How To Make Homemade Treats For Chickens

Looking for safe, fun treats for chickens that do not break DEFRA rules? This guide shows you how to create nutritious hen treats at home, keep things legal, and avoid common pitfalls. I find a little creativity keeps birds busy, improves welfare, and even boosts egg quality.

Why treats for chickens matter

Treats are great for reducing boredom, encouraging natural foraging, and giving shy hens confidence. During winter, I like to give high-energy poultry treats, while in summer, frozen snacks help birds keep cool. Moderation is key, so never let extras replace a complete layers feed.

DEFRA rules in plain English

In the UK, it is illegal to feed chickens any food that has passed through a domestic or commercial kitchen. That includes vegetable peelings, bread, pasta, or plate leftovers. DEFRA classifies these as catering waste and has banned them because of the risk of cross-contamination and serious disease.

You may feed:

• Fresh fruit and vegetables grown in your garden or kept outside the kitchen.
• Shop-bought produce stored in a shed or feed bin.
• Grains and seeds from a dedicated feed store.
• Commercially made treats for poultry, produced in an approved facility.

Never mix or bake ingredients in your kitchen. Once food enters the kitchen, it becomes illegal for poultry use.

Safe ingredients for homemade poultry treats

Ingredient	Why it helps	Tips
Whole cabbage, kale, broccoli	Encourages pecking and movement	Hang at beak height
Mixed poultry corn	Extra calories in cold weather	Scatter in late afternoon
Sprouted wheat or barley	Boosts vitamins and enzymes	Rinse daily, feed after three days
Sunflower hearts	High-fat winter boost	Mix into forage areas
Fresh herbs (mint, parsley, oregano)	Flavour and mild health support	Offer small bundles

Five easy DIY hen treats

1. Swinging cabbage feeder
   Skewer a whole cabbage, hang it in the run, and watch chickens jump for bites. Great enrichment and totally kitchen-free.
2. Grain and oat block
   Mix 500 g of poultry corn, 100 g of oats, and a spoonful of molasses. Mix well, press into a loaf mould, cover with greaseproof paper and place a weight on top to compress. Leave for a while for the ingredients to bind. Traditionally, these were baked into a rigid block, but unless you have somewhere to bake them that’s not in your kitchen, compression is the best way to create the block, with the molasses helping to create a loose bind. Can have more of a flapjack texture than traditional blocks.
3. Frozen forage pop
   Fill a non-kitchen bowl with chopped greens and berries, top with water, and freeze. On hot afternoons, hens chip away at the ice to reach the treats.
4. Sprout scatter tray
   Soak wheat overnight, sprout in mesh-lid jars for three days, then scatter on grass. Even low-ranking birds get a share because the sprouts spread wide.
5. Herb posies
   Tie small bunches of parsley or mint with jute string and hang them around the run. The scent encourages curiosity and supports digestion.

Toys and feeders to make treats last

• Vegetable hanging nets or balls for leafy treats.
• Stainless steel vegetable skewers, hangable, reusable and easy to clean.
• Sprouting jar kits and stands.
• Rolling foraging balls
• Mixed poultry corn in 20 kg sacks for cost-effective treats. I find that putting the corn in a swinging pecking toy is a much more fun way for the chickens to enjoy this treat..

How much is too much?

Treats for hens should never exceed ten per cent of the daily ration. A typical layer eats around 120 g of feed, so two heaped tablespoons of extras is plenty. Always provide fresh water and grit to help with digestion. For more information on hen nutrition, read our feeding guide.

Final thoughts

Homemade treats for poultry are rewarding, affordable, and fully legal when you follow DEFRA guidance. Use clean, kitchen-free ingredients, match treat type to the season, and keep portions sensible. Your flock will stay active and healthy, and you can enjoy the satisfaction of giving them something special without risking their wellbeing.

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