For my dehydrated apples I used my handy peeler corer, which makes lovely strings of apple peel. I twisted them into a wreath and hung the bundle up for the chickens. A had a longish stand fall loose and witnessed first hand why I want the chickens to have to pick off bits, as a hen picked up the end of the strand and gulped down the whole piece! I can image the tangle a whole peel would make in her crop!
Trying out some other doggy distraction tech: wobble bowls. Conclusion: they like the treat, the wobble isn’t really a challenge, but the bumps slow them down a bit, and the bowls can’t be left down once they are done because the edges get nibbled off.
I thought I would give the chickens some acorn squash both for enrichment and varied diet. They have liked it in the past (and it is as close as I can get to pumpkin right now), but it takes awhile for them to peck away at the flesh. This time I baked it (and let it cool) before giving it to them, so it was easier to eat. I sliced the acorn squash in half, left the seeds in, and baked the halves cut side down in a pan with a little water at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes. They picked the skin clean in a day! And it did make hanging half the squash on the carabiner easier, since the flesh was soft.
You might notice that the hen on the right is more gray than brown. She had just been wallowing in the dust bath. Upon further investigation, she had a bumble on her foot and I wonder if because of the pain of it she wasn’t stable enough to have a good shake. I took care of the bumble and wrapped her foot and she was looking more like herself in a couple days.
Not much growing in the coop, insects quiet, winter dreary, so I livened the hens life up a bit by putting their scratch in chicken toys. The balls are usually empty by the end of the day. The tube, not so much. The tube is harder to roll, and only has slits on one side, which may account for the lower use. I’ve had both kinds for awhile, but the balls have been used more (the tube was hiding in the back of the cupboard!) We’ll see as winter progresses if they figure out both devices.
I made an apple pie, and had a bundle of peels left over. (I used a peeler/coring/ slicing device, I certainly didn’t hand peel all those neat strands!) The chickens love apple, but I don’t want them ingesting long strings, so I usually chop up peel, but this time I had the idea of twisting the strands into a wreath shape so the hens would have to pick off bits.
I can say that I am not sad to see the end of this year, and am cautiously optimistic about next year.
Critters and Craft 