[orchardlady]

Yes that's what the title says Baking for chickens. Now some time ago I made a 'cake' from lot's of leftover cereals  with added rolled oats, wild bird seed, plain flour and water and baked it very slowly in the oven. It was OK but not as hard as I had hoped. Does anyone have any good ideas of making our own 'peck a block kind of thing? I've read that some of these blocks use molasses to bind the ingredients together and might have a go with that but in the mean time it would be good  to hear any suggestions on what to put into my cake etc. Look forward to hearing from you.

Ruth

[pigeonpie]

Funnily enough I was thinking about this the other day when the post "chicken cake" was listed.  I was almost disappointed to find out it wasn't a cake for chickens!

I'm planning on having a baking day this weekend so perhaps I shall have to try out a few recipes.

Firstly though it would be handy to work out what shouldn't go in to it...
Any ideas?

[Pol]

Hi, would it be better using a oat biscuit recipe that would make it harder

[sirius951]

Would cod liver oil work as a binder? Vagu ely remember my dad making a cake for the pigeons when I was little and the only ingredients I can remember are mixed seed cod liver oil and something called hormoform whatever that was! It's probably pigeon specific. I also remember being jealous of the birds cos it looked really nice!

[orchardlady]

I've cracked it! My family think I'm just soooo sad but I did cook them a fruit cake to.

Hen's Cake

1 1/2 lb mixed corn

3/4 lb porridge oats

4-6 oz mixed fruit (I used mixed fruit and dried dates that had gone past their sell by date).

8 fl oz  molasses

Mix all the above ingredients together and turn into an 8 inch round deep cake tin.

Place in the bottom oven of an Aga or in a conventional oven on a setting that would be suitable for a long slow casserole or even in a slow cooker on an heat proof saucer.

Bake for about 3-5 hours depending on your method of cooking. Turn out (it will still feel a little spongy but will harden as it cools).


A few comments.

A gallon bottle of molasses from your horse feed merchant costs about £6.50.

You can also add more/different fruit, coconut, sunflower seeds, wild bird food, poultry spice etc.

I gave this to my hens at lunch time today and they had not finished it by bed time. I have roughly 40 hens so this will last. Of course you can enlarge the quantities to make two cakes or reduce to make a smaller one. This certainly cheeper than buying a Peck A Block especially if you have an Aga or Rayburn that is on all the time.

If you want to hang your cake use a food tin lid e.g. baked beans. Make a hole in the middle and thread a piece of galvanised wire through the hole and turn an inch or two at right angle so the tin lid does not fall off. Make a loop at the top. Place in the cake tin before you add the above ingredients and bake the wire into the cake.

I think this will be a wonderful treat for your birds especially during this very cold weather we are experiencing and will certainly help alleviate boredom.

[orchardlady]

Just a PS I would love to hear how you get on and if you are concerned about the molasses I think that at this time of year we can allow for a bit of extra energy food.

[Lindeggs]

That sounds like a delicious recipe.  I wonder if the hens would share it with me? 

[Flowerpower136]

That sounds lovely.

I've just done something similar, but just poured on boiling water, mixed it up and served it as a mash.  They loved it.  Absolute silence in the run whilst they concentrated on getting every scrap   Nice and warming for them too.

[pigeonpie]

Brilliant recipe orchardlady, thanks.
I haven't had a chance to go and get some molasses yet but looking forward to the looks on the girls faces when they get their cake.  It's even making my mouth water!
 

[massa]

this may be a daft question but what is molasses?

[orchardlady]

Molasses is a sort of sugar. It contains oils to and various other things (too cold to go and look sorry).
Smells just like black treacle but is a bit thinner. Horsey people add it to their animals feed. Good energy food for this time of year and I use it in this Hens Cake to bind the whole thing together. It is also used in commercial Peck a Block.

[Lindeggs]

this may be a daft question but what is molasses?

Wikipedia is your friend! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molasses

I love that photo - I can almost smell it from here.  mmmmm!

I am reading the label on my jar of Red Seal Blackstrap Molasses (A New Zealand brand but I assume the product is very similar).  Per 100g it has:
800mg calcium
410mg magnesium
12mg iron
7mg manganese
1mg zinc

Also a big stack of carbs and a heap of other stuff!  Great for winter warmth and boosting immunity.

(Even though it's summer here I just snuck a spoonful... YUM)