Christmas treat cake for chickens! (and Valentines heart!)

The holidays are coming and what better way to show your loved ones how much you care than by making them homemade treats? While you're baking for your friends and family, why not throw something in the oven for the chickens too?

Make chicken treats

This Christmas tree cake is actually cornbread which is much lower in sugar then cake. It also has all kinds of healthy chicken favorites included in it, like pumpkin and yogurt! So don't feel too guilty about making them a cake ... It's actually good for them! 

Plus, it's super easy. Just start with a store bought mix, make a few substitutions and chop a few things for garnishes.

Cake for chickens

To add nutrients to this cake, I swapped pureed pumpkin for the butter called for in the cornbread mix. Pumpkin is a great source of antioxidants, fiber and vitamin A which is an essential vitamin for chickens. 

If you were going to make this for human consumption you would want to leave at least some fat in it to make the texture and consistency more palatable.

When swapping out all of the butter or oil for pumpkin it'll be a slight bit drier than we would like, but the chickens don't care! Besides, it's getting covered with yogurt so that will make up for the moisture issue.

Instead of cake frosting, I used plain Greek yogurt. The yogurt I bought has live and active cultures. This adds probiotics to their digestive system. Greek yogurt is also high in calcium and protein.

disclosure

I chose cranberries because they are cheap right now and in every single store. However, they are high in vitamin C, fiber and vitamin A, so still a good choice. You could use grapes or other berries if they're more readily available. Don't use chocolate though, since it's toxic to chickens.

I went with kale because it's the last green thing growing in my garden but it's usually fairly cheap at the grocery store. Cut kale with herb scissors instead of chopping ... It's so much faster! Sounds easy, right? Here's the directions....

chicken cake ingredients

Buy packaged cornbread mix. The ones I used were $.50 each at Walmart.

Make the cornbread according to package directions except substitute pumpkin puree for the butter or oil. The package I used called for 2 Tbs butter, so I just used 2 Tbs Pumpkin puree instead. I used homemade pumpkin puree, but use the canned kind if it's not exactly pumpkin season.

Once the batter is mixed, fold in some chopped fresh cranberries. Don't over mix.

Prepare your baking pan according to package directions. Pour into prepared baking pan. I have the Wilton tree pan, but you could use any shape. Bake as directed on cornbread package.

Baking a cake for backyard chickens

When the baking time is up, remove cornbread from oven and turn out onto wire rack immediately. Let cool.

Once completely cool, open the yogurt and mix till smooth. Use this to ice the cake. Add cranberries, scratch and kale for decoration.

Decorating a chicken treat cake

I choose scratch as a decoration on the cake because sometimes chickens are afraid of new foods. Tossing a little scratch on top gets them started eating. Once they get a few bites in, they realize that this stuff is good!

Don't forget to take lots of pictures of your flock enjoying their treat! They look so darn cute with cake face!

Chickens eating treats

I hope your flock loves this fun Christmas chicken treat!



Update: Since my chickens loved this treat so much I decided to make them one for Valentines day too! Just use a heart shaped pan instead, and cut up some strawberries since cranberries aren't in season right now.

Heart shaped cornbread cake for pet chickens

I also added some blueberries that were a little overripe and then filled in the blank spots with some bird seed They loved it! I could probably do this for every holiday!

~L


Want to get your coop in the holiday spirit too? Decorate your coop with these Christmas stockings made from feed bags.

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Healthy chicken treats

9 comments:

  1. This cake is just TOO cute! Our chickens love the pampering... I might just have to give this a try! It might be enough to get them to come on out of the coop during this cold snap we've been having!

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    1. You should try it...and take lots of pictures!

      Lisa

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  2. I love this recipe, my chickens are in for a treat real soon! I love your site and read, save, and share your content. Thanks for such good info.

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    1. Awww, I'm so glad you love my content! I hope your chickens love their treat cake!

      Lisa

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  3. I'm thinking that if you don't have a Christmas tree pan, you could use a round cake pan. After baking it can be cut into wedges and each wedge could be decorated as a Christmas tree. I'm going to have to try it for my chickens! Would I be able to feed this to my ducks as well?

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    1. That is a great idea! Yes, it should be fine for ducks too. I hope they enjoy it!

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  4. Would dried cranberries be acceptable?

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    1. Yes, dried cranberries will work on this chicken cake. Or any other berry you feel like chopping up. Hope your flock enjoys their treat!

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  5. This will be so cute for my new baby chickens

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