treats – TBN Ranch Chicken Keeping Resources

10 Essential Tips for Healthy Chickens

Provide a clean and spacious coop: Chickens need a clean and dry living environment to prevent diseases. Regularly clean the coop, remove any droppings, and provide fresh bedding.
Provide fresh food and water: Chickens need access to fresh food and water at all times. Provide them with a balanced diet that includes grains, proteins, and minerals, and make sure they have access to clean water to stay hydrated.
Practice good biosecurity: Implement good biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of diseases. Limit access to your chicken coop, avoid introducing new birds without proper quarantine and testing, and practice good hygiene when handling chickens.
Keep chickens protected from predators: Predators like foxes, raccoons, and birds of prey can pose a threat to your chickens. Make sure your coop is securely fenced and protected with sturdy wire mesh to keep predators out.
Allow chickens to free-range: Giving chickens access to a fenced or enclosed area where they can forage for insects, worms, and greens can improve their overall health and well-being. Free-ranging also helps to prevent boredom and encourages natural behaviors.
Keep the coop well-ventilated: Proper ventilation in the coop is crucial for preventing respiratory issues and reducing ammonia buildup from chicken droppings. Make sure the coop has windows or vents that can be opened to allow fresh air to circulate.
Keep the coop and nesting boxes clean: Regularly clean the coop and nesting boxes to prevent the buildup of droppings, which can attract pests and lead to diseases. Replace soiled bedding with fresh bedding regularly.
Provide dust baths: Chickens love to take dust baths, which help them to clean their feathers and prevent mites and lice. Provide a dry, sandy area in the coop or run for them to take dust baths.
Don’t overcrowd: Make sure the coop is spacious enough to allow chickens to move around freely. At least 2ft. of ground space for each bird is preferred.
Limit Treats: A nutritionally balanced diet is compromised by treats. Treats should never compromise more than 5% of a hen’s dietary intake. This includes healthy foods & supplements, which can replace a portion of essential dietary elements found in manufactured feed.

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Suitable Treat in Place of Chicken Scratch in Summer

Looking for a little out-of-the-ordinary treat for your flock? We all know scratch is probably a chicken’s all-time favorite, but that should be your last treat choice in the summer months. Scratch produces heat, that’s why we feed it in the winter (especially at night) to help keep them warm. Layer feed already has corn, so let’s not add fuel to the fire by giving them even more.

Instead…
Try offering them rolled oats, they love it and it’s safe to feed as a treat! It’s super cheap and often sold by the pound in loose bulk feed bins. Hemp is another healthy supplement, but it’s high in protein and fattening, so just give a little. I add Hemp to the rolled oats, mix it all together and toss it to the flock mid-day. Hemp is spendy too, another reason to give them enough to add that little diamond in the rough among the oats.

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Chicken Treats for a Hot Day

It can sometimes be hard to watch chickens battle the summer heat. You’ve probably seen them holding their wings away from their body, maybe even panting. This is a good time to make an extra trip to the coop during the day to refresh their water and offer a cool treat.
Watermelon is an excellent source of needed fluids, it’ll keep them plenty busy, and they love it.
Loosen up some dirt giving them a fresh place to scratch around in. Put a hose on a slow drip, it’ll provide a cooler place for your chickens, and it might even attract a few bugs or worms for them to enjoy.