I was just sharing in an online chicken group that my hens act like I’m trying to poison them whenever presented with a new treat. I had some seeded grapes that were deemed not worth the effort by my children, so I took them out to the coop for the chickens, video camera ready. They loved them. Went straight after them. Were not suspicious or cautious at all. So here is a still taken from the video, since the video itself was humdrum!
I went fruit crazy at the grocery store and picked up cantaloupe, fresh pineapple, nectarines, and peaches. We chopped them all up into fruit salad (which was quite good despite being quite orange), and saved a slice of cantaloupe for the chickens.
It works really well to use a pyramid silicone baking mat to bake tiny dog training treats! The back side of the mat has tiny reservoirs, and it is easy to spread batter of a pancake consistency into the wells. I used two eggs, a can of tuna (not drained), and a cup of tapioca flour blended in a food processor. Then I baked it for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F. The treats come cleanly out of the wells, but it does take some time to get them all out. The dogs both love them! They aren’t my culinary cup of tea, but yes I did try one since I used all human grade ingredients. I stored them in a bag in the fridge, just in case.
I read that making up some hot mash or hot oatmeal is good for cold chickens. So when we had power, I whipped up a cup of quick oats and took it out to my hens.
My hens were not impressed. I honestly think they accused me of trying to poison them. I left it where they were less likely to step in it (again), because sometimes when I leave, they scarf up new treats. An hour or two later it was a definite no go, and I had to pick up the frozen, uneaten masses of oatmeal.
I’m feeling rather accomplished, making my own stuffing for dog Kongs! (It doesn’t take much to amuse me these days.) I soaked about a cup of dog food in about two cups of water for a couple hours, then to further cut calories added pumpkin and canned chicken and blended the mixture in my food processor. The result was a paste that was easy to pack in the Kongs, which I then stuck in the freezer. The dogs enjoy them too! I’m trying to be sparing with the peanut butter since I recently read that the high fat can trigger pancreatitis, and these keep them occupied for a good while!
I had extra stuffing, so I put it in a bag in the fridge so I can re-stuff the Kongs after the dogs clean them out! (And after I run them through the dishwasher, because, ew.)
Critters and Craft 