Are Treats Taking Over Your Chickens’ Diet?

Your chickens hear the treat container and come running.

It’s fun to reward them. But a flock that fills up on snacks may eat less of the balanced feed it actually needs.

🌽 Scratch grains aren’t a complete meal

Corn and other scratch grains don’t provide the full nutritional balance of a formulated poultry feed.

🐛 Even popular treats need limits

Mealworms, kitchen scraps, and other extras can crowd out essential nutrients when they become too much of the diet.

🥣 Keep complete feed as the foundation

Cornell Cooperative Extension recommends that treats make up no more than about 10% of the feed offered by weight.

🔍 Read the bag

Look for a complete feed appropriate for your birds’ age and laying status. A product labeled as a treat or supplement serves a different purpose.

You can still enjoy snack time with your flock. Just keep the portions small enough that their regular feed does most of the nutritional work.

Source: Cornell Cooperative Extension