Off Grid Living – Wild Mountain Homestead

Can Chickens Eat Rice Krispies?

Mallory — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 18:11:14 +0000

You love your flock and you want to know, can chickens eat Rice Krispies? I get it! After raising chickens for more than a decade, I’ve learned a few things. And since living on our off-grid homestead, I’ve learned that chickens will eat just about anything. But should they? Let’s dive into whether Rice Krispies make a good treat for your flock.

Are Rice Krispies Safe for Chickens?

Yes, chickens can safely eat Rice Krispies. These cereal pieces are simply puffed rice grains, which are perfectly digestible for chickens. The basic ingredients – rice, sugar, and salt – won’t harm your birds when offered in moderation.

We love giving our chickens treats, but try to stick with nutritionally dense options.

Nutritional Facts: Can Chickens Eat Rice Krispies?

While Rice Krispies won’t hurt your chickens, they’re not particularly nutritious either. Let’s break down what they offer:

Benefits:

Easy to digest carbohydrates
Low fat content
Minimal processing compared to many cereals

Drawbacks:

High in simple sugars
Limited protein content
Few vitamins and minerals
No significant nutritional value for egg production

How to Feed Rice Krispies to Chickens

If you decide to share some Rice Krispies with your flock, here are some smart guidelines:

Offer as an occasional treat only (1-2 times per week)
Limit portions to about 1 tablespoon per chicken
Scatter dry cereal on ground to encourage natural foraging
Avoid feeding sugary varieties like Frosted Rice Krispies

Better Alternatives for Chicken Treats

While chickens can eat Rice Krispies, there are much better treat options that support their health:

Dried mealworms (excellent protein source)
Fresh vegetables (packed with nutrients)
Plain rolled oats (more nutritious grain option)
Scratch grains (promotes natural foraging)

FAQ: Feeding Rice Krispies to Chickens

Q: Can baby chicks eat Rice Krispies?
A: It’s best to avoid feeding Rice Krispies to baby chicks. Their digestive systems are delicate, and they need specialized chick starter feed for proper growth and development.

Q: Will Rice Krispies affect egg production?
A: Feeding your chickens with only Rice Krispies could negatively impact egg production since they lack the protein and calcium hens need. Keep treats minimal and focus on quality layer feed.

Q: Can chickens eat Rice Krispies treats with marshmallows?
A: No, avoid feeding chickens Rice Krispies treats. The marshmallows contain artificial ingredients and excessive sugar that could harm your flock’s health.

Q: What about stale Rice Krispies?
A: While chickens can technically eat stale Rice Krispies, it’s best to avoid feeding them any moldy foods to prevent potential digestive issues or illness.

Q: How often can I feed Rice Krispies to my chickens?
A: If you choose to feed Rice Krispies, limit them to 1-2 times per week and only offer about 1 tablespoon per chicken. Treats should make up no more than 10% of their total diet.

Bottom Line: Save the Cereal for Yourself

Here’s what I’ve learned from raising chickens: just because they can eat something doesn’t mean they should. While Rice Krispies won’t harm your flock, they don’t provide meaningful nutrition either.

Instead of sharing your breakfast cereal, focus on treats that support egg production and overall health. Your chickens will be just as happy with nutrient-rich options, and you’ll see better results in egg quality and flock health.

Remember, treats should make up no more than 10% of your chickens’ daily diet. The majority should come from quality layer feed to ensure proper nutrition for healthy eggs and happy hens. And when in doubt refer to this list of what chickens can eat.

Quick Tips for Healthy Chicken Treats

Always introduce new foods gradually
Watch for changes in egg production
Avoid moldy or stale items
Keep treats as an occasional supplement
Focus on natural, unprocessed options

With these guidelines in mind, you can make informed choices about treating your backyard flock while maintaining their health and productivity.

The post Can Chickens Eat Rice Krispies? appeared first on Wild Mountain Homestead.

September on the Farm

Mallory — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 20:11:15 +0000

September here at Wild Mountain Homestead is unpredictable. Gardening at 8,000 feet elevation, we’re always on the lookout for the first frost. Come September we check nightly lows and keep our fingers crossed that we can get a few more weeks out of the dahlias and have enough time for the cherry tomatoes to ripen.

Our first season here we had a killing freeze on Labor Day and had to spend the weekend furiously trying to harvest as much as possible. This year (knock on wood) we’re getting a warm and gradual transition into fall. I’m simultaneously ready cozy and never want summer to end, so it’s nice to have a longer runway into the season change.

