This winter my chickens have been having a protein problem. I think that might have been what triggered Speckles' feather eating and other evil ways.
I have been trying to give them lots of snacks not only for this reason but also to keep them from getting bored. (To see my post on fun winter treats click here!)
However, I have been trying to find ways to give them fun snacks AND give the protein boost they need at the same time.
That's when I came upon a recipe. It is on a website called The Chicken Chick. (Here is a link to the recipe, http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/08/molt-muffins-for-chickens-during.html ). It is a high protein muffin sized ball meant for molting chickens. (Molting is when a chicken looses then regrows all their feathers. This takes a lot of protein so they often need extra in their diet).
Here is my variation on her recipe. (Again, it is still The Chicken Chick's recipe, I am just restating it with my own twist).
Makes about 20 muffins.
Oven temperature: 350 degrees
Time baking: 40 minutes (then 10 minutes with the oven turned off; this is for a solid, hard to break apart muffin)
Don't forget to grease your pan or they will be impossible to get out!
1 3/4 cups Mana Pro Game bird/Show bird feed (any high protein feed will do fine)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
3-4 eggs
1 cup water
1/8 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup peanut butter
Addition mix-ins: 1/2 cup
Meal worms (dried)
Sunflower seeds
Scratch
Anything else you have around
(The original recipe also had 1 mashed banana and 1/2 cup applesauce. I didn't have any in the house so that is why I didn't add these.)
Once you mix all the ingredients, put scoops into a muffin tin and bake! It's that easy!
These muffins were really easy to make. They didn't take much time at all either!
One complaint I have about them is that they are very crumbly. It might be that I baked them too long. It is also possible that the banana and applesauce I had to skip would make a big difference. If you make this at home don't forget to try that!
Here is Speckles enjoying a crumpled Molt muffin.
Overall, this was a great recipe that I think I will definitely try again soon!
I hope to see you all next Monday! Have a good week!
I have been trying to give them lots of snacks not only for this reason but also to keep them from getting bored. (To see my post on fun winter treats click here!)
That's when I came upon a recipe. It is on a website called The Chicken Chick. (Here is a link to the recipe, http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/08/molt-muffins-for-chickens-during.html ). It is a high protein muffin sized ball meant for molting chickens. (Molting is when a chicken looses then regrows all their feathers. This takes a lot of protein so they often need extra in their diet).
Here is my variation on her recipe. (Again, it is still The Chicken Chick's recipe, I am just restating it with my own twist).
Makes about 20 muffins.
Oven temperature: 350 degrees
Time baking: 40 minutes (then 10 minutes with the oven turned off; this is for a solid, hard to break apart muffin)
Don't forget to grease your pan or they will be impossible to get out!
1 3/4 cups Mana Pro Game bird/Show bird feed (any high protein feed will do fine)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
3-4 eggs
1 cup water
1/8 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup peanut butter
Addition mix-ins: 1/2 cup
Meal worms (dried)
Sunflower seeds
Scratch
Anything else you have around
(The original recipe also had 1 mashed banana and 1/2 cup applesauce. I didn't have any in the house so that is why I didn't add these.)
Once you mix all the ingredients, put scoops into a muffin tin and bake! It's that easy!
These muffins were really easy to make. They didn't take much time at all either!
One complaint I have about them is that they are very crumbly. It might be that I baked them too long. It is also possible that the banana and applesauce I had to skip would make a big difference. If you make this at home don't forget to try that!
Here is Speckles enjoying a crumpled Molt muffin.
Another way I gave the muffins to the chickens was in a suet feeder. I packed in as many muffins as I could and hung it with a piece of wire in the coop. They seemed to like it more this way for some reason.
When I put the muffins inside the coop, the chickens weren't very excited. I think because of the brown color, they blended into the bedding and were forgotten. When I put them outside, though, they loved the muffins!
Even Nutmeg came outside for a while!
Overall, this was a great recipe that I think I will definitely try again soon!
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