Broody hen success - chicken feeding good/bad - chicken treats you bake at home and save $$$$$ - last tidbits.
Hi everyone! Our summer is really going fast. I have been so busy and have not had much time to blog. Isn't it the way it works, when you have time, it is winter and nothing much is going on. SUMMER time= so busy that you cant even take pictures or update the blog.
Oh well, now that I have ranted a bit - on with some updates.
The broody chicken, Bonnie - I am happy to report that we broke the brood. I did not have time (see above) to build a small "jail" pen or coop to hold her in. So I did the next best thing, I put her in the side "chicken yard" which is all gravel and no comfort. She like to peck around in the gravel but did not like sitting on it very much. The idea I got from my reading is that you have to remove the warmth and comfort of sitting on eggs. If you give no nest, no bedding for a few days, they stop brooding. Some folks plunge the chicken in cold water and others add a fan to blow on the bottom of the chicken while in the cage coop.I just had to remove her from the nest as often as I could and stuck with it. She would flare up, peck,get very mad and even growl a bit. I would don thick leather work gloves and she could not hurt me. Not that the brooding is over, she is just the same shy, sweet little hen. She has even started laying eggs again.
Do Not Feed Info - So I have had a lot of questions on feeding chicken. Everyone has their opinions but I stick to what I have read over and over. I have looked at many different sites on this subject. I also have read lots of bolgs and discussion boards on this subject. I complied a small list with the DO NOT FEED -
Raw green potato peels -- Toxic substance called Solanine.
Anything real salty -- Can cause salt poisoning in small bodies such as chickens.
Citrus
Dried or undercooked Beans --- Raw, or dry beans, contain a poison called hemaglutin which is toxic to birds.
Avocado Skin and Pit --Skin and pit have low levels of toxicity.
Raw eggs -- You don't want to introduce your chickens to the tastiness of eggs which may be waiting to be collected in the nest boxes.
Candy, Chocolate, Sugar --Their teeth will rot... No, it's just bad for their systems, and chocolate can be poisonous to most pets.
Moldy or rotten veggies and fruit - If it is bad - compost it - don't feed to your hens.
If you want a big list of the "good snacks" send me a email and I will send you the doc. It is the "A - Z on treats.
Treats to make & bake -
The other day I decided to make some treats I had read about on some blogs. My girls deserve the best, right? Most treats you buy are costly and I wanted something easy and cheap. I was mixing up the batch and my dad called. I answered the "hey what are you doing" question by telling him I was baking chicken snacks. He sort of stuttered, what the ???? It was funny.
Ingredients -
3 cups finely ground corn (their scratch)
1 1/2 cup wild bird seed - or their feed or a mix of anything - black sunflower seeds, bird feed, some cracked corn etc. I use up what I got. Some people add dried fruit too (apples, berries).
1 cup of oatmeal
Add enough water to moisten the mixture, but not make it soupy - someone also said to add an egg -good for binding the product. Hey it works for cakes and cookies, why not for this?
Mix up well in a bowl and pack firmly into a greased shallow baking dish (form a round or square cookie - or put in paper muffin cups (not full about half full) **** Note - one guy made a hole in the center by inserting a piece of foil (in a small ball or tube. The idea is to have a hole in the center of the treat to be able to hang it up. If you try and put a hole in later, you could break the "cookie"
Baked at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours until the edges were brown - low and slow on the temp and time.
Remove and let cool completely before serving. I keep the extras in a zip lock bag in fridge to keep fresh for a long time. Be sure to mark the bag - Do Not Eat - Chicken treats ONLY!!!! I do not think my kids would eat them much after one bite.
Let me how it turns out for you and how your hens like it. I would be interested any and all changes and varieties.
Best to you - ChickenScott
