Treats for the girls?

Hello ChristyRose,
Impacted crop is when a piece of long grass or something similar blocks the chicken's gullet and they can get quite poorly as a result.   They will have an enlarged crop that could feel squidgy or fibrous.  You will need to hold the hen upside down and gently massage the crop.  They will regurgitate liquid.  You can then try some olive oil and this might help clear the blockage.  If it doesn't you will need a vet.

I think with treats its everything in moderation  :happy:  and remembering that they are only little so only need little treats!

My girls get for treats an assortment of, mixed corn, live maggots and raisins or sultanas, soaked.
I keep the maggots in a fridge in the garage and 1/2pt costs £1.20 and lasts ages. Much more economical than buying live meal worms from Pets at Home at £2.49 for a small amount.
Is it ok to give a small amount of porridge oats (uncooked) as I have them in the cupboard
Also what is the best way to make them porridge, for in the winter.
thanks

Mine usually get the veg peelings on a Sunday from preparing dinner, but not the potato peelings.
They have their mash in the morning & treats in the afternoon when I go check on them.
I have the cut & come back lettuce on the allotment for them & every 3 or 4 days I squash an Apple or Pear for them to have. The odd snail gets tossed in when I find them.
They sometimes get a whole cabbage which is hung in their run.
In the winter I give them warm porridge made with water which they go mad for.

Ooohhh I wouldn't have thought of the fishy cat food. I wonder if some tinned dog food would be ok instead?

I'm a mean mummy of humans & sweets were few and far between.   I try to be the same with the chickens so I rarely buy maggots or mealworms etc, but the girls happily view all that drops in their run as treats while I'm thinking it's staple diet!

Layers pellets always available.  Most days, they get the previous evenings' veg peelings/trimmings from our supper (boiled or microwaved if potato) plus a few (veg or carb) plate scraps only the dogs get most of that.

Every time we walk towards the run, we pull a handful of weeds: bindweed, dandelion, milkthistle, etc and chuck that in.  Plus a rhubarb leaf to shred once in a while or a tomato plant when they're pulled up at the end of the season.

It's small amounts and big variety to help them keep busy.

Only when I was worming them did I realise how much pellets this mixed feeding saves - they're all healthy, busy and laying daily, but ate nearly twice as much pellets when they didn't get the other stuff.