Help! My wife is mad at me for feeding the chickens pizza!

[LaFleche]

I wish I had an emoji of partying chickens...

Even better find one of the following hangover

 

[alwaystj9]

They just don't like it. They eat all the other greens: romaine, butter crunch, cabbages. After they are done what's left is Iceberg. It's a shame because one guy at work brings a head of iceberg every week but eats fast food instead of the salad so I get a mostly untouched head of lettuce every Monday. The goats eat it.

 

[HappyClucker7]

I've given some pizza to my chickens, but only pizza I made myself, and just a tiny little bit. I'm sure what you gave them won't kill them, but you shouldn't give so much in the future.

 

[GRB73]

Can someone please help me convince her that it's okay for the girls to have fun table scraps?

Everything in moderation right?!

EDIT: Our girls usually get much smaller quantities of veggie scraps, but this was a couple of weeks ago on New Years Day and all the girls were fine

View attachment 2498991

Hmm. I don't think we humans should be eating these let alone chickens. Too much salt and fat.

 

[3KillerBs]

I used to give the in-town chickens an occasional pizza because my spare kid worked at Domino's on the closing shift and would bring home burnt or mis-made pizzas.

Too much fat and salt isn't good for them, but a little bit of pizza from time to time is unlikely to do them any harm -- especially if they are free-fed their regular, balanced feed and have access to plenty of other goodies such as forage, vegetables, weeds, etc.

It was never a lot and they never suffered any ill effects. It was always hilarious to see one of the hens snatch off a slice of pepperoni and take off for a game of chicken football with the rest of the flock chasing her instead of pulling off their own pepperoni.

Foraging in human garbage is, after all, probably how chickens ended up being domesticated to begin with.

 

[exactlyzac]

I used to give the in-town chickens an occasional pizza because my spare kid worked at Domino's on the closing shift and would bring home burnt or mis-made pizzas.

Too much fat and salt isn't good for them, but a little bit of pizza from time to time is unlikely to do them any harm -- especially if they are free-fed their regular, balanced feed and have access to plenty of other goodies such as forage, vegetables, weeds, etc.

It was never a lot and they never suffered any ill effects. It was always hilarious to see one of the hens snatch off a slice of pepperoni and take off for a game of chicken football with the rest of the flock chasing her instead of pulling off their own pepperoni.

Foraging in human garbage is, after all, probably how chickens ended up being domesticated to begin with.

HA! Chicken football! I'm so glad to finally have a name for it.

And interesting thought about chickens being led to domestication by foraging through our garbage (probably cave man pizza). Is that from something?

 

[3KillerBs]

HA! Chicken football! I'm so glad to finally have a name for it.

And interesting thought about chickens being led to domestication by foraging through our garbage (probably cave man pizza). Is that from something?

Stuff I've read about the history of animal domestication. I can't cite any specific sources, but it's one of the theories for the domestication of both chickens and pigs (both being omnivores who scavenge as well as hunt and forage).

 

[Melky]

Can someone please help me convince her that it's okay for the girls to have fun table scraps?

Everything in moderation right?!

EDIT: Our girls usually get much smaller quantities of veggie scraps, but this was a couple of weeks ago on New Years Day and all the girls were fine

View attachment 2498991

That could cause a crop problem and constipation, not on the approved list. Stick to things birds normally eat. Think of them as if they would be in the wild. What would they find when foraging? Answer what is in that feed bag. That thick stringy cheese you find on pizza not good. Chicken scraps a little far on that one. Look at the chicken treat chart here for approved healthy treats.

treat chart:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...—the-best-treats-for-backyard-chickens.47738/

This will get stamp of approval from the wife.

 

[CHlCKEN]

My chickens have stolen slices of pizza out of my hands, and were fine, however giving chickens this much at once can cause their digestive systems to act up. Lots of salt is also not good for them. Don’t do that again, stick to nutritious and safe treats.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

It’s likely no worse for a chicken to eat pizza than a human to eat pizza.

Yes, their salt tolerance is a bit lower, but they also probably get more exercise.