Your chickens will love these Energy Bites Snacks packed with protein, nutrients and other yummy ingredients chosen to help them through the molting season and coming cold winter months.
Dried grubs, oats, sea kelp and sunflower seeds are all flock favorites around here. Mix them with cooking grease and coconut oil and you've got a delicious snack for your flock.
The temperature drop and shorter days signal the beginning of molting season. For the next several weeks, I'll have chickens running around in various stages of "undress", missing feathers all over their bodies.
Energy Bites Snacks are High in Protein
To help my chickens grow back nice new feathers as fast as possible, I like to add some extra protein to their diet in the form of treats.
Great sources of protein include sunflower seeds, oats and dried grubs. I prefer to feed my chickens grubs instead of meal worms because grubs not only provide protein, but also calcium, which is super important for chickens.
Also, the grubs are grown right here in the USA, not in China, which is a huge factor for me as well.
Energy Bites Snacks are High in Nutrients
Sea kelp provides all kinds of nutrients to supplement their diet when my chickens can't be out eating grass and weeds (because they're all dried up and dead or covered with snow) and also makes nice orange egg yolks. Sea kelp is also thought to have natural antibiotic properties.
I also like to add other dried herbs to my Energy Bites Snacks like marigold, oregano, thyme etc. They all have great health benefits for my flock.
Energy Bites Snacks are High in Fat
Since it gets so cold here in Maine and our chickens use lots of energy just trying to stay warm, I don't mind giving them a bit of extra fat in their diet in the winter. That helps to keep weight on them and keep them warm.
I collect the grease from cooking burgers or meatloaf or roasts in the freezer until I'm ready to make the energy bites. I'll also use bacon grease, but in moderation unless its low salt/ no nitrate.
I also like to add some coconut oil to their snacks. Chickens love coconut oil and it is another good source of healthy fats as well as functioning as an antibacterial.
Coconut oil is said to boost immune systems and definitely adds sheen to chickens' feathers, which will make your girls even more beautiful after they finish molting!
And lastly, I add some unsalted chopped nuts to the Energy Bites Snacks. Nuts such as walnuts or peanuts are high in both fat and protein, so they're the perfect addition to these cool weather snacks.
Energy Bites Snacks for Chickens
To make Energy Bites Snacks for chickens, in a large mixing bowl mix any combination of the following (about one cup total):
Then add about one cup of melted grease/oil and stir to combine, making sure all the nuts and seeds are covered.
Spoon or pour into silicone ice cube trays and chill until firm. Unmold and share with your chickens!
Watch as I make my chickens a batch of Energy Bites Snacks for Chickens - and see how much my girls enjoy them!
