Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups melted tallow, lard, meat drippings, or coconut oil
- 1 cup unsalted seeds (sunflower in the shell, pumpkin or squash, sesame, chia)
- 1 cup grains (whole wheat, millet, oats, cornmeal, scratch mix)
- 1 cup dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, apples)
- a sprinkle of meal worms or grubs (optional)
- a sprinkle of cayenne pepper and/or other herbs (optional)
Notes:
- Peanut butter or unsalted nuts would be a good addition.
- A sprinkle of flax seeds is OK, but they shouldn’t have excessive amounts.
- If using meat drippings, don’t use much bacon grease since it tends to have lots of salt and/or nitrates.
Directions
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Mix together dry ingredients and pour into loaf pan.
- Pour liquid fat on top and mix up a bit.
- Allow to harden. Will go more quickly if you put in the fridge.
- Remove from loaf pan. Slice into small bricks you can put in a feed pan or into a cage on the coop wall for them to peck.
- If not feeding right away, wrap in parchment paper and store in the fridge (or freezer if it’ll be more than a week or two). Before feeding be sure to remove parchment paper (and defrost in the fridge for a bit if frozen).