Colorado

[Kitty990]

i thought it would have taken me longer to find it but heirs where i got the info from

http://www.tillysnest.com/2011/11/what-can-chickens-eat.html

 

[maggiemo]

I couldn't get my chickens to eat an orange if it was the last thing to eat. I am pretty sure they know what is and isn't okay.

X2
that said, my chickens love oranges and lemons.

 

[P-Funk]

Just go to 'Learning Center' then 'Housing and Feeding Your Chickens' then 'Chicken Treat Chart'. From what I've heard, citrus will kill a chicken almost instantly.

 

[Mtn Margie]

X2
that said, my chickens love oranges and lemons.

My friend's chickens eat oranges too. (They are three years old now and still eating them.) Maybe I have fed my chooks too many ham bones and such! LOL!

 

[suncatcher]

Great list! Thank you for sharing it. My great grandmother who kept LOTS of chickens would boil the potato peels in water on the stove, then simmer for awhile, let it cool, and feed it to her chickens. Years ago people did not have access to bagged scratch, so chickens pretty much ate table scraps.

 

[wsmith]

O.K. Kids. The babies turned 3 weeks old today. Mommy is so protective she even goes after me when I go in their home. They are still in their 'coop in a stall' but a few escaped yesterday when I was in there. The other girls were curious more than anything to meet them but never the less scared the crap out of the little ones. Wow are they ever quick. On days like today I don't open the run door because no-one goes out anyway. I do open the stall door so they can run around the barn (they can trash an 800lb hay bale in 3 days). The run is covered with 2x4 wire which I know 3 week olds can fit through. That being said, would you open their coop door and let the little ones explore with the 'general population' unsupervised? I can't hang out in the barn all day. I posted a similar question in 'raising baby chicks' 3 days ago but nobody answered. Come on Coloradans!

LOL..They're not unsupervised. If the momma hen goes after you. then think of what would happen if a chicken tried to bother her chicks! She will take care of them.

 

[wsmith]

I'm a bit in shock right now. My three-week old chicks have been doing great, after their initial bought of the runs and pasty butt. They've been eating, drinking, playing .... very active all the way around. Yesterday was a long work day for me, but I checked on them before I went to work yesterday, and all were fine. Last night, just before I went to bed, I made sure their water was clean for the night. One of them didn't come out of the box to drink, but I didn't think much of it. This morning, she's laying in the middle of the brooder, on her back and still. It seems she went from fine yesterday morning to dead this morning. I haven't given them anything other than their regular chick feed and water. I gave them their "dose" of yogurt over the weekend, but that's it. They all got along, and there was no abusing each other. No marks on her at all. She looks perfect, and her weight is perfect. She hadn't been picked up and handled at all yesterday. These chicks have been higher maintenance than any I've had in the past, so wondering if maybe they were not very healthy to begin with. But I wouldn't have expected them to live this long if it had been something fatal. Now I'm wondering if the two that are left are carrying something. I'm almost afraid to think about bringing them into the rest of the flock any time soon.

This is the first one I have ever lost. I thought I was being a good "mother". :-(

These things happen. Not your fault.

 

[P-Funk]

Ha! The doors were open for about 10 minutes before anyone went in the 'brooder pen'. Christy, Chrissy's (momma) sister went in first. A huge brawl ensued as Chrissy proceeded to throw Christy out of her pen. She was just curious but momma would have nothing to do with it. I closed the pen door after she was out. There is a video of it but I can't figure out how to attach it.

 

[wsmith]

this is want i picked up from another site/person:

Chickens Diet
okay foods
Vegetables
Asparagus
Beets~ green tops too
Beans, must be cooked never raw
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Cauliflower
Cabbage~entire head
Carrots~green tops too
Corn
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Garlic~ add raw cloves to drinking water to boost immune system
Peas
Bell Peppers
Pomegranate
Popped Popcorn
Potatoes~cooked avoid peels (see below)
Pumpkins
Squash
Tomatoes
Turnips~cooked
Sprouts

Fruits
Apples including seeds
Bananas without the peel
Berries~Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries
Cherries
Grapes~seedless
Melons~Cantelope, Watermelon, Honey Dew
Peaches
Raisins
Grain/Breads
Grits~cooked
Rice~cooked
Breads- all kinds
Sugar free cereal~Cheerios
Oatmeal~raw or cooked
Pasta~cooked
Dairy
All cheeses including Cottage Cheese
Plain yogurt
___________________________________________________________
Not okay foods
Do Not Eat
Avocado Skin and Pit~ toxic
Rhubarb~ poisonous
Citrus~ Some say it can cause feather pecking due to increased levels of Vitamin C. Others say it can interfere with Calcium absorption
Onions~Causes Heinz anemia
Uncooked beans~contain hemaglutin poisonous to birds
Raw potato skins~contain Solanine poisonous to bird
Sugar
Salt
Toxic Plants
Interestingly, chicken can eat meat, however some keepers believe it makes them more aggressive.

Chickens CAN eat raw potato skins, but you should avoid feeding them the green ones (which have a high concentration of Solanine), and too much potato skin. Also, chickens, CAN, DO, and SHOULD eat meat whenever possible. They are omnivores, and crave the protein they get from meat. We give ALL our chicken and turkey carcasses, meat scraps and old hot dogs to the chickens. I have never seen any increase in aggressiveness in our chickens. If anything, they are more friendly because they want MORE MEAT!

 

[wsmith]

I had bough purina medicated..It was just five dollars..at kiowa corner..However, the little greedy butts are almost out..So should I keep them on chick starter and just switch to non-medicate..What is the difference?
Will it be bad if I switch to regular food so soon...

Question..I have been giving my chicks boiled eggs and non flavored yogurt..but they seem not to be eating much of it..They ate it a few times...What are good and healthy things to add to their diet..Have not been paying attention to age but they are just now starting to grow their feathers and ('quils'?)

How old are they? If they are just growing feathers they are less than a month old. You probably shouldn't give them layer ration as it is fortified with calcium, which can be bad for young chicks. I would either keep them on grower or switch to an "all flock" type.

I would also just keep switching the "treats" around. Egg, yogurt, are all good, try yogurt with dried mealwoprms mixed in. They will probably go nuts over it. Pumpkin, veggie scraps, etc are all good, but the young chicks probably won't eat much of them at this point. Their main feed should probably be grower or all flock.