Our chickens love treats! And we are happy to make them for our flock. In our last produce basket we were given four avocados. My family does not like avocados, which astounds me that out of six of us no one eats them. Our chickens, however, love them. So, below I have created a recipe for some super yummy treats for the chickens.
Ingredients
1 c Rolled Oats
4 T Flax Seed (ground or whole)
1/4 c Molasses
1/8 c Raw Pumpkin Seeds
4 Avocados (less is fine too)
1 c Crushed Egg Shells (I bake mine first and then crush them, but bake them or don’t, either way is fine)
Instructions
Find a bowl that you are willing to take out to the yard and pour in your rolled oats.
Add the flax seed…
…And your molasses.
Pour in some raw pumpkin seeds (so very good for you!). Pumpkin seeds are a natural wormer and since my girls are always playing in the dirt, they can surely use these!
Here is where I mixed what was in the bowl. Then add in the avocados. I diced mine to help them mix a little easier.
And finally, add the egg shells. I did bake mine. I read somewhere, and I can’t remember where, that baking the egg shells first helps the chickens differentiate between the eggs they lay and their treats. And by baking them it will help them not destroy and consume the eggs that they lay. This may not pertain to a mixture like we’re creating, but it can’t hurt. Also if you have a hen that is calcium deficient like I do, this will be something to help with that.
Mix the ingredients together. And your treats are complete! Now, some people like to keep their mixture more firm. If you are one of these people, I say add more oats to thicken it a bit. You can also put it in the fridge to let it set a bit before giving it to your girls.
I, however, like to just scoop it and throw it out to them. They love it just like it is and they definitely don’t care if it’s rolled in a ball very neatly or if I just drop it in a lump on the ground. 🙂 In fact, I think they rather enjoy chasing flying scoops of treats around the yard as we toss them out to them. I can almost see little smiles appear on their feathered faces.
