Looking for ways to save money on chicken feed? You'll love this DIY flock block for chickens recipe. Learn how to make one down below. ⬇️⬇️
True, you can purchase ready-made treat blocks for your chickens.
Yet making them yourself lets you customize the ingredients. And then you'll know exactly what is in them. You'll avoid feeding your chickens unhealthy chemicals and preservatives.
And you'll save money on your homestead.
Most of your chickens' nutrition should come from layer feed, foraging, fresh fruits, and veggies.
However, sometimes that isn't possible. And spoiling your backyard flock a little bit with a DIY Flock Block has several benefits that both you and they will enjoy.
What is a DIY Flock Block?
A DIY chicken feed flock block is an easy and cost-effective way to provide nutrition for your chickens.
Our chickens LOVE these blocks.
And when we run out of chicken feed, we use this plus several other recipes to feed them. Until we can grab another order of chicken supplies.
Almost as much as the “drunk chicken feed” Dan gets for them from the local brewery. This is the discarded fermenting grain used to make beer. Chickens, turkeys, (and also apparently pigs) love it.
These blocks help your chickens get the right balance of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals that they need.
It's also a great way to make sure your chickens have access to plenty of food daily without overfeeding them.
Plus, these blocks are simple to make and take up very little space in your chicken coop.
What’s in a Flock Block
Get creative when making your flock block.
Depending on what’s in your pantry and what your chickens like eating, your homemade flock block can be made with a few basic ingredients you likely already have on hand.
Possible ingredients include
- Grains
- seeds
- dried fruits and/or vegetables
- Molasses or lard
- Crushed Egg Shells
Where Do You Put a Flock Block
These chicken feed blocks are almost like bricks or little hard pucks. It depends on what sort of pan you use to bake them in.
Depending on your chicken coop setup, you might like to hang them around the coop or run.
Some people stand them up in a pan in a corner of the chicken run.
I like to keep ours out of the dirt. Otherwise, they get muddy and the chicken run gets messier.
How Do You Feed Chickens a Flock Block
It’s pretty simple.
Just place it in an easily-accessible area. Then let the chickens peck away!
Why a Homemade DIY Flock Block For Chickens
We do not let our chickens free range across our yard. Our off grid homestead property isn’t fenced. Also, pine martens, lynxes, wolves, coyotes, foxes, and bears roam the area.
So our chickens don’t get to scratch and forage for insects, wild greens, etc. That’s why we supplement our chicken feed with flock blocks, vegetable scraps, fermented chicken feed, and drunken chicken grains.
Nutrition
This list of grains, seeds, treats, spices, and other ingredients provides your birds with additional protein and vitamins. So it gives them a treat and improves their immune systems too.
Enrichment
Pecking and searching for their favorite treats will keep your chickens happy and entertained.
It breaks up the monotony of eating layer feed every day.
Improves Production
The high protein content of a homemade chicken feed block can help improve egg production. We saw this with our Barred Rocks and White Lohmans.
Our girls actually started producing so much we had to learn how to preserve our eggs for the long-term.
It also helps to bulk up your meat birds. Not that our Western Rustics needed much bulking up.
Now, if you’re worried about the peppers in the treat, don’t be. Birds do not have the receptors to taste spicy foods.
And adding peppers helps to keep other pests away from stealing those flock blocks.
Like some humans, weasels, foxes, pine martens, coyotes, etc., will find the spicy tastes unpalatable.
It’s easy to double or triple this recipe if needed, depending on the size of your flock and how much you would like to have made ahead.
This flock block also stores nicely in the fridge or freezer.
Flock Block Chicken Feed Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need for your homemade DIY flock block.
- 1 cup layer Feed
- ½ cup Black Oil Sunflower Seeds
- 1 cup Scratch feed or wild bird seed
- ¼ cup Ground Flax Seed
- ½ cup Quick Cook Oats
- 1 cup dried mealworms/insect treats
- 1 Tablespoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 Tablespoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
- ½ cup Coconut Oil
- ¼ cup Molasses
- 2 eggs and shells
Additional Supplies
- Nonstick cooking spray
- Muffin tin or another mold
- A wooden spoon
- Large bowl
How to Make a DIY Flock Block
Making a homemade block for your chickens is simple. In fact, we did this as a homeschooling and homesteading lesson.
Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Spray muffin tin or another container generously with nonstick spray.
- Combine sunflower seeds, flax, oats, layer feed, dried mealworms, scratch grains, and spices in a large bowl.
- Melt coconut oil in the microwave and add to the mixture.
- Break open eggs and, crush up the shells, stir in well.
- Fill each well of the muffin tin to the top with your mixture.
- Create a hole in the center all the way to the bottom of the tin for hanging your treats.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of your container.
- Remove from the oven and cool down completely.
- Take out the tin, using a knife, if you need to loosen it all the way around.
- Store block in fridge or freezer.
When ready to serve, hang the feed block with a piece of twine inside your chicken's run or coop.
You can also set it on the ground and allow them to graze throughout the day.
DIY Flock Block for Chickens
Make these homemade DIY chicken flock blocks with ingredients you already have to save money on storebought chicken treats!
Ingredients
- 1 cup Layer Feed
- ½ cup Black Oil Sunflower Seeds
- 1 cup scratch feed or wild bird seed
- ¼ cup ground flax seed
- ½ cup quick cook oats
- 1 cup dried mealworms/insect treats
- 1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 eggs and shells
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350℉.
Spray the muffin tin or another container generously with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, combine sunflower seeds, flax, oats, layer feed, dried mealworms, scratch grains, and spices.
Melt coconut oil in the microwave and add to the mixture.
Break open eggs and, crush up the shells, stir in well.
Fill each well of the muffin tin to the top with your mixture.
Create a hole in the center to the bottom of the tin for hanging your treats.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of your container.
Remove from the oven and cool down completely.
Take out the tin, using a knife, if you need to loosen it all the way around.
Store block in fridge or freezer.
Notes
Additional Supplies
Nonstick cooking spray
Muffin tin or another mold
A wooden spoon
Large bowl
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 284Total Fat 26gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 15gCholesterol 31mgSodium 656mgCarbohydrates 11gFiber 2gSugar 6gProtein 4g
What do you add to your DIY chicken flock block? Let me know in the comments below!
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Jeannie K
GRrrr8 recipe … for ‘chicks’ that are not laying yet … only use chick feed instead of egg layer feed which is higher in calcium which is bad for the younger birds. Like I said,,,GRrr8 recipe
Sarita Harbour
Hi Karen -I haven't frozen them myself - just made them and put them out in the run. I would think they'd last about 3 weeks in the fridge and up to 6 months in the freezer. They may even last longer but taste freezer burned!
Karen Jempson
How long do they keep in the refrigerator and freezer.
Carol L
1 cupcake Bl dried mealworms/insect treats
Do you mean 1 CUP Bl (?) dried mealworms
(What is the Bl??)
Nice recipe!
Looking forward to making it!