Do yo feed Your flock KITCHEn scraps...

[Baumshell28]

I dry my shells on the counter for a few days then crush them up and put them in the same container as the oyster shell. They have no idea what they are and likely associate the shells with their oyster shell. It takes me no time at all and since it is the dead of winter where I live, they are going to good use until flower season

I bake the shells, crush them almost to sand consistency in my Ninja food processor and then serve them scrambled eggs with shell powder....never a drop left afterwards!

 

[salshep20]

I feed mine chooped banna peels lettuce leftover salds and things like fruit that went rotten to fight over It more than feed>

 

[Baumshell28]

I’m a little nervous about egg shells. I’ve heard they’ll start eating their eggs?

Just dry ‘Em out (I cook my shells in the oven til dried) and crush them or pulverize with a food processor. As long as they don’t look like “eggs” anymore, then they won’t associate the version they lay in the nest with the version you feed them.

 

[Baumshell28]

LOL! No, don't waste your money on stuff you and your chickens don't like!

Yours are the first chickens I've ever heard of that don't like bread. So it works out well that they are your chickens, doesn't it? Sometimes things just work out right.

My chickens have not EVER eaten any kind of bread product I’ve given them. A couple of them will run over & smell it, the other girls don’t even waste their energy to check it out! Good thing bread breaks down easily from being scratched out of the way!

 

[Baumshell28]

Not necessary in most cases, but it might help them eat more of the food and more easily, I suppose!

I do split melons with a shovel or a boot stomp, but everything else just gets tossed in.

I had a chicken peck me hard enough to break the skin a few weeks ago when I had to catch her for some minor first aid (I must be getting over-ripe in my middle age) - if they can peck that hard I figure most food scraps are no match for them!

My flock can make a whole watermelon completely disappear in the summertime...rind & all...gone!

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

My flock can make a whole watermelon completely disappear in the summertime...rind & all...gone!

Mine will hollow out watermelon down to the skin, so it looks like a paper-thin novelty hat.

 

[BDutch]

Sadly, legally, they can't accept them unless I go thru the whole FL licensing scheme, which will cost me (estimated) $500 - $900 per year, plus inspections, and some additional equipment purchases. I was looking into it this past week. Its about $110 if i want to sell eggs for hatching, chicks, etc. But as soon as its "food" you need a three compartment sink, a site inspection, a water quality inspection, calibrated refrigerators and record keeping, USDA approved cleaners, and licensing costs determined by the inspector, at least$330/yr but easily up to 3x that. If its cooked food, I also need a permanent kitchen (my RV doesn't count), more inspections, more records, personal licensing, and more fees.

Charity is expensive!

Nope. Not allowed to feed them kitchen scraps in the UK... but mine get plenty of garden scraps instead, and the kitchen scraps go to the compost pile [out of little beaks reach ]
They love sweetcorn bits straight from the ground, along with strawberries, grapes and all the lovely greens we don't eat
They go nuts with excitement if I so much as touch the garden fork in their run
They love sratching & digging up worms with me! Fabulous little gardeners

Are u sure this is for hobbyist who have a few eggs too many too?
Where I live we need a licence if we have a commercial business (>250 chickens) or sell to stores. But someone with some backyard chickens can sell from home without a licence.

And feeding home scraps is also forbidden (especially meat) for commercial businesses. Not for someone with a few backyard chickens.

 

[Vacman]

Oh, I forgot to mention.....Mine go crazy over green grapes....not so much over red grapes!

 

[featherhead007]

My rooster, gets what ever he wants, whenever he wants it, as quickly as he can get it. (He made me say this too)

 

[PioneerChicks]

you should not feed them old bread or anything spoiled...

There is a mix of opinions on this.