How to Pick Out Chicken Treats

Like any good pet owner, I enjoy browsing the farm store isles looking for goodies for my chickens. Since I’ve been striving to become more sustainable and self-sufficient, I have started looking for ways to make my own chicken treats, but occasionally I still like to buy them a ‘store-bought’ special. However, I am very particular about what treats I buy my chickens. Learning how to pick out chicken treats will help you raise your flock sustainably, cost effectively, and naturally.

a barred rock hen standing in the doorway of a red chicken coop

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What Are Chicken Treats?

First, let’s define the treats that I am talking about in this post. Technically, any foods you give your flock in addition to their daily feed is considered a treat. However, treats come in all different forms, and some of them are actually beneficial for your flock. Treats can take on the form of a supplement or table scrap, each of which plays a different role in the homestead flock’s diet. In addition to supplements and table scraps, there are also store-bought or commercially formulated treats for chickens. These are the treats we are going to be talking about.

Much like considering the nutritional label and ingredient list of the foods we buy, you should do the same for your chickens when buying them treats. I have categorized chicken treats into these categories:

bug based treats– store-bought, dried bugs that you can buy for chickens
mixed grain treats- treats that are made up of a mix of whole grains, seeds, and sometimes additional ingredients like bugs, herbs, and vitamins
entertainment treats– treats that are made for entertaining your flock
pelleted treats- treats that have been processed into pellets, much like pelleted chicken feed
supplement treats- treats that can be used as supplements for your flock
chicken feed treats– chicken feed that can be used like treats!

In the next few sections I will go over what I consider when choosing treats from each category!

For more information on supplements, check out How to Use Homemade Chicken Feed Supplements. Then, to learn how to use supplements, table scraps, and treats check out Feeding Chickens a Homestead Diet.

a jar full of dried black soldier fly larvae for chickens

Bug-Based Treats

Bug-based treats are one of the healthiest treats you can buy for your chickens! They are packed with protein and calcium and mimic what chickens would naturally forage for in the wild. Here are some of the most popular bug treats you can buy for your flock:

While they may be one of the healthiest treats for your flock, there is one major thing you should consider when buying bugs off the farm store shelves: their origin.

This especially applies to mealworms, of which the sale of dried mealworms is illegal in the United States, so many of the mealworms come from China. The big deal with that is that we don’t know what those mealworms were fed prior to being dried. Sustainably raised mealworms should be fed healthy food scraps and grains. However, since they are a larvae they will eat just about anything and thus can consume some rather disgusting things.

Looking at the source of the bugs applies to any bug-based treat you want to buy. Bugs that are sustainably raised will be the healthiest and most beneficial for your flock. Just because the bugs are labeled 100% all-natural doesn’t mean they were raised using the healthiest methods. Here’s what to look for on dried bug bag labels:

sustainably raised or USDA approved farm grown
USA grown
non-GMO
oven dried
no additives or preservatives

orange scoop filled with scratch grains for chickens

Mixed Grains Treats

Mixed grain treats are another popular form of chicken treats. Since mixed grains mimic what a chicken’s daily feed is, these treats need to be used carefully to ensure your flock is still getting a balanced diet. Chicken’s also naturally love whole grains and seeds, so they can easily over-consume these types of treats.

However, mixed grain treats can still be beneficial for your flock. They can add supplemental nutrients like additional protein or calcium and can promote health functions like feather regrowth, efficient egg production, and provide extra energy.

The main concern with mixed grain treats is the nutritional value they are adding to your flock’s diet. Since your chickens are already getting grains in their daily feed, these treat grains need to compliment the diet, not substitute or detract from the diet. Too much of any one grain or seed can cause an imbalance in the diet which can lead to health issues.

So, when choosing a mixed grain treat for my flock I look for these things:

a variety of grains and seeds that are not already present in my chickens’ food
the protein content is higher than the fat content
the mix is organic and non-GMO
no artificial flavors or preservatives
no artificial colors

The biggest things I look for are a high protein content with low fat and I make sure the mix doesn’t contain any artificial colors or flavors. Chickens don’t care about colors or the flavor of the food, so why do they need artificial colors and flavors in their treats?

