Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. However, I can’t share one of my favorite parts of Halloween with my flock. Candy. Human treats like candy and chocolate are toxic and harmful to chickens. Instead, I baked these natural chicken-friendly drop cookies to share with my chickens and celebrate the turning of the seasons here on the homestead. Treats are a great way to break up winter boredom too! I froze my extra cookies and plan to break them out in January when we experience some of our harshest weather of the year and the flock will be spending a lot of time indoors. Bonus, these natural cookies are also great treats for dogs and horses! Like all treats, only serve these as a very occasional treat and in moderation alongside your already nutritionally complete chicken pellets or crumble.

Ingredients you’ll need for this recipe for natural chicken-friendly drop cookies:

1 cup chopped apple (you can substitute unsweetened applesauce)

1 cup chopped pumpkin (you can used canned pumpkin puree as long as it is pumpkin ONLY and not pumpkin pie filling)

2 ½ cups wheat flour (wheat whole grain flour, not bleached all purpose flour)

2 whole eggs

2 cups of water

Equipment:

Sauce pan

Large bowl

Potato ricer or stand mixer

Spoon

Baking sheet

To create your all natural chicken-friendly drop cookies:

1) Chop both the apple and pumpkin into small cubes, approximately ¼ inch to an inch large. The smaller the pieces, the faster they will cook. Remove apple core, be careful to not include any seeds in your cookie mixture. Pumpkin seeds can be removed and saved for people treats. Remove as much pumpkin rind as possible. Don’t worry if you miss some, it will come to the top of the mixture when cooked and can be skimmed off. Add the chopped apple and pumpkin to a small sauce pan along with the cups of water. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook approximately 25 minutes or until tender. If you are using canned ingredients go to step 3.

2. Once tender, remove the apple and pumpkin from the stove and allow to cool. Using a potato ricer or stand mixer process the apple and pumpkin mixture until it is a puree or the consistency of apple sauce. If you used canned products you can skip these steps and move on to step 3.

3. Combine apple and pumpkin puree with flour and 2 eggs in a large bowl. Stir until completely combined. You are looking for the consistency of very thick pancake batter. If the mixture is too soupy to be spooned out, add more flour. It’s important to use wheat flour and not bleached all purpose flour.

4. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

5. Grease and line a baking sheet. Using a large spoon drop small dollops of the cookie mixture onto the greased sheet, allowing a few inches between each dollop.

6. Bake at 350 degree for 30 minutes (start checking at 25 minutes, your oven may vary). The cookies are done when they start to become golden brown on the edges.

7. Removed finished cookies and allow to cool on a cooling rack. Repeat until all of the mixture is used.

Allow your cookies to completely cool. I waited 2 hours before serving them to my chickens. Remember when giving treats to spread them out over a large area to limit the chances of food aggression. These are very moist cookies with no preservatives so use them within 48 hours or refrigerate/freeze any leftovers. You can omit the eggs if you are in short supply due to the changing of the seasons. I added sunflower seeds and cracked corn for garnish. You could also add grub worms for an additional protein boost.

*I would like to emphasize treats are meant to be served in addition to your flock’s regular, nutritionally complete chicken food pellets or crumble. These treats are not a substitute for nutritionally complete feed, but rather to be served as a treat and/or enrichment boost in conjunction with your regular chicken feed. These cookies, and all treats should only be given in moderation as to not negatively impact your chicken’s health or nutritional needs.*

I hope your flock will enjoy these cookies as much as mine did!

Wishing you all a safe and happy Halloween from our coop to yours.