Table Scraps and Leftovers for Chickens

Shadrach · Nov 28, 2018

I haven't rated your article because I don’t want to spoil your five star rating. I like the article but...
As you point out early in the article chickens are omnivorous.
Later in the article you write that chickens shouldn’t eat raw meat, nuts, raw egg, or rotten foods. Why do you believe this?
Chickens in Senegal Africa for example get the bulk of the amino acids required to make a complete protein from peanuts.
Here the chickens have been eating Walnuts for centuries.
Baby chicks survive through eating raw egg and many chickens given the opportunity will happily eat eggs that get broken in a set clutch or when laying.
Chickens will happily eat dead mice here, not to mention small snakes, worms, crickets, flying ants and a vast array of bugs. These are all raw meat.

I would have a chicken rebellion if I stopped them raiding the compost heap. They’ve been eating rotten foodstuffs from the compost heaps since I’ve been here and others report similar activity from their chickens.

You’ve suggested that a chickens diet should comprise 90% commercially produced feed and 10% treats. How would you explain the survival of chickens that don’t have access to commercial feeds?
Given that the majority of commercial feeds are grain and vegetable based if chickens were fed solely on these feeds then you’re forcing the chickens to eat a Vegan diet. As you wrote, chickens are omnivorous.

Finally, your ‘references’ are all from ‘Backyard Chickens’. There is a wealth of information available on the Internet, some of which gives a rather different perspective on chicken diet and chickens in general.
Google Scholar can yield some interesting academic papers on a range of chicken topics.

TropicChook · Nov 29, 2018

Shadrach said:
I haven't rated your article because I don’t want to spoil your five star rating. I like the article but...
As you point out early in the article chickens are omnivorous.
Later in the article you write that chickens shouldn’t eat raw meat, nuts, raw egg, or rotten foods. Why do you believe this?
Chickens in Senegal Africa for example get the bulk of the amino acids required to make a complete protein from peanuts.
Here the chickens have been eating Walnuts for centuries.
Baby chicks survive through eating raw egg and many chickens given the opportunity will happily eat eggs that get broken in a set clutch or when laying.
Chickens will happily eat dead mice here, not to mention small snakes, worms, crickets, flying ants and a vast array of bugs. These are all raw meat.

I would have a chicken rebellion if I stopped them raiding the compost heap. They’ve been eating rotten foodstuffs from the compost heaps since I’ve been here and others report similar activity from their chickens.

You’ve suggested that a chickens diet should comprise 90% commercially produced feed and 10% treats. How would you explain the survival of chickens that don’t have access to commercial feeds?
Given that the majority of commercial feeds are grain and vegetable based if chickens were fed solely on these feeds then you’re forcing the chickens to eat a Vegan diet. As you wrote, chickens are omnivorous.

Finally, your ‘references’ are all from ‘Backyard Chickens’. There is a wealth of information available on the Internet, some of which gives a rather different perspective on chicken diet and chickens in general.
Google Scholar can yield some interesting academic papers on a range of chicken topics.

Agree. Good article and lists! But also good to know that other food stuffs, like walnuts and compost piles, can actually be ok. I'd think the feed ratio is because of feed advertisers on this website. None of us likely live by eating 90% fortified cereal. Why would we expect our chickens to?

purslanegarden · Nov 30, 2018

I definitely love having chickens just for the sake of giving them table scraps. Like you said, instead of thinking "compost this stuff" or "toss it in the garbage/garbage disposal", now I can just prepare it and give it to the chickens!

BigFuzzball · Sep 1, 2020

Hi, ours have most of the above, and in their 'treat tin' they have a good mix of things including Rice Krispies and dried Mealworms, plus porridge oats (which they also get as porridge with milk and water), black sunflower seeds, sunflower hearts, mixed corn etc.
Table scraps - even apple sauce or cranberry sauce mixed in with left over veggies is eagerly demolished !

CJS Flock · Jan 22, 2021

In the winter, I give my ladies cooked oatmeal with no milk fat Greek yogurt mixed in, every three to four days. Usually about two hours before bed and I supervise to make sure they share

They also get kale in the morning a few hours after they’ve been out of the coop. Blueberries and tomatoes are something they love and will trample each other for. Certainly a bunch of happy, healthy ladies

LosGatosLinda · Jan 22, 2021

In this article, why is Oleander considered an "herb"? It's toxic to humans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerium

crusadergal · Jan 22, 2021

I was just thinking about this today, as I have a chicken from next door that has just started coming to visit me each day sometimes 3 to 4 times, I feed her scraps but was thinking this morning as I gave her left over pasta was it ok for her? She is so adorable and sits on my couch next to me an opens her mouth to be fed.. quite funny as the other chickens in the flock don't come inside only her and then the other day she snuggled up behind me on the couch for like an hour and went to sleep, do you think she has been outcast from the flock or just knows a good thing when she sees it LOL

Catnipmuse · Jan 22, 2021

TropicChook said:
Agree. Good article and lists! But also good to know that other food stuffs, like walnuts and compost piles, can actually be ok. I'd think the feed ratio is because of feed advertisers on this website. None of us likely live by eating 90% fortified cereal. Why would we expect our chickens to?