The presence of more protein than fat indicates that the treat contains more beneficial grains and seeds rather than filler grains and seeds which mostly just provide instant energy in the form of fat or carbs.

Recommended Mixed Grain Treats

Avoid these Mixed Grain Treats

Manna Pro Garden Delight (artificial flavors)
Manna Pro Harvest Delight (artificial flavors)
Pecking Order Mealworm and Sunflower Treat (high in fat)
Manna Pro Scratch Mix (unknown ingredients, low energy and protein)

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Entertainment Treats

Entertainment treats include suet cakes, forage cakes, flock blocks, treat tumblers, and any other fun treats that companies have made for entertaining chickens. They are often made up of a mixture of seeds, grains, dried bugs, herbs and/or nuts and are held together with fat or gelatin.

While it is super fun to watch your flock dive into an entertainment treat, they do come with their health hazards. In fact, entertainment treats are often the least healthy treats for chickens. Because they often use a fat as a binder, these treats are often higher in fat than any other nutrient. While fat definitely has its place in the poultry diet, it is also an element of the poultry diet that is often present in too large of quantities.

Some entertainment treats also lack variety. They only have a few grains, seeds, or bugs and most of the time the grains are already present in the flock’s diet from their feed. They may also contain a flour or starch, which adds no significant benefits to the poultry diet. Entertainment treats sometimes have added preservatives due to the fat or meat-based ingredients as well.

However, there is a place and a time for entertainment treats. They are most helpful during the winter when I want to use them as a boredom buster and the extra fat content can be used towards helping the hens stay warm.

When I do want to give my flock an occasional entertainment treat this is what I look for:

organic and non-GMO ingredients
a variety of nuts, seeds, grains, dried bugs, fruits, and herbs
no preservatives or artificial flavors or colors
gelatin or molasses as the binder
protein content is higher than the fat content

Recommended Entertainment Treats

Special Occasion Entertainment Treats

Farmer’s Helper Forage Cakes (contain a lot of preservatives)
Hentastic Treat Sticks (are high in fat)

Pelleted Treats

Pelleted treats aren’t quite as common, and it could be because they aren’t a big favorite amongst chickens. There’s no whole grains to scratch for and there’s no appealing bugs to eat, so they kind of lack some appeal. However, for non-picky chickens who will eat just about anything, pelleted treats can still be a huge attraction!

The main thing with pelleted treats is that they have been highly processed. The ingredients have to be heat treated, ground, and pelleted which all decreases the nutrition in the actual ingredients.

Also, some pelleted treats use fat as the binder and have added preservatives and other additives that aren’t necessary in your flock’s diet. Some even have sugar, artificial colors, and processed flours added to the recipe! It’s very important to read the ingredient list of pelleted chicken treats!

However, there are a few pelleted chicken treats that I am a huge fan of. The more variety of wholesome ingredients in the pelleted treats, the better! Also, I have found a few pelleted treats that are very high in protein and low in fat. These are very helpful for boosting the protein content in my flock’s diet. When choosing a pelleted chicken treat, look for these things:

high in protein and low in fat
no artificial colors or flavors
no preservatives
all-natural or non-GMO
variety of wholesome ingredients (grains, seeds, nuts, herbs, vitamins, probiotics)
no added sugar or un-necessary ingredients like processed flours

Recommended Pelleted Treats

Farmer’s Helper Ultrakibble (does contain a few preservatives but the protein is very high)
Happy Hen Treats Herb Pecks

Avoid these Pelleted Treats

Farmer’s Helper Cackleberry Nugget Treats (very high in fat, contains lots of preservatives)
Hentastic Pellet Chicken Treats (high in fat)
Farmer’s Helper Golden Egg Nugget (high in fat and preservatives)
Happy Hen Treats Free-Range Feast mixes (high in fat, un-necessary ingredients, contains sugar and artificial colors)

Supplement Treats

Supplement treats are supplements that you can buy and add to your flock’s diet or feed to help with a certain issue or to use in a specific way. These treats are healthy for your flock and instead of being used like a treat, they should be treated like a supplement.

