Six tasty and healthy snacks for chickens to tickle their fancy!

Do you want your backyard friends to enjoy a snack on top of their food? No inspiration about what to provide as snacks for chickens? Follow these ideas!

Every chicken owner knows the enthusiastic cluck that a flock of chickens makes when enjoying a tasty snack. You too can make your chickens happy with some extra snacks on top of their regular feed. No inspiration? We are happy to give you some examples from our top chicken food critics...(aka. our backyard taste-testing friends).

Oatmeal

Chickens love it when you serve them a bowl of warm oatmeal on a cold winter morning. For extra flavour you can mix in fruit, such as bananas. Be careful with milk, though, because it can have a laxative effect.

Fruit and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are the classic healthy and simple snacks. On hot days, cut a watermelon in two and put half of it in the chicken run. They will love it!

Which vegetables should you not feed your chickens? Avocado, raw or green potatoes, raw onions, unripe tomatoes, dry or raw beans, and citrus fruits. As for the rest? Anything goes!

Dairy

Yes, dairy. Unsweetened and in moderation. Think yogurt or cottage cheese as extra snacks for your chickens. Dairy provides much-needed calcium, but it can also cause diarrhea if a chicken eats too much of it. When it’s very hot, you can also give them frozen yoghurt (plain, not the dessert).

Pasta salad

Cook a handful of pasta and add corn, cereal mix, lettuce and ripe cherry tomatoes. It’ll look so tasty you'll almost want to peck at it yourself!

Extra info? Watch our video on how to make chicken-friendly pasta salad. It’s Jamie Oliver for the barnyard...and it’s ready in a jiffy!

Snack balls

Mix some ready-to-eat grain mixes, such as hen grain, laying meal and a snack mix, add some water until you get a consistent paste. Stir in some fresh, soft corn and roll the mixture into a ball. It’s an easy chicken snack that will have them running around the pen in anticipation.

Extra information? Watch our short video on how to make snack balls for chickens. Ready in no time! And it keeps your clucking friends heathy and happy.

Frozen snacks

An ideal snack for your chickens on a hot summer day! Fill a cake tin or pan with treats such as fruit, a grain mixture or corn, fill the tin to the brim with water and place it in the freezer. This is also a handy way to get rid of table scraps.

Extra information? Check out the instructions for making a frozen summer snack. Ready in no time!

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