Treats For My Peeps
When my kids were younger, I was always buying them little presents for no reason.
Not because they whined, begged or asked for something incessantly til I gave in. I just liked bringing a tiny bit of joy to their day. I’d pick them up after school and often have a ‘goodie’ waiting for them. Either some fun toy on clearance at Target or a tasty treat to put a happy ending to their long school day.
We were in the local feed and farm store and I saw a bag of dried meal worm treats for chickens. “Happy Hen” was the brand name. I jokingly showed them to Lance and asked, “Who would buy dead worms to feed their chickens?”
Apparently, WE would.
The chicks get very excited when we hand feed them the dried mealworm treats. Our chickens and chicks get age-appropriate healthy feed for their meals. For dessert, they get scraps from the kitchen. The baby chicks loved our old kimchi. The laying hens love strawberry hulls and lettuce. They turned their nose up at ginger peels and onions but scarfed down the cucumber shavings and radish tops.
When the summer heats up (no time soon, it would seem) I’m going to make a tomato piñata. Tie a mater stem with a string, then hang it from the coop roof and let the chicks play peck away. I know you and they can’t wait for that!
Yesterday I searched the yard for worms after the latest rain. One laying hen can swallow a ginormous earthworm in one gulp. The chicks played ‘keep away’ with a little wiggly worm. Too excited to eat it, allowing their sister chick to steal it and run away with it (this repeated till the young rooster got a turn and gulped it down). We bought doggie treats for our neighborhood junkyard dog when the hotdogs ran out. I can bring an instant smile to my hubby’s face by baking things he craves. Turns out I like treating those I love with some little something.
I think all living creatures love a special treat. I still keep an eye out for something I think my adult children would like. I send my son homemade granola and my daughter flowers I find that smell good. After said flower travels 2300 miles, it’s prolly dead, crumbly and scent free ;-). Heck, who doesn’t love a treat? A happy hen lays more eggs… and that makes US happy!
