Can they really eat anything???

[GoodEgg]

Thanks! LOL, my compost pile is going to have nothing but tea leaves once I start feeding them the egg shells. Oh well!

trish

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Quote:
i give mine yogurt and they looking like they're drinking that.

 

[SandraChick]

I still have a compost...but there's not top to it, so the chickens go into it.

Imagine the shock the first time I went out to put something into the compost bin and I threw it all over the chicken that was in there!!!!!! YIKES...almost had a heart attack!

Chicken was just fine!

Sandra

 

[GoodEgg]

Quote:
LOL, Sandra, that's funny!

Little garbage monsters ...

I give mine first dibs on whatever is left over (which isn't much) and so far they haven't left anything from that except some watermelon rinds and a few purple cabbage leaves.

trish

 

[NewGuineaChooks]

Ours drink sour goats milk when we don't make it into cheese soon enough. its really supposed to be for the pig, but the chickens run over there and perch on the sides of the bucket.

 

[TheOLDNewChick]

Mine love watermelon and cantelope. Once you hollow it out, give them the whole rind and a few hours later, there's nothing left but a shriveled up piece of what looks like giftwrapping paper. I heard if you give them garlic it will help keep the fleas and mites away.. Mine like pears and green beans, too.

 

[k625]

What kind of garlic? Just put garlic powder on their food?

 

[Davaroo]

Can chickens really eat anything!! Maybe I am being too picky about what I am feeding my flock!

Almost. They should not have rotten or spoiled food and nightshade family plants can bother them, although not the fruits. This means cook potatoes before feeding. Chickens seem to know instinctively what to eat and what to avoid. For example, they will tear the red off your tomatoes, but only peck at the plants.

I could be cutting down on the cost of my feed and getting rid of alot of other table scraps and what not if I knew that it would not hurt the girls to be eating it.

Chickens are NOT garbage disposals, on the other hand. Like all living things they have specific needs for optimum nutrition. COmmercial rations are formulated to offer that - adding treats and supplemetns must be done judiciously, lest you upset the balance.
A rule of thumb is if youll eat it, it wont harm them. For table and kitchen scraps, only feed them what they will consume in 15 minutes. And it is is best to feed them a good ration and select supplementals, mostly green feeds.

Also right now I have 25 meat chickens that I could be supplementing their feed as well. That would help keep the cost down alot!!

For meaters, I'd forget that unless you know how to balance their diet. These really are specialty birds and so require a select diet to meet their specific needs. Again, think optimum outcome. Cheating them on nutrition is false economy and in some ways is really cheating yourself.
If none of that matters, then of course feed them what you want, leaning heavily on protein foods.

Can they eat bell peppers? I haven't tried that yet, and I have some seeds and trimming from peppers I could give them. Don't see why not ... I used to feed my cockatoo jalapeño peppers and she loved them!

Absolutely, chickens love peppers of all kinds have no taste buds to be worried over the capsaicin in them.

What kind of garlic? Just put garlic powder on their food?

That's the easiest way, although the most expensve. Cheaper is to grow your own, braid the heads and just add a few cloves to a supplemental feeding of green stuff twice a week or so.​

 

[Buffy]

Hello Everyone,

I own a bantam buff-colored Brahma hen (she's 18 months old). She is SO spoiled!! She stands by the back patio door and begs to come in the house. She's a total pest and begs for "people food." She's a little garbage-gut. Anyway, she absolutely loves frozen cookie dough, especially chocolate chip cookie dough. She totally flips out over it! Our little dog (a Bichon Frise) will get violently sick if she ingests chocolate. My wife says the chicken (her name is Buffy) will too, so she carefully takes out the chocolate chips before giving the frozen dough to Buffy. So, can chickens tolerate chocolate? Thank you.