Lucky for us the garden in September 2024 is overflowing and doing great. We have dahlias, sunflowers, cut flowers, lettuce, carrots, beets, and all manner of squash, pumpkins, and gourds.

We grow our dahlias in raised beds and they are thriving this year.

I try to take a daily tour of the flowers, knowing that soon everything will be frozen and covered in snow.

Oakley loves following me around on these daily walks and always brings his own camera to document the day.

The sunflowers tower over Juniper, but she loves going out to smell them. She insists that we keep an arrangement of flowers on a low shelf in the house so she can smell them everyday. This kid REALLY loves flowers.

The farmer’s market runs through the month of September and each week I’m impressed all over again with all of the amazing things we have on display. Matt stays up late into the night harvesting everything with a headlamp. If you like fresh produce, this is as good as it gets. Each carrot, beet, or piece of lettuce has been lovingly picked just hours before it is sold.

The Wild Mountain Homestead farmer’s market booth is overflowing in early September.

While the days have been warm, we’re enjoying cooler evenings and mornings. I’ve loved baking since I got my first cookbook at the age of 9. And while I do bake sourdough all summer long, there’s something special about fall baking.

The kids were quite pleased the other day when we had homemade donuts.

It takes nearly an hour to get anywhere from where we live. The driveway itself is a bumpy, slow adventure that takes at least 15 minutes to navigate.

It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle of life and wish we lived somewhere with more convenience. But when I look at these photos, when I go outside, or when I see my children happily hiking through the forest, I know this is right for us.

It’s not the secluded inconvenience that’s the problem, it’s society’s obsession with hustle.

If you’re feeling called to slow down and disconnect, know you’re not alone. And know that you have a choice. It won’t always be easy or fun, but I believe in you. You can build a life you love. You can live on your terms. You can forge a new path.

Here’s to less hustle, and more time with our hands in the dirt and hearts invested in building a life we love.

The post September on the Farm appeared first on Wild Mountain Homestead.

Raise ‘Em Wild

Mallory — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 21:13:35 +0000

Living off-grid in the wild Colorado mountains is certainly not always the easiest path.

It takes nearly an hour to get anywhere. Our driveway is a 3 mile bumpy, off-road adventure in itself. We don’t often go to museums or kid-centric places. And calling in takeout will never be an option.

But I hope they remember this life fondly.

May they someday look back and appreciate the silence of living in the middle of nowhere.

May they develop a sense of adventure and autonomy by running wild on this land.

May they feel a connection to nature and appreciation for growing.

It’s impossible to know what the future brings. But I so dearly hope this unusual life lays a foundation of exploration, self-sufficiency, and connection.

I don’t know what I’m doing most of the time. And I certainly can’t claim to be doing it well.

But I hope they know they were loved. And that even with kids in-tow, we decided to seek adventure. Despite society telling us to speed up and get ahead, we made the concerted effort to slow down, change course, and raise ’em wild.

The post Raise ‘Em Wild appeared first on Wild Mountain Homestead.

Living Off-Grid in Colorado (with Small Children)

Mallory — Sun, 01 Jan 2023 21:59:09 +0000

We knew we were in for an adventure when we moved onto a remote Colorado mountain property. Now with a couple years living off-grid under our belt here’s what I’d do differently.

Our Off-Grid Homestead

Off-grid can mean a lot of things. It means living without connection to the “grid” of water, sewer, and electricity. But the living conditions under that banner vary wildly, from a tent in the Alaska bush to a 7,000 square-foot mansion on the edge of town.

To set the groundwork for this article, I’ll tell you a bit about our unique property.

We have a 35 acre parcel located in the mountains of southern Colorado. We live at 8,000 feet and have been slowly turning the original quirky hunting cabin into our family home.

We’re the last parcel at the end of a very rough 4×4 road. We’re blessed to be surrounded by a massive cattle property and public lands. This means we have a lot of quiet and plenty of wildlife.

When we moved in, the property didn’t have water. It was a risk to buy without a well, but luckily the gamble paid off and we hit water the first time drilling.

Off-Grid Power

Besides a water well, the next biggest hurdle for us was power. We started small, with a couple old solar panels and a few small solar generators. We’ve built up our supply and now have eight solar generators with a combined 4200 watts.

We decided to go this route for a few reasons. First off, we already had a few solar generators from a background in camping and over landing.

Second, we wanted to keep things modular and easily adjustable. Every year we learn new things and we want to be able to switch the layout of our power plan accordingly.

