Which Foods are Poisonous to Chickens?

[chickengirl2013]

Since I give my chikens a variety of foods, I was just wondering which foods I should not allow my chickens to eat.

 

[willowbranchfarm]

Here is the chicken treat chart. (not mine)

Chicken Treat Chart The Best Treats For Backyard Chickens

CHICKEN TREATS

This is a list of everything you can feed a chicken. However, everybody's chickens have their own tiny brains full of likes and dislikes, so while one person's chickens may come running for grapes or watermelon, another person's chickens may turn up their pointy little beaks at it. Anything on this list is worth a try.
Your comments are welcome - please post them on https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=188621#p188621
At the bottom of the page are things you should avoid feeding your chickens.
Treat
Type General Opinions
Apples Raw and applesauce
Apple seeds contain cyanide, but not in sufficient quantities to kill.
Asparagus
Raw or cooked
Okay to feed, but not a favorite.
Bananas Without the peel High in potassium, a good treat.
Beans
Well-cooked only, never dry

Also, greenbeans.
Beets
Greens also.

.
Berries
All kinds

A treat, especially strawberries.
Breads
All kinds - good use for stale bread or rolls

Feed starches in moderation.
Broccoli & Cauliflower
.

Tuck into a suet cage and they will pick at it all day.
Cabbage & Brussels Sprouts
Whole head -

Hang a whole cabbage from their coop ceiling in winter so they have something to play with and greens to eat.
Carrots Raw and cooked They like carrot foliage too.
Catfood * (see bottom of page) Wet and dry Feed in strict moderation, perhaps only during moulting * (see bottom of page)
Cereal Cheerios, etc.
Avoid highly sugared cereal such as Cocopuffs, etc.
Cheese Including cottage cheese Feed in moderation, fatty but a good source of protein and calcium
Cooked Chicken
.
They may like it and it won’t kill them, but it just seems so….. ummm………… wrong.
Corn On cob and canned, raw and cooked
.
Crickets (alive) Can be bought at bait or pet-supply stores. Great treat – provides protein and it’s fun to watch the chickens catch them.
Cucumbers
Let mature for yummy seeds and flesh.
Eggs Hardcooked and scrambled are a good source of protein, and a favorite treat. Feed cooked eggs only because you don’t want your chickens to start eating their own raw eggs.
Eggplant
.

.
Fish / Seafood
Cooked only.

Flowers Make sure they haven't been treated with pesticides, such as florist flowers might be. Marigolds, nasturtiums, pansies, etc.
Fruit Pears, peaches, cherries, apples
Grains Bulgar, flax, niger, wheatberries,etc.
.
Grapes
Seedless only.
For chicks, cutting them in half makes it easier for them to swallow.
Great fun - the cause of many entertaining "chicken keepaway" games.
Grits Cooked
"Leftovers"
Only feed your chickens that which is still considered edible by humans, don't feed anything spoiled, moldy, oily, salty or unidentifiable.
Lettuce / Kale
Any leafy greens, spinach collards, chickweed included.

A big treat, depending on how much other greenery they have access to.
Mealworms
(see photo after the chart)

Available at pet supply stores or on the internet, although shipping is expensive!
A huge(!) favorite treat, probably the most foolproof treat on the books.
Meat scraps of any kind. Not too fatty. In moderation, a good source of protein
Melon Cantelope, etc. Both seeds and flesh are good chicken treats.
Oatmeal Raw or cooked Cooked is nutritionally better.
Pasta / Macaroni Cooked spaghetti, etc. A favorite treat, fun to watch them eat it, but not much nutrition.
Peas
Peas and pea tendrils and flowers (thanks to YayChick for the advice)

.
Peppers (bell)
.

.
Pomegranates
Raw

Seeds are a big treat.
Popcorn
Popped, no butter, no salt.

Potatos / Sweet Potatos/Yams Cooked only - avoid green parts of peels! Starchy, not much nutrition
Pumpkins / Winter Squash Raw or cooked Both seeds and flesh are a nutritious treat.
Raisins .
Rice
Cooked only

Pilaf mixes are okay too, plain white rice has little nutrition.
Scratch Scratch is cracked corn with grains (such as wheat, oats and rye) mixed in. Scratch is a treat for cold weather, not a complete feed. Toss it on the ground and let them scratch for it for something to do.
Sprouts Wheat and oat sprouts are great! Good for greens in mid-winter.
Summer Squash Yellow squash and zucchini
Yellow squash not a huge favorite, but okay to feed.
Sunflower Seeds
Sunflower seeds with the shell still on is fine to feed, as well as with the shell off.

