Chicken Feed/Treat Cheat Sheet??

[lrlt2000]

I am new to chicks and have been reading through many of the posts on feeding and treat options. Is there a master cheat sheet or list here somewhere so I can keep it all together!? If not, maybe we could start one (not sure if that would be like a Google doc or a pinned thread by the admin, or something)?

I've tried oats, chia, corn kernels, broccoli, apple peels, grubs, and earthworms. They don't seem to care too much for any of it! They LOVE crickets and mealworms from the pet store, but as for free stuff from home. . .

Oh, also, can they eat centipedes?? I have tons of those, but I thought maybe they'd sting or bite?

Thanks for your patience and understanding

 

[lil urbanette]

Mine have so far eaten popcorn, mealworms, and oats. The man at T Supply gave me some advice on the oats, he uses it if their poo gets a little runny. Take up food and water at night, give em some oats, and I guess it absorbs whatever's in there.

 

[lil urbanette]

So now we've added strawberry tops and violet and dandelion leaves. Wow! Did they ever love that!!

 

[littlechickies]

My chickens go by the idea " if it doesn't eat me first , I will eat it". that said they prefer certain food hand fed since that is what my daughter does. She loves to baby them and will cut up their food and hand feed it. I scramble eggs for them, have a compost pile in the corner of their run and add food scraps, lawn clippings, weeds and leaves to it. They will feed on the scraps, push it around and eat the bugs. I figure that way if I cannot let them free range for a period of time then they have that area to scratch. My hubby is building me boxes so I can put seed down and allow them to grow inside the run, without them eating the seed. once the seed are a few inches high I will remove the boxes and let them go at it.

 

[lil urbanette]

I never thought of putting the compost IN the coop...if I add my coffee grounds,do you suppose I could fry me an egg in the mornings and just skip the cup of joe? Lol

 

[littlechickies]

I never thought of putting the compost IN the coop...if I add my coffee grounds,do you suppose I could fry me an egg in the mornings and just skip the cup of joe? Lol

LOL perhaps you should be careful, the idea of chickens hyper from coffee is more than I could handle.

 

[lil urbanette]

I agree!!

 

[JekkaLynn]

The mental image of caffeine high poultry is now firmly embedded in my head......I dont know if I would laugh hysterically at it or run in terror. Imagine game of chicken football over a mealworm with the chickens high on caffeine.

 

[lrlt2000]

LOL! That's funny--I think my kids jacked up on chocolate cake is enough for me! Chickens too, and I may run away

Compost inside the run *is* a great idea. My run will not be big enough. Perhaps I will find a planter to use as a composter, and put that in the corner of their run.

 

[B-Goock]

Mine free range about every day.

They will sample just about any bug they see. Not even a hoppy toad is safe. One of my black sex links is johnny on the spot if she sees me with a shovel.


On a list I saw one on here of some things not to feed them. Raw potatoes comes to mind.

Bam here you go. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-treat-chart-the-best-treats-for-backyard-chickens