When it comes to your feathered pets, you know they would eat almost anything! They love eating grass, weeds, bugs, they can even end up eating your flowers if given the freedom to explore! So, can your chickens be given some eccentric, unusual treats? For example, can chickens eat peanuts? Well, when it comes to raw peanuts, you should cross them off your list! However, roasted and unsalted ones are fine for your feathered pets.
Can Chickens Eat Peanuts? What Kind of Peanuts?
Feeding your chickens raw peanuts is not recommended. That would be because of the existence of an enzyme called trypsin which seems to be harmful for the health of the tiny animals and birds. You should also keep in mind that salted peanuts are also not a treat option for your chickens. Salty ingredients can be quite detrimental for your pets. On the other hand, you can try roasting unsalted peanuts and feed them to your pets occasionally as treats. They are rich in proteins and fats. Therefore, they should be given rarely in order to prevent obesity from becoming an issue in your flock.
Individual Tastes
Regardless of the fact that they are not picky animals when it comes to food, your feathered pets have their very own food preferences! If you are a chicken owner, you might have already figured that out yourself. For instance, some chickens might prefer carrots over broccoli; others watermelon over pumpkin. Nonetheless, you should observe the way in which your chickens approach the food and eventually you will get acquainted with their preferences. The odds are they might not even like peanuts while at the same time there’s the possibility of peanuts becoming their favorite treat in the world. You just have to test and see for yourself!
Good Diet and Dust Baths is a Must
Besides providing your chickens with a healthy and balanced diet, in order for them to be equally healthy and full of life, you should also take into consideration the chicken dust bath. As a chicken owner, you ought to arrange a proper dusting bath area for your pets. A chicken dust bath equals human water bath! Observing your chicken’s behavior during bathing can be a treat for the eyes of the owner! You will most certainly be entertained. While being extremely beneficial for the chickens, the dust bath is both functional and recreational. This is actually their way of cleansing their feathers while also offering effective care to their skin!
- How does the Dust Bath Work?
The dust is meant to absorb the excess oil and moist on your chickens’ skin while at the same time being a way of cooling themselves during the hot season. Additionally, the instinctual digging into dust will help them get rid of possible parasites such as fleas or mites that could determine irritation, decrease in egg production, and restlessness. Chickens will endlessly dig ditches into the sand box and they will also throw the sand unto themselves until it’s all over their skin. Therefore, if you want your chickens to be healthy and bug-free, make sure to provide your favorite pets with proper dust bathing facilities! They will love it and you will have a blast watching them!
- Providing Your Chickens with Proper Dust Bath
As it is an effective, non-polluting method for your chickens to maintain their physical health, your feathered pets should have unlimited access to dust bathing areas. How to provide your chicken with a proper dust bathing area? It is extremely simple! Just place plain, unadulterated sand into a large pan and there you have it! It is best using simple, construction grade sand, as it doesn’t present side effects for the skin of your chickens. It offers every function your feathered pets require. So, it is cheap, accessible and your chickens will have a blast! Make sure you provide them with bathing facilities during every season, especially in summer time.
- Maintaining the Dust Bath Properly
In order to prevent a possible parasite contamination, it is very important to replace the sand periodically. For instance, the Western Chicken Fleas tend to remain especially on the dropping of your chickens; therefore replacing the content of the dust bath is utterly important. If your chickens are suffering from disturbing flea infestation, you might consider adding to the regular grade sand food grade diatomaceous earth in order to stop the parasites from spreading. Nonetheless, you should only take this measure into account if the parasite contamination is really severe. That would be because food grade diatomaceous earth could have detrimental effects on your chickens, being really harmful for their respiratory system. Consequently, take this measure into account if other solutions fail to work.
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References:
http://www.myfrugalhome.com/things-you-shouldnt-feed-your-chickens/
http://www.citygirlfarming.com/Chickens/ThingsChickensShouldNotEat.html
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/01/chicken-dust-baths-ultimate-spa.html
http://www.betterhensandgardens.com/chickens-dont-take-water-baths-they-take-dust-baths/
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