Homemade Flock Blocks

Flock Blocks are expensive seed blocks sold at feed stores.  Chickens peck at the hard blocks of seeds keeping them entertained... which is a plus when the weather is cold and nasty.  I made a huge batch of homemade flock blocks right after Christmas using things from my pantry and freezer. 

I ground up a few loaves of bread that turned out way to dense, a pureed butternut squash that was too old and dry for me to want to eat, cranberries I've had in the freezer for years, sunflower seeds, millet, chicken scratch, and a few eggs to bind it all together.

I pressed it into pans and baked it in a low oven for a long time.  I made big holes in the mix before I baked it hoping I'd be able to hang up the blocks for the chickens.

I think all of the bread crumbs made the blocks too flexible and a lot of them broke when I tried to turn them out of the pan.  I wrapped and froze all but one so I could save them for colder weather.

The colder weather has arrived and judging by how quickly they attack the blocks, I think the chickens like them.