Use them according to the instructions on the packaging. Supplement treats are meant to promote overall good flock health or help remedy a health issue. Despite being healthy, there are still some things you should look out for when you see a supplement treat.

see where the supplement is sourced from
consider of the supplement is really necessary for your flock to stay healthy
look for all-natural supplements, organic and non-GMO are always good too
a natural supplement should have no added preservatives or artificial ingredients

Recommended Supplement Treats

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a jar of whole grain chicken feed by Chicken Chew

Chicken Feed Treats

My favorite kind of chicken treat to buy is actually chicken feed! Chicken feed treats are simply a different kind of chicken feed than what you feed your flock on a daily basis. The chicken feed that makes the best kind of treats is a feed that is comprised of all whole grains.

Chickens love scratching around for whole grains and it mimics them foraging for wild grains, nuts, and seeds like their ancestors would have done. Plus I know that my flock is getting a balanced ratio of nutrients that would be similar to what they need to consume in their daily feed intake.

When I use chicken feed as a treat, I know that my flock is still getting some ingredients that would be in their daily feed anyways. I can mix in other treats if I want to, but just plain, whole-grain chicken feed is a favorite with my flock.

When choosing a feed to use as a treat, I look for these things:

the feed is varied enough to be different than my flock’s daily feed
the feed contains whole grains so that it is enticing for the chickens to forage for
all-natural and non-GMO ingredients
organic feed

Recommended Chicken Feed for Treats

an Ameraucana hen standing in the yard while free-ranging

How to Use Chicken Treats

Now I would like to go over the best way to use each type of chicken treat. While each treat has its specialties that you have to watch out for, there can be a time and a reason for you to use a certain type of store-bought treat for your flock. Here is a rough time-table for when I go shopping for each type of treat for my flock:

bug-based treats: year-round, especially in the fall and winter
mixed grains treats: winter
entertainment treats: winter
pelleted treats: spring and fall
supplement treats: year-round or as needed
chicken feed treats: year-round

As a general rule of thumb, I am always trying to increase the protein in my flock’s diet at least a little bit all year-round. That’s why I choose to use high-protein treats all year-round. Winter is the only time that I use treats that are high in fat, since fat contributes a lot of instant energy that the chickens can use to stay warm. Technically fat can be helpful during the summer because it does not create heat when it is digested, but during the summer months my flock is free-ranging more and I want them to consume their regular feed more than treats.

Basically use store-bought chicken treats like any other homestead treat. They are additional food that should provide some benefit to your flock’s diet but should not comprise more than 5-10% of the flock’s daily food intake. I like to use treats as an incentive for coming in from free-ranging, as a boredom buster during the winter, or as a supplement to increase the protein in my flock’s diet.

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a lavender Cochin hen free-ranging on a sunny summer day

How to Choose Chicken Treats

So, now that you know what types of chicken treats there are, what to watch out for in each one, and how to use store-bought chicken treats, how do you decide which treat will get you the most bang for your buck?

When I choose chicken treats, I pick out the treats that will provide the most benefits for my flock so that I can keep them healthy while still spoiling them. I also look for all-natural treats so that I can make sustainable shopping choices, even for my chickens! Treats that contain ethically sourced bugs, whole grains, herbs, and are high in protein are the treats that I go for on the farm store shelves (or online).

Here are my top three favorite store-bought chicken treats:

Grubblies black soldier fly larvae (high in protein, mimic naturally foraged food)
Chicken Chew chicken feed (whole grain, USA grown, all-natural, simple ingredients)
Treats for Chickens Pullet Together (organic, whole grain, high protein)

a backyard hen free-ranging in the woods

Hopefully this guide will help you next time your browsing the farm store shelves or scrolling through Amazon shopping for your feathered friends. Keeping their health and diet in mind while still wanting to spoil them can be tough! When I can’t make my own treats for my flock, I always go for the healthiest, most sustainable treat options. My flock loves whatever treats I throw at them, even if they are healthy!

For more tips on raising chickens sustainable, make sure you’re part of our weekly pioneer newsletter or check out The Trading Post for helpful resources. Have fun spoiling your flock while still keeping them healthy and happy!

by Alexa