Food Scraps?

[FredsDadTiny]

New here and new to keeping chickens. I was told potato peelings were bad for them and if you feed them meat they get violent with each other. But I'm happy to read and learn from what you guys are saying.

Just gave them some leftover bread and they went nuts for it. Have given them carrots and lettuce before now and will try other stuff as I find it

 

[Actionflack]

In England it is not allowed if the food has been taken indoors ( although just about everyone does) due to over zealous fear-mongering from the government regarding disease spread from food based cross contamination.
Mine enjoy pretty much all of our fruit and veg scraps, stale bread etc

 

[Sixpets]

I love to give mine snacks. They eat anything. Try not to give them onions or acid.

 

[Beekissed]

Mine get organic acid each and every day in the form of fermented chicken feed. I don't do "snacks" though....mine have to scavenge and forage for "snacks" wherever they can find them.

 

[amandawelsh]

I have two Welsh Harlequin ducks, and I give them pellet duck food, and then table scraps. I'll give them any fruit or vegetables that are starting to go a little bad, raw oats, white rice, etc. I won't give them anything with lots of salt or sugar, citrus, onions, etc..

 

[McCoysOrps]

two roosters that don't fight and five hens. The little rooster wants nothing to do with the hens but he likes to be the ducks buddy

lol

 

[KatieKanDo]

I have found that to be true as well. They get finicky and don't eat as much of the layer feed. I also monitor their poop and it seems that the spinach and sweet potato turns it darker and looser. I do not feed anything spoiled or with high sugar or salt content. I fed them soaked navy beans once which they loved, but they had terrible gas. I picked one up and it was like I sat on a whoppie cushion.

 

[chicknmania]

You really do have to be careful though if you want them to live a long time. Chickens can get fat and have health problems related to certain foods, just like any animal.

Seriously think twice before you feed them cake with frosting, chocolate, potato chips, spoiled food. Someone on here once posted because her hen was seriously ill. She'd been feeding it chips and dip, and related stuff, including onions. Not good.

If was pretty much mutual agreement that the hen probably got sick from eating all that junk. The owner didn't know,but she knows now, would be my guess.

 

[realsis]

I agree. I try to choose healthy treats for them . I really like the company "treats for chickens" they have some really interesting treats mixed together like marigold petals, sea kelp, meal worms, oats, and tons of other really different healthy treats! I buy from them online. My birds love it! I also grow a mix of grasses and clovers for them with alfalfa, strawberry clover, red clover, flax, buckwheat, white clover, trefoil, and rye grass. They really go after that! I try hard to feed as nutritious as I can. I've switched over to a wonderful organic feed that has field peas and organic corn and organic wheat organic oats and barely and fish meal with alfalfa flaxseed sea kelp rice bran and wheat middlings it has lots of vitamins and added probotics as well. They really seem to love it. Since I switched they have gained more weight, feathers look shiney, I can see a real difference! I really worry about their nutrition because they are silkies and silkies can be prone to vitamin defiency as I found out. So I try my best to feed a diverse nutritional diet. I also supplement with extra vitamins in the water for one week a month. Birds can get defiency in vitamins if feed to many empty foods. I've had vitamin defiency in my flock before I think that's why I try so hard now for optimal nutrition.

 

[DuckRaiser]

lol

Okay, really, I can't take my eyes off of that beautiful rooster