Holiday Apple + Seed + Nut Treats for your Chickens
Delight your chickens (or the wild birds!) this winter with these simple to make seed treats. All you need is several apples and a few ingredients you probably have lying around the house.
Grab a bag of bird seed or a few different kinds of seeds and nuts and you're all set!
Holiday Apple + Seed + Nut Treats for your Chickens
Cracked corn
Large frosting piping tip
Short stick or branch
What you Do |
Melt coconut oil over low heat until liquid, then remove from the heat and whisk in the cornmeal. Stir in the other ingredients until well mixed.
Slice the apples into 1/2" slices and then using the end of a large piping tip (or a small round cookie cutter) carefully cut out the center core of each slice.
Lay the apples slices on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Loop a short piece of ribbon over each apple slice to use later to hang your treats. Pour in your seed mixture, reserving a bit of the liquid. Some of the liquid will ooze out the bottom but that's okay.
Freeze for a few minutes until the mixture hardens a bit, then pour the remaining liquid over the top to be sure all the seeds and nuts are covered. Return to the freezer and freeze until firm and completely hardened.
Carefully peel the treats off the parchment paper. Tie the ribbons at the top and string the apple treats along the branch. Poke the ends of the branch through the fencing in a corner of run for your girls to enjoy.
Of course there will be the normal initial suspicion that accompanies any new treat. But as soon as you get a few interested, the others will join in and the treats will be gone in no time!
Be sure to collect the ribbons so no one gets hung up on them or tries to eat them (yes, I'm talking to YOU, ducks!)
And don't forget to share all the scraps and "rejects" with the girls... they won't care if your results are less than Instagram-worthy!
