Help! My wife is mad at me for feeding the chickens pizza!

[Sunshine Chick]

The point of having chickens, from this practical homesteaders point of view, is to have eggs/meat, compost, and a use for table scraps. For me it’s also enjoyment. If you eat pizza, you can feed the girls pizza scraps. It won’t go in the trash, that’s the important part. If they’re used to veggie scraps and not junk food, a feast of pizza may cause digestive upset for a day or so, but they will be fine. It sounds like a holiday leftovers sort of situation, so like the human body, they can detox if they’re eating healthy food normally. That’s the conclusion I came to after struggling with that question myself.

 

[Tina Chickenlips]

Can someone please help me convince her that it's okay for the girls to have fun table scraps?

Everything in moderation right?!

EDIT: Our girls usually get much smaller quantities of veggie scraps, but this was a couple of weeks ago on New Years Day and all the girls were fine

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For years, I’ve been feeding my girls almost every table scrap imaginable and they LOVE it. AND they are healthy, happy layers! I DON’T give them onions, avocado, or salt though. AND everything in moderation.

 

[PandaGirl]

The amount does not matter, chickens will eat as much as they want and then stop. I would not feed them that often but once is probably fine. Just make sure that it is a extra and not your only good because they will not make good eggs out of that!

 

[emily_the_chicken_girl]

well...... pizza is kind of a no no. i mean, sure, they go WILD over it because its a new treat, why wouldn't they? but pizza is very greasy and its just really not healthy for them. a nibble every once in a while isn't bad though

 

[bruceturkey]

Can someone please help me convince her that it's okay for the girls to have fun table scraps?

Everything in moderation right?!

EDIT: Our girls usually get much smaller quantities of veggie scraps, but this was a couple of weeks ago on New Years Day and all the girls were fine

View attachment 2498991

Table scraps in general are fine, but pizza probably isn't the best choice. The cheese, pepperoni, and sausage all make it a salty food, and salt is generally not the best thing for birds. We do, however, throw them the crusts.

 

[JTemple]

I wouldn't because dairy is difficult for chickens to digest (hense the warnings about diarrhea). That being said, if you do, I would pull the cheese off.

 

[Willowru]

Their health and productivity depend on their overall diet. A layer feed is a complete diet for them, and when you feed them extra junk food they eat less of their balanced food obviously.
Acceptable table scraps are the veggie scraps, lettuce, beet greens, peas, squash (my girls are crazy for spaghetti squash) you get the idea.

That said, a few pieces of pizza won’t kill anybody. They may get diarrhea. I have a pet rooster that is somewhere between 50-70% blind and he struggles to eat actual chicken food because it’s hard to see and his aim is shit. So I feed him no-no foods often like bread and cereal because it’s easy for me to hand feed to him quickly and his aim doesn’t have to be perfect to get ahold of it. But I realize that his life may be significantly shorter because of his diet.
I do not feed my hens the way I feed my Kyle.

Amurr, I love your profile pic!! Is that your rooster? He looks a bit like my Mr. Burt. Wondering if you give him "mash" (water moistened feed). At the right consistency, you can form it into a ball in your hand for him to peck. Mine's not blind, but he loves his mash and I feed it to him by hand....IF he doesn't let the girls have it!

 

[EverV]

Occasionally I'll give mine a couple crusts, but that's just me

 

[TheMother]

Can someone please help me convince her that it's okay for the girls to have fun table scraps?

Everything in moderation right?!

EDIT: Our girls usually get much smaller quantities of veggie scraps, but this was a couple of weeks ago on New Years Day and all the girls were fine

View attachment 2498991

The more pizza they eat the greater the infusion of pizza flavorage, marbling through that breast. Pizza flavored chicken... yum

 

[BantammChick]

Occasionally I feed my chickens pizza when we have some leftover.