Can you feed chickens cooked rice?

[theorganicchick]

I’d assume not a lot, maybe a cup or so of cooked rice?
I wouldn’t think uncooked rice for the birds.

 

[knotty]

Yesterday I was in the back alley grazing the girls when a neighbor from two doors down came out to empty his trash.

I had met Ramone only once before about six months ago when I was asking all the neighbors if they owned a little gray cat that I had just shot with a bb. (The cat had over the previous week killed 5 hens).
(The cat was not seriously injured but never came back into my yard.)

It turned out that the cat didn’t belong to Ramone and he sympathized with me for the loss of the chickens. Nice fellow.

Anyway, when I saw him yesterday we greeted each other with a friendly wave and smiles and then he went back into his yard.
Then a few minutes later he reemerged with more trash and so, on a whim, I approached him and asked him if he ever had any kitchen scraps that he could save for the chickens or did he compost.
Apparently he doesn’t compost because he replied by asking me if they would eat cooked rice. I told him that they loved rice.
He then told me that he and his wife run a little Cuban restaurant and that they throw away lots of rice and other stuff every day and that he would be happy to bring some home for me on a regular basis.

It pays to reach out to your neighbors. I feel very fortunate and grateful.

The Lord provides!

 

[nuthatched]

Makes a great treat!

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

You can stir in an egg or some other protein if you have it. If the rice is warm it will cook the egg.

 

[BeetaLiK]

Yes they can eat rice!!!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yes. But like corn, its a net nutritional loss for your birds - it lowers the value of their total dietary intake. Significantly. As a treat? Fine.

My personal opinion, which you should feel free to disregard, is that if you have to ask this question, you probably should not be (effectively) making your own feed mix by adulterating whatever feed you purchase with substantial quantities of something else.
Animal feed is best measured by weight, I don't know the size of your flock. I don't know whether you are talking about 1 cup of rice (cooked), or one cup of cooked rice.
The "thumb rule" is that "treats" of whatever sort should not exceed 10% of the daily diet, by weight - and are best rotated among numerous food groups - grains, pulses/legumes, meats, "other" so as to avoid inducing long term dietary imbalance.

1# of rice is generally 2 to 2.5 cups, uncooked. Meaning 1 cup of dry rice is about 6.5-8 oz, and should make about 2 cups prepared rice.
Following the thumb rules, 1 cup (dry) rice is the entire daily treat allotment for 65-80 oz worth of dietary intake. There's another "thumb rule" which suggest an adult production hen will consume about 1/4# (or 4 oz) daily [this is HIGHLY variable - that's why its a "thumb rule", a useful starting point, not a hard and fast, scribed in stone, reliable as gravity sort of thing].

That suggests 1 cup (dry) rice is the entire treat alotment for between 16 and 20 adult hens. and yes, should be cooked before serving.

Hope that helps.

 

[BlueBaby]

I sometimes mix some left over rice in with some wet feed for them because I want to make sure that they get the feed that they need too.

 

[CloneFly]

Cooked rice is fine for birds 6mos and older. Once in a while as a treat is great too!

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

They also love a little cooked pasta if you have leftovers. But I give it without any sauce on it. The ducks especially love the textures.

 

[Tonyroo]

Don't give them sticky rice they will make mess of themselves and the surrounding area.

Stick with long grain or brown rice. It's not as starchy.