Hi HF
I have strung up a whole head of broccoli for them to peck at, is this ok or should it be cooked broc?? they dont seem to like anything green at all only grapes and cherry toms to date is it a matter of experimenting ?? they look scared when I put new things like scary broc in their coop
Thank you again
Broody
If it's fresh greens that's Ok but as you've discovered they aren't as keen on the green veg as some would have you believe. Cooking it helps make it more palatable and particularly carbohydrates such as potatoes which are dificult to digest without cooking. Mine won't eat lettuce leaves but give them a lettuce heart and they love it.
They tend to eat what their companions eat (it's a survival instinct). You may have noticed that the last handful of corn you throw down is always the prefered one they dive for. Even leaving far more accessible and plentiful batches of corn to compete for the latest handful.
Many keepers find they won't touch carrot raw or cooked and mine certainly won't so they can be very choosy.
Any kitchen pealings should be cooked just from a hygene perspective and legally you shouldn't feed any animal on kitchen (or restaurant) waste if it is a species which might enter the human food chain. For most chicken hobbists who just eat the eggs this is a bit of a technicality.
Some people feed protein such as tuna or even worse cat food and they certainly go mad for that but I wouldn't recommend this at all, though increased protein has it's place in convalesing sick birds.
Keep the staple diet layers pellets and a handful of corn in the evening and the odd treat such as boiled rice, pasta sweetcorn is fine. Green Veg are not what I class as treats and are also fine in moderation so as not to displace the pellets as their staple diet. Anything with seeds is ok apart from citrus fruits. Avoid hi protein treats such as dried meal worms cat food etc completely unless you need to boost their protein intake for some medical issue.
HF