Winter treat/activity ideas

[Sally PB]

My neighbor raked up about 30 garbage bags of leaves last fall. She had them stacked as a wind break outside the run. About once a week, she cut one open and dumped it inside the run. Her chickens loved that.

I was gifted some straw bales recently. I have one in the run right now. I'll add another one or two in a couple months.

My chickens also love a warm mash in the afternoon. I use the small bits of their regular feed that fall to the bottom of the bowl (dump them into a metal container when I empty the bowls at night). This way, I use up the feed they won't eat, and they get a nice warm meal in the late afternoon. I do the same in the heat of summer, making it with cold water.

Pumpkins and gourds are plentiful this time of year. I carve the skin off in a few small spots to "get it started," and they take care of the rest. The eat the flesh, the stringy goop, and the seeds. I'll save a few for later in the season. I do the same with butternut squash: I get the neck to cook for dinner, they get the seeds cavity to eat.

 

[Morrigan]

As others have mentioned, big heaps of fall leaves, hay bales and gourds can provide a lot of entertainment for chickens.

I also like to sprout fodder for them. Sometime in the winter I let it grow long and throw down a mat of it for them to peck through.

 

[Ashleyboz]

I did a fall treat with our dry ration of whole grains and seeds, added some corn meal and a little molasses for a binder, carrots, a little peanut butter and honestly stuff they love that would work!

Also, we are in ND so I feed them a lamb tallow suet!

 

[Sally PB]

I also like to sprout fodder for them. Sometime in the winter I let it grow long and throw down a mat of it for them to peck through.

I've done this too. When my eyes are aching to see something green in mid January, I love growing sprouts of any kind.

I pull it into chunks and toss it around the run. One of them will grab a bit and take off, like they caught an interception and are taking it to the house for a pick 6.

Yeah, it's football season.

 

[TooCheep]

I give them oatmeal with black soldier fly larva as a topping in the mornings as a small warm-up. Personally, I prefer apple and cinnamon flavor, but you have to cater to your audience. It is only a small amount and they quickly get through it. The oatmeal isn't very nutritious, but I consider it like a hot chocolate on a cold day.

During the afternoons in late fall to winter, I'll give them sprouted fodder (wheat+barley) since they normally free-range and they can't get as much tasty greens. Both the oatmeal and fodder are tasty and welcome supplements, but commercial feed is still the base of their daily food.

 

[The Welch Chickens]

I did a fall treat with our dry ration of whole grains and seeds, added some corn meal and a little molasses for a binder, carrots, a little peanut butter and honestly stuff they love that would work!

Also, we are in ND so I feed them a lamb tallow suet!

Wow, those look great!

 

[The Welch Chickens]

My hens LOVE warm oatmeal when it gets cold, it’s more a treat than an activity. I usually make mine with garlic,chili flakes,oregano, thyme,raisins and other herbs that helps their system. I sometimes put a bit of cod liver oil in too as it has a lot of vitamins and helps with their immune system
All my hens go crazy for it

I'd recommend doing it with their regular feed as opposed to oatmeal. It will maintain a proper nutritional intake and they'll love it just the same.

I give them oatmeal with black soldier fly larva as a topping in the mornings as a small warm-up. Personally, I prefer apple and cinnamon flavor, but you have to cater to your audience. It is only a small amount and they quickly get through it. The oatmeal isn't very nutritious, but I consider it like a hot chocolate on a cold day.

During the afternoons in late fall to winter, I'll give them sprouted fodder (wheat+barley) since they normally free-range and they can't get as much tasty greens. Both the oatmeal and fodder are tasty and welcome supplements, but commercial feed is still the base of their daily food.

I give them a warm mash about once a week, made with their pellets and a sprinkle of oatmeal. They love it. It seems like a good treat because the pellets offer regular nutrition instead of a fatty treat... and they can't tell the difference
I added cod liver oil to one mash, and red pepper flakes and herbs to another.

Thank you all for your ideas! (Not saying I'm closing the thread; more ideas are quite welcome )

 

[PhantomSlayer]

Were growing fodder for our 2 geese that live with our chickens the chickens seem to enjoy eating it and the ungrown seeds after the geese finish. Not to sure about things for bored chickens since this is our first year but I've read people hang cds and cabbage. We are planning to hang a suet cake once in a while for them. We also add cracked corn to our feed. Having more roosts/high places seems like they may enjoy. Sorry thats all I can think of besides speading treats on the ground for them to find

 

[The Welch Chickens]

We also got two treat dispensers at Tractor Supply. One is a hanging treat holder with a bell on it, and one is a ball that we can fill with scratch and they roll it around. They like them a lot, which is surprising! (The yellow ball scared them at first though lol)

 

[Sally PB]

The yellow ball scared them at first though lol

That sounds like a chicken reaction. LOL.