Chicken Treats For Every Season

Chicken Treats For Every Season 

October 24, 2021


(Lafayette feasting on fall garden remains!)


My chickens get some sort of snack or treat nearly every day - even if it's just some free range time so they can find their own snacks in the form of bugs, worms and weeds. And that changes depending on what's readily available and what is optimal nutritionally for them. Before I go into what treats I feed during each season, there are some basic guidelines when it comes to treats.

1) A balanced layer feed (or grower if you have little ones still :) should make up the bulk of your flock's diet.

2) Treats should make up no more than 10% of their total diet, so figure on maybe 1-2 tablespoons per day per chicken of snacks. 

3) Generally, if you would eat it, then it's okay for your chickens, so that means stale or wilted is okay, but don't ever feed anything moldy, spoiled or rotten. 

Now that we have the guidelines down, let's get into the seasons of chicken treats!


Spring Treats:


Summer Treats:

Fall Treats: 
  • Pumpkins
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Unsalted nuts
  • Garden remains- stems, stalks, etc
  • Cooked white meats, fish, and shellfish scraps
NOTE: Feeding uncooked or red meats to your chickens could result in aggressive behavioral problems!!!

Winter Treats:
  • Scratch
  • Oatmeal
  • Cinnamon
  • Cayenne pepper
  • Fodder/sprouts

I think it's amazing that chickens can eat such a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and treats! I hope this post gave you some awesome ideas for chicken treats this season. Thanks for reading!

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