Friday, July 8, 2011

Grow your own chicken treats

I have been surprised by all the things I have seen marketed for chickens. I've seen chicken diapers, chicken outfits, and chicken treats just to name a few. I didn't want to spend the money on buying chicken treats, but I did want to make my chickens happy! So, Savannah and I went out and spent .99 cents on a pack of sunflower seeds and planted a whole bunch of them. The goal was to make my own chicken treats without relying on anyone but myself and my backyard. How do you do it? Well, I feel silly writing a post about it because it was SO EASY!! All you do is let your sunflowers grow and go to seed. Don't cut it down until you are able to take your thumb and pull a few seeds out. (While waiting for this to happen, Savannah would walk by the sunflower and say "oh mommy, poor flower"). Once the sunflower was dried out, I took a pair of scissors and cut off the flower, saved a handfull of seeds to plant later, and threw the flower into the chicken pen. My chickens were SO happy!!! I wished I had taken a picture of them eating the sunflower! But I did take a picture of the devoured sunflower. Enjoy! I know my chickens did!



This is linked to Bloomin Tuesdays.



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Posted by Georgia at 11:23 PM
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11 comments:

  1. LivingSoAbundantlyJuly 9, 2011 at 1:46 PM

    Excellent pictures! That is wonderful that you are able to feed your chickens wholesome treats that you grow in your own back yard. :)

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  2. Paula BellmanJuly 11, 2011 at 1:23 PM

    I put about 30 seed heads on the fence for my chickens. They loved it! I've just planted another round of sunflowers for them.

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  3. clairzJuly 12, 2011 at 10:25 AM

    I am still vastly amused by the thought of "chicken nipples" (which I now know are used as part of an automatic chicken watering system). My chicky girls love all the kitchen scraps we give them and I love the thought that nothing is going to waste. I love everything about keeping chickens, actually, and I know you do, too!

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  4. Green BeanJuly 13, 2011 at 1:34 AM

    We did the same think last year and the ladies LOVED IT - after that finished staring suspiciously at the flower head for a couple of hours.

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  5. Beth in NCJuly 22, 2011 at 7:41 PM

    What a great idea! I have to try that for our chickens. I give our chickens watermelons. They love them. Ha.

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  6. AnonymousJuly 28, 2011 at 10:20 PM

    What a great chicken treat. I have one sunflower growing, but I'll have to see if it makes it to bloom and make seeds.

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  7. MillieJuly 28, 2011 at 10:21 PM

    I think those top two pictures look like perfect GOAT snacks!

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  8. Candy C.July 29, 2011 at 12:05 PM

    That is a great idea! My chickens usually get the "less than perfect" produce from the garden. It is so funny to see them come running when they see me with stuff!

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  9. Diana LaMarreAugust 9, 2011 at 5:34 AM

    I thought your heading said grow your own Children treats! LOL. I bet the chickens did love it. I love sunflower seeds, too!

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  10. RosemaryAugust 9, 2011 at 7:30 AM

    What a great way to keep your chickens happy. Savannah is learning so much. Your eggs will be very healthy for you.

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  11. AnonymousAugust 9, 2011 at 7:42 AM

    What a clever idea. :)

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Thanks so much for your encouraging words!

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