Scratch, crops and snacks

[rosemarythyme]

Since they like the scratch using a bit for training wouldn't be a bad idea. Give the bag a shake, pick a verbal call (mine's just "chook chook chook") and toss some scratch down. Do it 1-2x a day and before you know it they'll consistently start to come to you when they hear the bag or your call.

As far as veggies and such, mine mostly get whatever we don't eat: carrot greens, cauliflower leaves, stripped corn cob, things like that. Better giving it to them than putting it in the compost, and anything they don't eat will break down in the run which I can harvest later as garden soil.

 

[z3lda3]

Awe thanks! I bet we've made Nuthatched blush, LOL !!

Since they like the scratch using a bit for training wouldn't be a bad idea. Give the bag a shake, pick a verbal call (mine's just "chook chook chook") and toss some scratch down. Do it 1-2x a day and before you know it they'll consistently start to come to you when they hear the bag or your call.

As far as veggies and such, mine mostly get whatever we don't eat: carrot greens, cauliflower leaves, stripped corn cob, things like that. Better giving it to them than putting it in the compost, and anything they don't eat will break down in the run which I can harvest later as garden soil.

Training purposes! That never crossed my mind. As it is I’m out there saying hey chickados, come on chickens..hellloooo. Completely ignored of course.
and anything for garden soil, yes please!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Training purposes! That never crossed my mind. As it is I’m out there saying hey chickados, come on chickens..hellloooo. Completely ignored of course.

They won't ignore it if coming to you = yum, treats!

and anything for garden soil, yes please!

Not sure what type of litter system you're using, but deep litter is pretty much a slow compost system right under foot.

I harvested 1 cu yard of soil last fall:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/prepping-deep-litter-for-fall.1599199/

 

[z3lda3]

They won't ignore it if coming to you = yum, treats!

Not sure what type of litter system you're using, but deep litter is pretty much a slow compost system right under foot.

I harvested 1 cu yard of soil last fall:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/prepping-deep-litter-for-fall.1599199/

Oh wow!!! That’s great! Ok so don’t laugh eh you might as well. Right now I just started my compost about a month ago, and I’ve been (I can’t believe I’m saying this) cleaning out their coop and sifting it and putting the droppings in my composter with a big fork. But that deep litter method looks fantastic!

 

[RoyalChick]

Oh wow!!! That’s great! Ok so don’t laugh eh you might as well. Right now I just started my compost about a month ago, and I’ve been (I can’t believe I’m saying this) cleaning out their coop and sifting it and putting the droppings in my composter with a big fork. But that deep litter method looks fantastic!

That sounds like a lot of work to me.
I just go dig out a bucket of compost from the chicken run whenever I need some for the garden.
I do also have a compost heap with things that I don't give the chickens (mainly the pine pellets in the cat litter trays). I don't put that compost on food crops, and I don't let the chickens have access to it.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Oh wow!!! That’s great! Ok so don’t laugh eh you might as well. Right now I just started my compost about a month ago, and I’ve been (I can’t believe I’m saying this) cleaning out their coop and sifting it and putting the droppings in my composter with a big fork. But that deep litter method looks fantastic!

I have compost bins too. And I do pick up surface poops from the run (and sift poop from the coop) each day (which goes in the bins). So nothing wrong with doing it that way. But plenty of poop mixes into the run litter, along with other organic matter, to generate good ol' "garden dirt."

The compost from the bins is just additional top dressing, very rich, that I can mix in where I need it. But doing a dual bin and deep litter approach keeps the odors under control everywhere and minimizes pest intrusion for me as well.

 

[SoCal Chicken Mama]

I agree with all that you said, I value info. from Nuthatched. I'm not sure who said "treats are more for you," but I took it to heart. My thought on treats for chicks is that feed has the correct amount of what they need nutritionally to grow and thrive. My brain is also wired to think that vegetables = health but they are not rabbits and they are not humans so I have to apply different logic. I see bright red healthy combs and feathers on my hens who free range fall through spring. They're out there right now selecting dandelions, bugs and all sorts of natural seeds and vegetation. To me, that's superior to my human food offerings. So instead it goes in the compost.

So at what age do they go out foraging all day? I was surprised that someone said grass was hard to digest, so I should give them grit. They are 4 weeks old, and they have a tiny run under their coop. I try to put in something new in it every day, a perch, a mirror toy, a flat of Chick's Mix grass. The bigger run isn't built yet, and I wasn't going to plant it until the builders are done tramping around in it. But I was planning to let them use it as soon as it is secure. So should I not be giving them those flats of grass?

 

[Altairsky]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...eat-tears-a-calculator-or-deep-pockets.78655/

Scratch is what my chickens eat mainly. I tried the industrial feed for 3 months because it was suggested on this forums and all I got was low quality eggs with thin shell and watery egg white and sad pale yolk. I eat real food myself, industrial apple juice is not healthier than a real apple so I don't know why real food is no good for chickens.