Treats for the Hens (Frugal Friday)

 I haven't been able to do any blog posts for a couple of weeks, sorry. It has been incredibly busy around here and every time I had planned to sit down and write, someone else had been using this device.

Anyway, lots to share but today I'll start with how I have been making my own edible treats for our hens. I have been doing this for a couple of reasons. Firstly, to add in extra important nutrients to their diet and by making our own we know what is going in the food. Secondly, to save money.

These were super simple, a great idea I found on Pinterest. I filled a muffin pan with about a tablespoon each of frozen corn or frozen raspberries and then filled up the pans with water. I placed them in the freezer overnight and then the next day my youngest son took some out to the hens.

They loved them! I should have made them earlier in the summer when it was really hot but it has been warm this week so a lovely treat for the girls.

You can also make them with yogurt instead of water but the water gives them much needed liquid on a hot day.

In the photo below, I made a delicious snack for them packed full of vitamins and all good things. I just used what was already in my pantry.

As we eat the eggs our hens produce I am aware that I want them to also eat healthy because that directly effects the eggs and also their health and ours too. Buying pre-made treat mixes is expensive and when you already have the ingredients in your pantry then it makes sense to put your own together.

The ingredient list is:

1 Cup Oats

1 Cup Split Peas

1 Cup Lentils (I used brown)

1 Cup Sunflower Seeds (Bird variety)

1/2 Cup Chia Seeds

1 Tbsp Garlic Powder

This recipe can easily be halved which is what I did. I still gave it in two lots spread out over a week, just so that it is an added healthy boost and doesn't replace their main food.

The garlic is added as a medicinal preventative for lice/worms/mites. Garlic can also be eaten raw by hens and has been used for years to help prevent all kinds of ailments. Just mix it all in really well.

As you can see in the above photo they really enjoyed it and it didn't take them too long to demolish the lot!

We have also been tidying up the chicken coop and last weekend my husband put a weather tight roof on for the winter. It is a clear perspex to let in light but keep out the rain and wind coming over the top. It stops the sparrows flying in too through the gaps of the windbreak material.

We also laid down some fake grass to cover over the plastic covering which is on top of the internal roof which used to be a playhut for the boys. The plastic stops the rain falling below but I thought the green adds some colour to the chicken coop and tidies up the space plus it gives it a little more insulation to the henhouse below where they sleep at night. 

This is the covered area which is dry with extra hay. It is sheltered from the wind and rain and the hens love to have their dust baths here.

As you can see above the little henhouse, I keep a big bag of wood shavings handy to spread out over the ground to dry it out and keep it clean. I love pottering around the chicken coop tidying up. I just wish the hens wouldn't mess it up again so quickly!! 

One little hen wasn't finished laying one morning when I was trying to collect eggs. I thought she looked quite cosy in there.

Some fun decor which was quite cheap at The Warehouse store.

And here they are checking out the new feeder.  I love their expressions and the way they always move their heads around.

Just to finish off, here is a photo of two very different eggs we got today.

All I can say about the big egg is, poor hen!

Thanks for visiting, I hope you enjoyed this post and have a wonderful weekend.

Blessings, Fiona 

"We know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28