Can chickens eat coffee grounds?

[Chicken.Lytle]

I recently heard about somebody using coffee chaff (from a roasting facility) for use as bedding and soil amendment. They have coffee grounds available too.

So, can chickens eat coffee grounds?

They can eat (apparently tannin-laced) acorns, so why not? Anybody try this?

EDIT: And would they eat the grounds? Would they get hooked on morning coffee if they did???

 

[RonP]

Little to no caffeine remains in spent grounds.

 

[donrae]

Mine have never showed an interest in them when they had access to the compost pile. They'd scratch through them, but not eat any.

 

[1stcarver]

So 7 1/2 years since the first question about coffee grounds was asked here, and no definitive answer yet?

Looking around on the internet I ran across this site; http://hencam.com/faq/what-to-feed-your-chickens/ This site says it's OK to feed coffee grounds to your chickens.

 

[shortgrass]

Lol I found some better uses for them than tossing on the ground...
http://lifehackery.com/2008/08/21/home-7/

Mine get an option of them, they're all over in the compost, but I haven't ever noticed them actually LIKING them...

As far as the caffeine content etc... Yeah there's still caffeine, but I'm not sure chickens process it the same as we do, and it might actually HELP with deterring parasites or maybe help aid digestion..

Hmm never thought much about the coffee... I might have to experiment a little here

 

[odysseychicken]

Just ran across this thread while searching to see if coffee was bad for chickens. I had about two whole roasted coffee beans roughly crushed on the counter. I took them out to my three birds. They gobbled them up out of my hand before I could ask if they wanted cream or sugar. Maybe a little caffeine will help them out run the coyotes.

 

[barector]

I give mine coffee grounds all of the time with no problems. I have 16 chickens and they typically get about 3 tablespoons of grounds almost every day. I make up a bowl of all of my vegetable waste each day and give this to them. I put in any fruits and vegetable scraps that I have including things that some folks on here say are bad. I think many people overthink what they can give the chickens. In addition to watermelon rinds, broccoli, greens and the like, I also give them coffee grounds, avocado skins, tomatoes, orange peels, potato peels, leftover rice and beans, apple cores, onions etc. If it's a fruit or vegetable scrap, I give it to them and they eat it up and have never had any problems whatsoever. I recently had boiled shrimp and gave them all of the shells. Yep, they loved them.
Why do I say some overthink what they give them? Apple seeds are a good example. Cyanide in apple seeds...yes but it is only trace amounts. Your chickens could not eat enough apple seeds to actually hurt them

 

[wcbpolish]

I just saw bags of dried spent coffee grounds at TSC labeled as chick bedding... I was shocked, as I thought common wisdom was against this. Anyone use the stuff?

 

[BrynsHyns]

I just ran across it on the TSC website myself! Of course, my thinking is, can I do it myself for free?? Anybody?

So I got some of this for my chicks and absolutely love it for the brooder pen. If you get a fine sifter (found a reptile sand pooper scooper) it works great and it is a lot less stinky than pine shavings. I just got a big bag of grounds from my local coffee shop and am drying them out!

 

[Bullitt]

Coffee grounds are great in compost or in worm beds. But it's not good for chickens.

Here's a previous thread on the subject:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/103245/coffee-grounds