Chicken treats!!!

[KameyRae]

Do any of y'all feed your chickens fruit & vegetable scraps? I throw peelings of just about anything to my chickens almost daily! Watermelon, bananas, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, peaches! Everything! They love it & my guess is that it's all probably really good for them right? Comment below if you know of any special tasty treats you feed your chickens!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

Here is our treats chart for all the tasty things you can feed your birds....https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-treat-chart-the-best-treats-for-backyard-chickens

Most things I feed my chickens is gone before the plate or tub hits the ground. Ha!

Enjoy your flock and welcome to ours!

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. One of our chickens' favorite treats is pumpkin seeds. Every year just before Halloween, I help my granddaughter carve some Jack-O-Lanterns and we toss the innards with the seeds in them to the chickens. They go nuts over them. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! There is a fun thread on what treats people feed their chickens every day https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/407549/what-treat-did-your-chickies-get-today/4430

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Here's a list
Foods that Chickens Love!

Berries

Greens Don’t give out iceberg lettuce, which is really just green-tinged, unhealthy water and don’t overdo spinach which can result in poor egg quality if fed to often.

Eggs and Eggshells-Remember to rinse and crush the shells and cook the eggs before feeding. Scrambled and boiled eggs are also a wonderful snack for chicks and molting chickens.

Fruits The fruits you give them can be damaged but never moldy.

Garlic-Garlic is very healthy for chickens and acts a natural wormer, laying stimulant, feather re-grower and boosts the circulatory system. It’s also helpful to put in the water or food when a chicken is sick.

Herbs Basil, thyme, comfrey, parsley, bay leaves, lavender, calendula, spearmint, lemongrass, catnip, sage, oregano, yarrow, chickweed, marjoram, cilantro, peppermint, clover, dandelions, dill, bee balm, echinacea, fennel, mint, feverfew, garlic, ginger, lemon balm, marigold, nasturtium, nettles, pineapple sage, rosemary, wormwood and cinnamon.

Dairy

Meat Scraps Don't feed them spoiled meat, as it’s poisonous.

Vegetable

Pumpkins and Squash

Spaghetti, Pasta, Bread and Rice

Bread, Cake, Cookies, Cereal, etc Scrape off the frosting on cake and cookies.

Garden or Yard Weeds Avoid feeding them yew, mushrooms or fungi.

Foods to Never Feed Your Chickens:

Alcohol

Moldy Foods

Anything Salty

Asparagus-This will change the flavor of a hen’s egg to a bad taste but it otherwise is not harmful.

Avocado-Avocado has a fatty acid in it called “persin” which sadly can be fatal to chickens and sometimes other birds.

Green Areas of Potatoes, Peels and Potato Sprouts-All are poisonous to chickens and you personally shouldn’t eat them either!

Herbs and Plants to Stay Away from-Azalea, philodendron, rhododendron, sweet pea, black nightshade, foxglove, oleander, castor bean, vetch, henbane, irises, lantana, St. john's wort, trumpets vine, morning glory, datura, clematis and honeysuckle. If any of the herbs you are wondering about are not listed in this book, look them up before giving to your flock.

Leaves from Tomato, Pepper, Potato, Eggplant or Nightshade Plants

Onions-Onions contain a substance called “thiosulphate” which will kill red blood cells, cause anemia and sometimes even result in death.

Potatoes-Surprisingly, potatoes contain solanine which causes diarrhea, heart failure and kills red blood cells. However, sweet potatoes do not contain this substance and are perfectly fine and dandy to feed to your flock. Sweet potato fries are also fine as long as they aren’t salted.

Processed Foods and Sweets

Raw, Dry Beans

Raw Peanuts and Other Nuts

Rhubarb leaves-Rhubarb leaves surprisingly contain oxalic acid which is poisonous to chickens.

Tobacco

 

[sandesnow]

Things my girls have loved and not loved:

Big hits:
Grapes off our grapevines, Concords. - They pick at them, themselves. (To be honest, any kind.. they will eat. I always cut them up smaller)
Blueberries- Again, they steal them off of our bushes
Watermelon - They absolutely love this!
Frozen Bananas - another fav.
Frozen shredded Zucchini - another that is great for when it is hot out.
Dried oatmeal - I only give this when I am trying to call them to me (like if they are out of sight) but they love it. (so, sparingly used)
Spaghetti - They go nuts for this stuff! Sauced or not.

So so liked:
Apples - I dice them up small like you would a chopped onion.

Not so big hits:
Any kind of leafy lettuce type - not sure why, but it was a huge pass.


When we were younger, we had Parrots and I am not sure where this came from, but there was an old saying about not feeding any fruit or veg that started with an 'A' to birds. Dunno why, but I apply it also to my hens.