Who doesn’t love spending bonding time with their backyard chickens? I know I do!

The time I spend with my chickens is the highlight of my day, and I’m sure it is for you, too. And what better way to spend time with your flock then feeding them treats they’ll ADORE??

This week’s high protein treat is full of goodies your hens will go GAGA for! Every time I share this mix with my flock, the hens practically jump on top of me – so you know it’s good!

While treats should only be about 10% of your flock’s diet, it’s still a good idea to put healthy ingredients into your homemade mixes.

That’s why this treat has healthy seeds such as pumpkin (which might help reduce worms) and sunflower seeds!

I love adding oregano and mint, both of which are great for helping balance your hen’s gut. If they’ve eaten anything that might cause some digestive upset, the mint can help.

The oregano and garlic are great for overall health, and the garlic might turn off any mites or lice so your hens stay parasite-free.

And of course, hens LOOOOVE their dried insects! I used black soldier fly larvae in this recipe, but you can substitute with any dried insects your hens love.

Because this is a granola-type mix, it scales easily, so you can be sure each hen gets a bite!

It’s best to hold off on treats until your hens are about 12 weeks old, so this recipe isn’t for baby chicks (they should have chick starter so they grow up healthy. There’s plenty of time for treats as they get older.)

Here’s the recipe – if you make it yourself, be sure to reach out and let me know how it worked out for you!

High Protein Treat For Backyard Chickens with mint

High Protein Bonding Time Treat for Backyard Chickens

Ingredients (per chicken)

  • 3 tablespoons black soldier fly larvae (Buy here)
  • 3 TBSP pumpkin seeds
  • 3 TBSP sunflower seeds
  • 1 tsp oregano (dried or fresh) (Buy dried here)
  • 1 tsp mint (dried or fresh) (Buy dried here)
  • 1 tsp chopped, crushed, or powdered garlic

Directions: Mix ingredients and feed as part of a complete diet.

Bonding time ideas

Here’s some fun activities you can do with your chicken while enjoying them and giving them their special treat:

Do you have any more ideas for bonding time with your backyard chickens? I’d love to hear!

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Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author of Chickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category.  Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance, Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine, Backyard Poultry, and Countryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat on Facebook here and Instagram here.

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One Comment

  1. Our flock loves dried meal worms. Now I’ll have to try adding things to make them go farther. On a different note, did you ever notice how much hens seem to be a lot like Sister Wives? A whole lot of women to he man. And they rarely stop trying to have children. Hmmm. I need a recipe for Mormon eggs.

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