Yes I always wonder about these details, also oatmeal? That’s been proven dangerous for chicken’s digestive system! It creates beta glucans that impair nutrient absorption. I think balance is best. I bribe my girls with peanuts when I need them extra cooperative!

Berniejane · Jan 23, 2021

Of course they can eat chicken. Farmers and people who raises chickens know this. And it's good for them. It is quite common in the Animal Kingdom.

Grizzler · Jan 23, 2021

Our chickens help themselves to the clean sorghum seed-based cat litter in the barn cats’ litter box. Only after I’ve scooped the litter box.
Even so today a young rooster found a morsel of cat poop, and ate it (yuck).

KestrelCamMan · Jan 23, 2021

I've had chickens for over 20 years now, and from day 1, my chickens have nibbled on the leaves of my tomato plants with what appears to be no ill effects. I never heard about the taboo on tomato leaves before. I can't really regulate them eating the tomato leaves anyway since my chickens live IN the fenced tomato garden area, and each tomato plant has a fencing ring around it so that they can't get the fruit, so I'm just going to go forward with the assumption that any animal that has not learned what to eat and what not to eat would not be around after 50-60 million years and would have gone extinct a long time ago. Try and tell a chicken they can't have a raw egg and they'll tell you "that does not compute!" If a chicken egg ever breaks, which happens more frequently in the summer, everything is gone in short order. Want to see something funny? Take that container of cottage cheese or sour cream that is starting to look or smell like a science project, scrape off the visible mold and give it to your flock. FOOD FIGHT!

One food not mentioned that chickens will go absolutely bonkers over is shrimp tails. The introduction of shrimp tails to the flock usually turns into a riot. My assumption is that there must be something in their DNA that tells them that shrimp tails have calcium for their eggs. There's always a reason to go to Red Lobster's "Endless Shrimp Fest."

I feed Owls, Hawks and Falcons weekly at Washington State university, and the best description I can give of a chicken is that it is a raptor that cannot fly. I've seen my chickens catch, kill and eat any mouse or vole that makes the mistake of setting foot on the surface of the ground in their run or climbing into the coop. If a mouse gets caught in one of the traps that I set outside the fenced area of their run, the chickens come running when they see me carrying the trap through the gate into their run. When I take the mouse out of the trap and use my chicken coop pair of kitchen shears to start cutting up the mouse, they will leap to try and rip the pieces out of my hand. All raptors and reptiles derive important nutrients and minerals from ALL PARTS of their prey, including bones, fur, eyes and guts. I will typically start making 1/8" cuts with the shears from the nose of the mouse all the way to the tail, letting the pieces fall to the ground in front of me. In 30 seconds, the entire mouse is consumed, with the pieces being eaten as soon as they hit the ground. It's all protein and nourishment to the chickens, and 50 million years of evolution and survival must prove something.

djcram · Jan 23, 2021

My chickens are a little spoiled....they would not eat a pumpkin, but they LOVE watermelon! They come knocking on my door (when they are free ranging) for bread or crackers, or potato chips. They love berries - but not crazy about strawberries. Blueberries are their favorite! They do love to scrounge around our horse/goat poop dump. I am sure they find all sorts of bugs. they are not super fond of lettuce.

Vicker · Jan 23, 2021

[QUOTE="Shadrach, ams-comment: 506120, member: 521413"
Later in the article you write that chickens shouldn’t eat raw meat, nuts, raw egg, or rotten foods. Why do you believe this?

.[/QUOTE
The article doesn't say eating raw eggs is bad for them nutritionally. It says it can encourage them to eat their own eggs. When chickens eat eggs that accidentally break in the nest, they can learn to break open eggs intentionally to eat them.

PurpleCArTires · Jan 23, 2021

Mine get almost anything we had left over for dinner. I offer free choice layer feed, but everyday whip them up a batch of leftovers mixed with fresh carrots and some oatmeal or yogurt. I also throw some whole fruits (apples,pears, etc) in their hanging basket feeder. I am in the process of raising mealworms and intend on setting fly traps this spring to supplement their protien. I am also about to start fermenting their feed to cut down on food costs.

My chickens free range and i have seen them pick at dead mice. I also give them the scraps from butchering (raw) and they love it.

IMO (and many others) believe that commerical feeds are obviously specially oriented to get the chicken to produce the most eggs or gain the most weight... Etc. They arent necessarily "healthy" or "natural". I treat my chickens like any other animal, not just an egg machine, and would rather them eat food scraps and bugs and stuff they find in the yard, then forcing them to eat a ton of commercial food just so i get a few more eggs a week.

