Treat your chickens to a festive veggie garland with this easy to make idea from Kaylee Vaughn.

If you are looking for a fun way to add some holiday cheer to your chicken coop, try making an edible chicken treat “garland” for your feathered friends! Not only does it deliver a healthy snack, but it also will keep your hens happy and entertained! 

During the winter, it’s important to keep your chickens entertained. Especially if they have to stay inside the coop/run more often than usual due to poor weather conditions. Boredom can lead to a range of bad habits, from feather plucking to egg eating.  Because of this, providing entertainment for your chickens is more important than many people realize!

During a particularly cold and snowy Christmas season, we decided give our chickens a fun and festive treat by making them an edible treat garland! The garland is quick and easy to make. You just need some healthy fruits and veggies, some string or embroidery floss and a needle. This could also be a fun holiday activity for children to get involved in! 

How to make a chicken treat garland

We had so much fun making the treat garland that we decided to also make a few as gifts for our neighbors and friends who had chickens. Honestly, the treat garland was probably more entertaining for us to make than it was for the chickens! But they certainly did enjoy the fresh veggies in the middle of the cold winter!

To make your own edible chicken treat garland, start by choosing some healthy veggies and fruits to string up. We used spinach, Brussel sprouts, carrots and cherry tomatoes. This is also a great way to use up some left-overs from making Christmas dinner! Just be sure that the snacks are safe for chickens to eat. Some other safe foods that could be incorporated into a garland include: bananas, apples, broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries, celery, sweet potatoes and zucchini.

To string the chicken treat garland, I’ve found that embroidery floss works very well. I thread it through a large embroidery needle that i can easily push through firm veggies, like carrots. Once the veggies and fruit are threaded onto the floss, it’s time to let your chickens enjoy! I tie both ends of the floss securely to the chicken wire in the chicken run. I haven’t had any issues with the chickens getting it loose, but it’s obviously very wise to supervise your chickens while they enjoy their festive treat! That way, you also get to be a part of the fun while you watch them peck at their garland!

Kaylee Vaughn is a suburban homesteader, caring for chickens, goats, and a large garden on a little less than an acre. She and her family strive to create the most efficient homestead possible in the small space we have available. Her chickens are not only beautiful yard ornaments, but also a vital part of their homestead management practices! “We utilize them to produce manure, control pests, turn compost, and more.” Kaylee’s nick-named them “the gardeners” because they are always in the garden, working hard – and redecorating on occasion, too!  You can follow Kaylee through her website.