Another feed question

[PoppasGrill]

We’ve found that our chickens are getting into the trough for our donkey’s feed and eating the steamed rolled oats. They like it, and we throw a scoop or two out for them to scratch at.
Their usual feed is layer 20% and some oyster shell, and eggshells , scrambled eggs, cooked rice , and mealworms. Yes, they are spoiled rotten.
I see videos on YouTube of people giving a lot of table scraps, but have read differing opinions on what they can / shouldn’t have.
Cooked Potatoes, certain veggies, and beans are the most questioned.
Any input would be appreciated

 

[azygous]

It's not the amount of food, it's the nutritional value. You want the chickens' diet to be mostly commercial feed so they get all of the daily requirement of protein and nutrients they need. It should be 95% of their diet. Any treats will eat into this percentage and result in poorer nutrition that can eventually affect laying.

 

[Stravager]

Someone somewhere on this site had an awesome page with all of the safe and non safe foods, but I can't for the life of me find it again... In general I would avoid potatoes and beans just to be on the safe side, although when I was little we used to feed non green potato peels to our chickens.
Mealworms should just be a treat - they can be very high in protein and fat, and can contribute to fatty liver disease if you feed too much.
Edited to add that another poster had this information about potatoes:
Raw potato or potato skins: Raw potato and potato skins contain solanine which is toxic to chickens. So, it's important to avoid giving them these foods in any form.

 

[nuthatched]

Avoid youtube and social media for chicken information. People who feed their birds mostly scratch and scraps are just giving them short lives.

 

[PoppasGrill]

Someone somewhere on this site had an awesome page with all of the safe and non safe foods, but I can't for the life of me find it again... In general I would avoid potatoes and beans just to be on the safe side, although when I was little we used to feed non green potato peels to our chickens.
Mealworms should just be a treat - they can be very high in protein and fat, and can contribute to fatty liver disease if you feed too much.
Edited to add that another poster had this information about potatoes:
Raw potato or potato skins: Raw potato and potato skins contain solanine which is toxic to chickens. So, it's important to avoid giving them these foods in any form.

Thank you

 

[NatJ]

We’ve found that our chickens are getting into the trough for our donkey’s feed and eating the steamed rolled oats. They like it, and we throw a scoop or two out for them to scratch at.
Their usual feed is layer 20% and some oyster shell, and eggshells , scrambled eggs, cooked rice , and mealworms. Yes, they are spoiled rotten.
I see videos on YouTube of people giving a lot of table scraps, but have read differing opinions on what they can / shouldn’t have.
Cooked Potatoes, certain veggies, and beans are the most questioned.
Any input would be appreciated

If the cooked potatoes are fine for you, they are also fine for chickens. Green potatoes are bad for chickens regardless of whether they are cooked or raw, but they are also bad for you.

Cooked beans are fine, raw beans are not. That is also true for both humans and chickens.

In general, if you just toss the scraps where the chickens can pick through them, the chickens will mostly avoid things that are harmful. For example, avocado peels and pits are supposed to be toxic to chickens, but the flesh is fine. Chickens will pick out the bits of flesh and leave the skin and the pit. (I've never yet seen a chicken big enough to swallow an avocado pit whole, or strong enough to break it up and eat parts of it!)

That does not address whether the chickens will choose a properly balanced diet to help them live a long, healthy, productive life. I'm just saying that they will usually make safe choices when they have plenty of options. Having constant access to commercial chicken food is a big help, because they are never hungry enough to eat things they would prefer to avoid.