[SIAN]

Hi all,  Just got my first 2 chickens called Boogie and Sammy after my step daughter and niece  They are laying an egg a day each now which all my street are pleased with  I was told not to give them scraps but have read on a site they like rice pasta cabbage or cauliflower is this right.  Does any body have any good ideas for keeping them happy??  Keen to learn and pass it on to my kids to care for them.  Thanx for reading  

[purplebat]

I give mine all our scraps; veggies etc, but I don't give tham anything that's got meat in it; the more greens you can give them the happier they'll be. good luck  

[chickensuburbian]

hi im new too!
this is what ive found out

chocolate is a bad thing :cry:
green veg is a treat, but i dont know how much of it makes it a treat.  Chocolate is a treat for humans, yet it will kill us if dont burn it off, or a pallet load of it falls on top of us. :twisted:

[WG.]

Hello and welcome to Sian and chickensuburbian.  Sorry, I don't do chickens but garden scraps are definitely good - outer leaves of cabbage, kale, etc.

And, chickensuburbian, are you aware that 100% of your posts thus far have mentioned chocolate.  In my experience, this almost certainly makes you female.    

[chickensuburbian]

proud to be a man

however chocolate features in my top 10,000 interests.

[WG.]

proud to be a man

however chocolate features in my top 10,000 interests.

I am reliably informed that we must Save This Planet since it is the only one which has chocolate!!

[SIAN]

Thank you all for replying..Iv not got anything done today been reading all your messages and information..I did go out and let my chickens run about for a bit but they got too close to my dog and I got worried..1 dog 2 chickens  and only 1 me.. :?

[chickensuburbian]

sorry, saving planet seems selfish, allow carbon dioxide eating creatures to evolve once were all dead seems only sensible answer.  

saving planet come 10,001st - unless you can convince me we can do it with tannalised 2by2 lengths and zinc plated wire mesh.

[WG.]

saving planet come 10,001st - unless you can convince me we can do it with tannalised 2by2 lengths and zinc plated wire mesh.

Okay, okay.  I believed you when you said you were male !!!    

[eggs on legs]

If you want to keep the chickens happy, an old man told me to sing to them in the late afternoon, or even some card tricks.
It doesn't work but the neighbours enjoy it. :shock:

[Bagpuss]

Hi, I've tried giving my ex-battery girls all sorts of greens and veg, both cooked and uncooked, and even cut up into little tempting sizes but they ignore them.  The treat they seem to like best is digestive biscuits.  Should I keep giving them greens until they come to like them?

[purplebat]

Hi, I've tried giving my ex-battery girls all sorts of greens and veg, both cooked and uncooked, and even cut up into little tempting sizes but they ignore them.  The treat they seem to like best is digestive biscuits.  Should I keep giving them greens until they come to like them?

I would; they've probably never had them, but they are quite important, give them a chance to realise they can eat them, they'll click on one day  

[cluckingmad]

I've had 6 chickens for a few weeks now - they go absolutely potty for fresh broccoli, especially if I hang it in their run before I let them in the garden.  Its like watching a game of swingball. They also like my lettuce thinnings from my veg plot.  My dogs keep the chickens happy - as they are able to open all the doors in my house.  A couple of days ago I discovered they had let the chickens into the kitchen and I found all six quite happily rosey to something by Justin Timberlake :shock:  Unfortunately I have had to break up this disco and started to put a fence up to separate them  

[tomtoby]

Great site here folks - very informative!
We too are new to this whole chicken thing having got 7 chooks 2 weeks ago.   We were told to feed them everything except lettuce (upsets their tummys) and potato peelings or whole potato if not cooked (too much starch!!).  They are really enjoying all the left overs the local groccer gave me late on saturday - they had cauliflower, sweetheart cabbage (well we had a bit of this too - delicious), carrots, broccoli, parsnips and grapes - they love it all especially the grapes - but their favorite is mashed potoato, rice and dandelion leaves!  We have been waiting for the afternoon before giving it so that they eat some pellets since I figure they need some balance.  Hope they don't get too fat and stop laying - how do we know how much to give?
Any advice greatly received
Tom

[Aunt Sally]

As long as your restrict the treats until late afternoon there is very little danger of overfeeding them.