Mj33130 · Jan 23, 2021

I have 4 girls and they come in the kitchen but they do like raw meat and Chinese

Sandeewhispers · Jan 23, 2021

Shadrach said:
I haven't rated your article because I don’t want to spoil your five star rating. I like the article but...
As you point out early in the article chickens are omnivorous.
Later in the article you write that chickens shouldn’t eat raw meat, nuts, raw egg, or rotten foods. Why do you believe this?
Chickens in Senegal Africa for example get the bulk of the amino acids required to make a complete protein from peanuts.
Here the chickens have been eating Walnuts for centuries.
Baby chicks survive through eating raw egg and many chickens given the opportunity will happily eat eggs that get broken in a set clutch or when laying.
Chickens will happily eat dead mice here, not to mention small snakes, worms, crickets, flying ants and a vast array of bugs. These are all raw meat.

I would have a chicken rebellion if I stopped them raiding the compost heap. They’ve been eating rotten foodstuffs from the compost heaps since I’ve been here and others report similar activity from their chickens.

You’ve suggested that a chickens diet should comprise 90% commercially produced feed and 10% treats. How would you explain the survival of chickens that don’t have access to commercial feeds?
Given that the majority of commercial feeds are grain and vegetable based if chickens were fed solely on these feeds then you’re forcing the chickens to eat a Vegan diet. As you wrote, chickens are omnivorous.

Finally, your ‘references’ are all from ‘Backyard Chickens’. There is a wealth of information available on the Internet, some of which gives a rather different perspective on chicken diet and chickens in general.
Google Scholar can yield some interesting academic papers on a range of chicken topics.[/QUO

I think I am going to agree with you. I have been a backyard chicken farmer for two years now. I live in the country and field mice take up residence near my coop. I have seen my girls chase them down and eat them. I also have compost bins. If I forget to close them, my girls jump in and have a field day. I do give my girls store food but they also get a lot of greens and scraps. They love them! Thanks for your input.

ADKcluckers · Jan 23, 2021

I let articles like this keep me from giving my chickens access to my compost piles, despite the videos posted by Justin Rhodes about chickens feeding off and working with compost systems.... and then I argue with myself while I spend an hour turning my compost heaps over from one bin to the next, my back aching the whole time. And every morning I take a bucket of the previous night's offerings that I've scraped off the poop boards down to the compost bins and think that I'm probably making a lot of extra work for myself.

AuntieWeasel · Jan 23, 2021

Worth noting for UK chicken keepers that the government forbids giving table scraps to chickens. That's right, peeps, it's against the law, unless you have a certified ~~organic~~ vegan kitchen. It's because they blame an outbreak of foot-and-mouth on pigs that were fed undercooked catering waste.

I'm sure most people with a backyard flock pay it no mind, but talking about it can get you in trouble on UK forums.

edit: I misspoke. It's vegan, not organic. It's the meat they're worried about.

jeepone · Jan 23, 2021

djcram said:
My chickens are a little spoiled....they would not eat a pumpkin, but they LOVE watermelon! They come knocking on my door (when they are free ranging) for bread or crackers, or potato chips. They love berries - but not crazy about strawberries. Blueberries are their favorite! They do love to scrounge around our horse/goat poop dump. I am sure they find all sorts of bugs. they are not super fond of lettuce.

Our girls are not overly fond of pumpkin/squash nor will they eat any leafy greens I give them. (They will go wild over sweet corn, apples, and cooked eggs.) I think the reason they aren't interested in the former items is that they free range all day and even though it is winter in central Virginia, they are still finding plenty of grass, weeds, and seeds. Their crops are always full and rarely do they go into the coop during the day.

LosGatosLinda · Jan 23, 2021

Berniejane said:
Of course they can eat chicken. Farmers and people who raises chickens know this. And it's good for them. It is quite common in the Animal Kingdom.

Yes, true! Our girls have picked-clean our turkey and chicken carcasses after a family dinner. They need the protein.

We get these massive Jerusalem Crickets on our property, and the girls will fight over them, chasing each other everywhere to try to steal it from the other hen.

Table Scraps and Leftovers for Chickens

Latest reviews

More in Housing & Feeding Your Flock

The Automatic string door I never wanted to make but Now I love.

Crop size, the digestive process and what influence it may have on feeding regimes.

Comments

Shadrach

TropicChook

purslanegarden

BigFuzzball

CJS Flock

LosGatosLinda

crusadergal

Catnipmuse

Berniejane

Grizzler

KestrelCamMan

djcram

Vicker

PurpleCArTires

Mj33130

Sandeewhispers

ADKcluckers

AuntieWeasel

jeepone

LosGatosLinda

Article information

More from Mountain Peeps

Share this article