Chicken Treat Chart: The Best Treats for Backyard Chickens

Good Article and I like the list. We do feed a little dry cat food but probably only several pieces each, 4 days a week. Thanks for the information.

Thank you, 1st timer and looking for this advice.

So helpful ! Thank you

This is great and I love summarized tables. Does anyone know of a good summarized table for herbs whether it's for eating or spreading in coop, nest box, etc. that also provides the benefits?

Good information for us who have been away from live chicks for awhile.

Good information. Our girls free range, so we don't give them anything that we grow in the garden, so that they don't get a taste for it. Vegetable peels and scraps all go into the compost pile. We do give them left over beef fat, or other cooking grease, melted and stirred into raw oatmeal. They love it!

Wonderful information and lay out! Book marking this to have a good frame of referance. I also love how some of these are easily explained, and its all simple terms anyone can understand.

Personally, I gotta make some shrimp now to see how my girls react, might just gimme a good laugh.

Easy to read and informative.

I am confused though. I read mung bean is ok for them. Is this different I sprout it and feed in moderation. They seem ok

Nicely laid out thank you and very comprehensive too,
Somethings I wouldn’t give my girls like rice and bread, the natural fruits and veggies are the best and mealworms. Recently Ive been giving my girls a banana chopped up finely and add natural Greek yogurt which they love, good for their guts! Also Sardines in spring water were not mentioned here, I do use these as a protein boost for moulting I mix them up in yogurt or just mash them slightly the girls love them!

A great starting place for someone wondering what treats are okay for chickens.

Really good article all around, very informative. I would like for there to be some more information on citrus and why it is negative. My hens generally do not eat citrus but they will peck at it occasionally.

I don't agree with many of the items listed. Some people seem to like to continue past "wisdoms" which have no basis in fact. Old articles which have long been disproven should not be a basis of fact.
A number of items listed are great (at least for my birds). We have moved our birds to Superworms which are a bit more costly but have a much higher nutrition level. We feed all sorts of fresh veggies, uncooked oatmeal, pea shoots, bean sprouts and occasionally canned or fresh corn. Since we do our own canning and can control what is in our food, we give our birds all sorts of things that I wouldn't give them out of a can. Our birds have laid all winter long and are now showing full plumage as well as happiness.

This is an excellent article for both the novice and experienced. An educational and a refresher course for us all.

We see these lists each year. One subscriber took a screen shot for reference. I’ve copied them for my chickies, too. Today, I perused the article as a refresher. Repetition is an excellent tool for memorization.

Love the article but I wonder why no one ever puts chickweed on the list of treats. If your chickens aren’t free range they will never get this unless you pull it fro m your garden. Chickweed is a prevalent garden weed in Arkansas and my chickens favorite treat.

My girls go crazy over the
thanksgiving turkey carcass and chicken carcass from Costco's broiled chicken. I give it at night when the run is closed so the dogs and cats can't get the bones

Good article. I feed my chickens warm oatmeal on especially cold mornings (below 32 degrees). To make it extra nutritious, I save meat scraps whenever I’m trimming chicken or beef to cook chop into small pieces and put small portions in a container in the freezer. Then when making oatmeal for the girls, I throw a chunk of the frozen scraps into the water and by the time the oatmeal is made, the meat is cooked. Talk about going after their food!

Love this site! It is so informative!

Wonderful to have a list readily available. Screen shot the whole list.

Great list and dialog however, if you raise chicken to eat their eggs or sell the eggs, do not, I REPEAT DO NOT, feed your chickens raw fish. There is nothing wrong with feeding them fish, in fact they love it. I did feed them fish once, raw tuna scraps, a few days later I ate one of those eggs, it was like chewing on a fish oil capsule. So, so, so disgusting. not sure if cooked fish would do the same but I am not taking any chances.