A good treat, helps hens lay eggs and grow healthy feathers.
Tomatos
Raw and cooked.

Turnips
Cooked.
Not a huge favorite
Watermelon
Served cold, it can keep chickens cool and hydrated during hot summers.
Seeds and flesh are both okay to feed.
Yogurt Plain or flavored A big favorite and good for their digestive systems. Plain is better.
The most favorite chicken treat of all - mealworms! Note the lightning speed of the chicken lunging for them.
By the time my camera was ready to take the next shot, all the worms were gone.

Yogurt's a favorite, and very good for their intestinal health.

Here are two photos from Rooster-Red of his chickens enjoying their yogurt!

Rooster-Red recommends standing back from your chickens when feeding yogurt, because the stuff flies EVERYwhere.

Here's BYC member Punkin's girls enjoying their first taste of yogurt in June 2008:

This is a mix of good quality birdseed, raw oatmeal and scratch.

I only feed this on cold mornings, and I scatter it sparingly in their run

so they have something to scratch for and occupy their treat-obsessed minds.

Here's a Gold-Laced Wyandotte rooster belonging to BYC member "Addiedunn", leaping up for his favorite treat - a whole peanut:

Introducing odd treats can result in some very quizzical looks...

Here's a bowl of warm oatmeal, girls!

Warm oatmeal's even better after a big snowstorm:

Some leftover steamed rice with veggies:

Don’t feed the following things to your chickens:
(I'm sure people have experienced exceptions to this list, but if we want to raise our birds the best way possible, "better safe than sorry".)

Here’s why:
Raw green potato peels
Toxic substance called Solanine.
Anything real salty Can cause salt poisoning in small bodies such as chickens.
Citrus
.
Dried or undercooked Beans Raw, or dry beans, contain a poison called hemaglutin which is toxic to birds.
Avocado Skin and Pit
Skin and pit have low levels of toxicity.
Raw eggs You don’t want to introduce your chickens to the tastiness of eggs which may be waiting to be collected in the nestboxes.
Candy, Chocolate, Sugar Their teeth will rot… No, it’s just bad for their systems, and chocolate can be poisonous to most pets.
A quote from Nifty-Chicken, the Administrator of BYC:

"I gave up on my birds knowing what was best for them when I caught them all eating a block of Styrofoam pellets."
Regarding toxicity, the following is copied from a post by DLhunicorn on May 14, 2007 in a thread titled "Potato Peels". (Thank you DLhunicorn for your tremendously helpful and knowledgeable contributions to BYC!)

"Do not count on your chickens "knowing" what is bad for them...also do not count on these "toxic" plants immediately being identifiable by finding a dead bird the next morning...usually it is a slow process damaging organs , inhibiting the ability of your bird to utilize the nutrients in their feed, etc.

[URL]http://www.poultryhelp.com/toxicplants.html[/URL]
Toxic Plants


here are some of my collected articles on nutrition :
[URL]http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/index.c … 1157992073[/URL]

* Regarding feeding CAT FOOD to chickens,

the following is from DLHunicorn in response to the listing of cat food in this Treats Chart: (A word to the wise, and thank you, DLHunicorn)

"You all know how I feel on cat food and I have posted the links and reasoning behind my objections several times ...it can potentially be detrimental to your birds health and even deadly in the right circumstances and for this reason I feel it should be left off the chart (as when you put it on it is as if you are condoning its use) I will repost here one of the sources for my objection:

..."While it is nutritionally essential, methionine excesses are far more toxic to poultry than similar excesses of tryptophan, lysine, and threonine (National Research Council, 1994). Force feeding methionine to excess can result in death to chicks (National Research Council, 1994). A dosage of 2 g / mature cat / day (20 to 30 g / kg dry diet) for 20 days induces anorexia, ataxia, cyanosis, methemoglobinemia and Heinz body formation resulting in hemolytic anemia (Maede, 1985). ..."



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[chickengirl2013]

Wow thanks; that helps a lot!