try that. The chinese mealworms will be twice as expensive shortly.

My other half said to me “oh don’t feed them those dried bugs, dear. I don’t like the thought of them in our eggs.” I said “they’re chickens. Half their lives is scratching in the ground looking for protein.” Then I showed the video of the track an egg takes inside a chicken to develop and come out, and reiterated that there is only one passageway in a chicken for EVERYTHING. The reply was “ok feed them the bugs. Doesn’t much matter after all that.”

 

[Seaslug]

Blood does get directed to the stomach for digestion, but that would achieve the opposite of what your friend said. When you want to guard against hypothermia, directing blood inward is actually exactly what you want - you want it away from the extremities, which lose heat more quickly.

K0k0shka -- Thank you so much for your answer! For some reason, I never got the notification. And I still hadn't looked up the answer for myself...

 

[micstrachan]

I’ve had two die from fatter liver hemorrhage over the years, so I tend to almost no treats at all most of the time. When they’re in lay, I do tend to shred zucchini for them as it seems to help with eggshells. Maybe the manganese? Occasional blueberries or even watermelon on a hot summer day.

Once in awhile, if the weather is really bad and they starve themselves by hanging out in the coop instead of run, I’ll sneak in at night with a headlamp and a bowl of baby bird formula which they’ll gobble right up.

If I think they need a protein boost, a can of sardines or some cooked beef, liver, but haven’t done this in many months. This is usually only if they them are molting. Or buttermilk poured over their feed as a rare molt treat.

 

[micstrachan]

Oh, and sometimes wet mash made out of their pellets.