Third, as an avid gear tester, I wanted to really compare, test, and find the best solar generators for off grid living.

The Benefits of Living Off Grid

Living off-grid the way we do certainly isn’t the easiest path, but we think the benefits outweigh the challenges. Here are a few of my favorite things:

No worries about utility bills. We can live quite cheaply out here and it’s what had helped us build a homestead, raise a family, and enjoy ourselves without a big budget.
No rules. Of course, there are still county and state regulations, but living in a remote, off-grid location feels like freedom. We create things how we want and there is no need to check with neighbors or appease an hoa.
Nature, quiet, and solitude. As an introvert with hermit tendencies, there’s nothing I enjoy more than the ability to walk out my front door and hike for hours without hearing or seeing anyone.

What I’d Do Differently after Living Off-Grid for Three Years

Set up a real kitchen immediately. For more than a year we cooked outside on a camp stove. Our first focus was getting the farm going, but not being able to easily cook with two (now three) small children underfoot was super challenging. The ease and joy of being able to quickly make a grilled cheese, without running outside, had been life changing.
Add homey touches. When you’re carrying water cans to keep trees alive and planting a quarter acre while 8 months pregnant, interior decorating is at the low end of the list. But every time we’ve hung a picture or added a comfy chair I’ve wondered why we didn’t do that sooner.
Minimize and organize. Along that same vein, organization has been a huge help to our mental state. From the garden shed to the art supplies adding shelves, cabinets, and specific organization is always time well spent. Living in a small space with five people requires constantly reevaluating what should stay or go.
Delay permanent fencing and pens when possible. In the beginning we were facing a lot of pressure from bears and mountain lions (before we got out Colorado Mountain Dogs) and we built a permanent animal pen pretty close to the house. We’ve since decided it would be nicer to have a bit more distance from the pigs and will be building a different animal barn this summer (hooray for LGDs!).

And that’s about all I would change as we’ve set up our off grid homestead in Colorado. I’m glad we focused so heavily on getting our farm infrastructure up and running initially.

And now that we have a 9-month-old, 2.5-year-old, and 4.5-year-old, I’m really thankful we’ve made the interior of the house as functional as we have. Especially during the long winter weeks.

Building an Off Grid Homestead takes Time

And I have to continually remind myself that it takes time to build a brand new farm from scratch. Especially when it takes an hour drive to reach any sort of civilization, we have three young children underfoot, and our season is short at 8,000 feet elevation.

And at the end of the day, I think it’s good to welcome some discomfort into life. It was an important lesson I learned motorcycle camping across the country. The goal is to have an adventure, to create a memorable experience and life. An over dependence on comfort gets in the way of that.

As Richard Proenneke wrote,

Needs? I guess that is what bothers so many folks. They keep expanding their needs until they are dependent on too many things and too many other people… I wonder how many things in the average American home could be eliminated if the question were asked, “Must I really have this?” I guess most of the extras are chalked up to comfort or saving time.

Funny thing about comfort – one man’s comfort is another man’s misery. Most people do’t work hard enough physically anymore, and comfort is not easy to find. It is surprising how comfortable a hard bunk can be after you come down off a mountain.
Richard Proenneke

The post Living Off-Grid in Colorado (with Small Children) appeared first on Wild Mountain Homestead.

One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. – Henry Miller

The post The most secluded beaches in Mexico appeared first on Wild Mountain Homestead.

Off Grid Living – Wild Mountain Homestead

Can Chickens Eat Rice Krispies?

Table of Contents

Are Rice Krispies Safe for Chickens?

Nutritional Facts: Can Chickens Eat Rice Krispies?

How to Feed Rice Krispies to Chickens

Better Alternatives for Chicken Treats

FAQ: Feeding Rice Krispies to Chickens

Bottom Line: Save the Cereal for Yourself

Quick Tips for Healthy Chicken Treats

Read This Next

September on the Farm

Raise ‘Em Wild

Living Off-Grid in Colorado (with Small Children)

Our Off-Grid Homestead

Off-Grid Power

The Benefits of Living Off Grid

What I’d Do Differently after Living Off-Grid for Three Years

Building an Off Grid Homestead takes Time

The best roadside tacos in Mexico

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One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. – Henry Miller

Exploring the beaches in Brazil

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One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. – Henry Miller

Amazing resorts to visit in Bali

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One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. – Henry Miller

Beachside day drinking in Barbados

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One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. – Henry Miller

Trip of a lifetime in the Maldives

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One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. – Henry Miller

The most secluded beaches in Mexico

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One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. – Henry Miller