Feeding scraps to chickens

[noregerts]

I keep a little pail next to the sink and every house scrap (think edible, not like coffee grounds) goes into it; sandwich crusts, strawberry tops, dropped cheese poofs, scrambled eggs, the pasta stuck to the bottom of the pan, whatever. They love all of it, it cuts down on waste and feed cost and I believe it makes them happier with a more diverse diet. They all love to see me coming but this is probably a couple generations of chickens that have learned from the older ones that food scraps = yums.
Any new members to the flock do take a while to investigate but soon learn. Ducks aren't really interested in anything that isn't fruit scraps.
I also feed layer pellets and scratch.
Is a complete diet?
For us, yes. I don't run a factory farm, the birds are happy and lay well and how many of US eat a complete diet every day?

Ditto

 

[Anime2lover]

Actually humans can die if they eat enough apple seeds on an empty stomach but otherwise not that dangerous.

Im aware that it can be in certain amounts, but mostly their not.

 

[Eggscaping]

It rather depends on what the scraps are.
When someone can show me a chicken that has voluntarily taken up a vegan diet I might have a bit more faith in commercial feeds. Yes it's true they supply the essentials to support life. There is nothing after that to recommend them.
I have looked and looked hard for any studies that show a chicken lives longer fed solely on vegetable and grain based commercial feeds as opposed to a mixed and varied diet.
The horrible truth is for most people that acquire chickens through the hatcheries and many breeders, is the poor genetics of the chicken are going to kill it long before what those who support the commercial feed companies would call bad diet.
Try offering your chickens some beef mince, or some cooked cod...........mind your fingers.

Ok, I can get behind the idea that chickens in the wild eat all kinds of stuff, and I'm reassured by all the folks here who say they feed scraps and it hasn't hurt their hens or the hens' laying at all. But I have to ask: Does this also pertain to when they are chicks...just starting out? Do you "scraps are fine" folks stick with just the formulated chick-starter food at that point, and add scraps when they are bigger? Or do you go with a tiny amount of different food stuffs from the beginning....because I've seen so much of "don't feed them anything but chick-starter when they are babies...it will impede their development".

 

[Anime2lover]

Ok, I can get behind the idea that chickens in the wild eat all kinds of stuff, and I'm reassured by all the folks here who say they feed scraps and it hasn't hurt their hens or the hens' laying at all. But I have to ask: Does this also pertain to when they are chicks...just starting out? Do you "scraps are fine" folks stick with just the formulated chick-starter food at that point, and add scraps when they are bigger? Or do you go with a tiny amount of different food stuffs from the beginning....because I've seen so much of "don't feed them anything but chick-starter when they are babies...it will impede their development".

Mine got some here and there. Just this year, I let my free ranging mother raise chicks of her own and so far have had normal development. Shes as healthy as can be. Though when hand raising, I dont do it as often, though I will give them bughugs and scraps as treats.

 

[Shadrach]

Ok, I can get behind the idea that chickens in the wild eat all kinds of stuff, and I'm reassured by all the folks here who say they feed scraps and it hasn't hurt their hens or the hens' laying at all. But I have to ask: Does this also pertain to when they are chicks...just starting out? Do you "scraps are fine" folks stick with just the formulated chick-starter food at that point, and add scraps when they are bigger? Or do you go with a tiny amount of different food stuffs from the beginning....because I've seen so much of "don't feed them anything but chick-starter when they are babies...it will impede their development".

I feed the chicks here scraps if the mum will let me.
I'm more selective about what I feed them, mainly because I want them to listen to mum about what to eat because she knows a lot more about it than I do.
I feed medicated chick feed because I've had coccidia problems in the past and to be honest it's quite difficult to get them to eat after they've left the nest which is normally at around 3 days old.
I've seen chicks here being encouraged by mum to disembowel dead mice, eat stag beetles after mum has thrown them around a bit, all sorts of bugs, new shoots of particular plants are popular..............
What isn't popular is the chick feed.
I want to make it clear that I always provide a commercial feed, but it's a back stop. When foraging isn't so good they will eat more of it. Sometimes they take a few beak fulls and that's it for the day.
Just in case anyone is wondering the eldest here is a couple of weeks short of 9 years old and going strong. A couple of months ago the eldest died at over 9 years old and the rest range down to a bit over a year.

 

[Anime2lover]

I feed the chicks here scraps if the mum will let me.
I'm more selective about what I feed them, mainly because I want them to listen to mum about what to eat because she knows a lot more about it than I do.
I feed medicated chick feed because I've had coccidia problems in the past and to be honest it's quite difficult to get them to eat after they've left the nest which is normally at around 3 days old.
I've seen chicks here being encouraged by mum to disembowel dead mice, eat stag beetles after mum has thrown them around a bit, all sorts of bugs, new shoots of particular plants are popular..............
What isn't popular is the chick feed.
I want to make it clear that I always provide a commercial feed, but it's a back stop. When foraging isn't so good they will eat more of it. Sometimes they take a few beak fulls and that's it for the day.
Just in case anyone is wondering the eldest here is a couple of weeks short of 9 years old and going strong. A couple of months ago the eldest died at over 9 years old and the rest range down to a bit over a year.

My oldest are just over a yr, and my youngest is just a couple months. Her mom raised her, she vrew up her first days soly on chick starter in their little area until we deemed it safe to let her and her mom into a larger area, before then, allowing them to rejoin and freerange with the rest of the flock before she started getting her feathers.

 

[hispoptart]

I've decided my chickens are just treat snobs. They won't eat anything besides water melon and their feed and they are about 16 weeks. I have some old apples in the fridge and it's really hot out, I'll try slicing them in half and see if maybe they will like those.

 

[Anime2lover]

I've decided my chickens are just treat snobs. They won't eat anything besides water melon and their feed and they are about 16 weeks. I have some old apples in the fridge and it's really hot out, I'll try slicing them in half and see if maybe they will like those.

Thy I'll get used to other foods if you just keep at it. Mine didnt at all at first.

 

[Willowspirit]

This morning I offered mine scrambled egg and some blueberries. They DID NOT want the blueberry or the egg the blueberry touched. So funny, like toddlers!

Treats are given in fairly small amounts. If I’m giving scratch I mix it about one part to ten with all flock. They enjoy scratching fo regular food.

The last couple of days though they have been foraging away from the coop area and hanging around the horses. I hope they are eating fly larvae!

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Apple seeds contain amygdalin, which is converted into cyanide when the seeds are chewed or crushed.

If a adult human were to finely chew about 200 apple seeds, it might just kill them.

I plan to not do that.