We give our chickens their hors d'œuvre late afternoon generally between 5pm and 6pm. It is important that they are treated late afternoon to ensure that they eat their pellets during the day.

Over the last few months we have treated the girls to a number of various treats including canned sweet corn, chopped apples, mashed up bananas, grated carrots, spaghetti, cabbage, lettuce, brussel sprouts, rice, mashed potatoes, probiotic yoghurt, weetabix, grapes and mealworms.

Their overall favourite is mealworms, we scatter them around the garden and in the flowers beds to give them something to scratch for, it’s also an ideal treat to tempt them back into the chicken run.

When we do our food shop we also shop for our chickens, we always ensure we have a tub of dried mealworms and a packet of Bill Oddies Mealworm Crumble (which contains sunflower hearts, grounded peanuts, mealworms, pinhead oatmeal and cut maize) as well as a small tub of probiotic yoghurt which we give them once a week.

We currently putting together a chicken treat recipe book! Here’s a sneak preview:

Chick-a-Bix

Chick-a-Bix treat which consists of half a weetabix, large tbsp of tinned sweetcorn, heaped tablespoon bokashi bran, pinch of garlic powder, poultry spice and a little warm water.

Cabbage Salad Crumble

Cabbage Salad Crumble which consists of several cabbage leaves finely chopped, a heaped tablespoon of bokashi bran and a sprinkling of mealworm crumble.