Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: chickchick on August 11, 2008, 22:00

Title: chicken shopping
Post by: chickchick on August 11, 2008, 22:00: going shopping for chickens tomorrow, (not new chickens) but chickeny bits, any tips please?!
is it mealworms they like? if so are they alive or dried?
also i have the usual stuff like poultryshield,red mite powder,corn,poultry spice, stuff for water (like vitamins, cant remember the name) but im now worried cos should i have lice/worming stuff? read lots of posts about mites,lices and worms and am now getting paranoid!!
also any other little treats you can think of, as i love them to bits!!
thanks all x
Title: chicken shopping
Post by: Roughlee Handled on August 11, 2008, 22:09: mealworms mealworms mealworms mealworms mealworms mealworms and more mealworms. The are dried.

Apparently they get fat and stop laying if you give them to many!!!
Title: chicken shopping
Post by: Vember on August 11, 2008, 22:18: sunflower hearts
or
Wild bird mix with sunflower hearts in etc,
Again don't give too many just a treat

Mine love digestive biscuits, cooked rice, fruit of anykind, corn on the cob, damp bread all the kind of stuff you'd get for yourself really

Apart from

errrr

mealworms not sure if Roughlee mentioned them or not? :lol:
Title: chicken shopping
Post by: poultrygeist on August 11, 2008, 22:28: Couldn't get ours interested in mealworms. If it don't wriggle, they don't seem bothered :?

I personally wouldn't bother to stock up on lice treatments or even flubenvet unless you either suspect they've got probs or you plan to worm regularly. Is your local supplier fairly handy ?
ie. can you get there in an emergency ?

Rob 8)
Title: chicken shopping
Post by: chickchick on August 11, 2008, 22:36: thanks all, best try mealworms then!! amber stole my only (and 1st ) red strawberry yesterday, naughty girl, so today i gave them all a shop bought one and they didnt want to know!! :roll:

can get to suppliers in an emergency, thanks rob, touchwood ill hold fire on that gear for now!
Title: chicken shopping
Post by: Roughlee Handled on August 12, 2008, 08:28: I have stuff just to hand you never know. But may be that is just me because I am paranoid. Well so I am told.
Title: chicken shopping
Post by: kimT on August 12, 2008, 09:28: Mine love meal worms and if they see me with the MW container they rush towards me at high speed and I get knocked over in the stampede by seven greedy chooks! They also love corn on the cob I just give them the whole thing and it keeps them entertained for a quite while.
Title: chicken shopping
Post by: chickchick on August 12, 2008, 09:43: Quote from: "kimT"
Mine love meal worms and if they see me with the MW container they rush towards me at high speed and I get knocked over in the stampede by seven greedy chooks! They also love corn on the cob I just give them the whole thing and it keeps them entertained for a quite while.

they better not touch my corn on the cobs as they are growing nicely at the mo!! :lol:
Title: chicken shopping
Post by: Roughlee Handled on August 12, 2008, 09:48: Watch out the will be on home made stilts trying to get to them or pushing over the plants.
Title: chicken shopping
Post by: Bodger on August 12, 2008, 10:43: Mealworms are hellishly expensive to feed to chickens. :shock: If you want to give them a treat, let one or two of them run loose when you next dig the garden over. They'll pick up lots of bugs and help you clear your patch of pests.
I give my chickens windfall apples and manky bananas that have gone past their best and they adore them. I also give them currants and sultannas which are really cheap in the supermarkets. :D
Title: chicken shopping
Post by: Vember on August 12, 2008, 11:22: Quote from: "Bodger"
Mealworms are hellishly expensive to feed to chickens. :shock:

Have to admitt they are expensive,

but Bodger it's soooo nice watching them run to you when they see the tub, and they even eat them out of your hand :lol:
Title: chicken shopping
Post by: Foxy on August 12, 2008, 11:25: Hi I would stock on on red mite treatment, like Poultry Sheild and use routinely when cleaning the house out. Diatom would also be a good idea for dustbaths and nestboxes!
I love chickenshopping -particulary at exhibitions, there are usually loads of stalls to browse around , amazing what you can find which is essential for your chooks!!! :oops: :lol:
Title: chicken shopping
Post by: Bodger on August 12, 2008, 11:33: My chickens come helter skelter too me, for currants and they are only thirty odd pence a bag in Tescos. :D
Title: chicken shopping
Post by: chickchick on August 12, 2008, 15:14: back from shopping, can you believe it theyve sold out of dried mealworms, so i said do you have any other treats for chickens, cos i love my girls and they laughed....at the time i was holding both dd's hands!!! :lol:
ive got some mived dried fruits in the cupboard that the guinea pigs didnt like would it be ok to give them those? dont want them to choke?
Title: chicken shopping
Post by: kimT on August 12, 2008, 17:35: I do believe our chooks are spoilt mummy’s darlings!!

There again my O/H often feeds them extra treats when he thinks I'm not looking and that's because they tell porkies to daddy and say they have had no treats all day!