I want to get more "experimental" with the treats!

[RM44]

Clearly I've been way too conservative in what I feed my chickens. I read the treats chart on BYC and have followed it to the letter. Nothing that is not mentioned on there is fed. In fact, earlier I posted asking about banana peels because the treat chart said "bananas" but didn't indicate you could feed the peels.

So I'm asking my fellow BYCers....... what's the limit? What do you feed your chickens, and what should I absolutely avoid? I've read over and over not to feed raw potato products, and I'll stay away from potato altogether unless it's scraps from the dinner table. But what else is a "no go"?

Some say don't feed the tops of carrots. Some say don't feed the seeds of apples. The treat chart says no salt or sugar, yet some folks I've talked to take home their leftover dinners from out to eat (loaded with salt and sugar!) for the chickens.

I am thinking I'd like to avoid meat products, but that's really just a personal decision (seems kinda gross to me.....). Other than meat, what should be on the agenda? So far I've only fed fresh fruits, veggies, cooked rice, cooked spaghetti noodles, bread bits and cooked oatmeal with no sugar, salt or milk added. (They didn't like the oatmeal at all!)

Oh, eta..... I feed those as treats, and only as a supplement to grower/finisher crumbles. They get about 1/2 to 3/4 cup a day or more of chicken feed and I plan to continue using that as their primary diet. I'm asking about treats/supplements only.

 

[Dar]

My chickens get everything we eat.

In my chicken treat bowl this evening, they had curried chicken with potatoes and carrots, and peas.
bum ends of bread (we only eat whole wheat)
left over steel cut oats cooked from this mornings breakfast
left over cold cereal (dd does not like oatmeal)


On the weekend it was clean out the freezer time. they got
beef stew with potatoes carrots, and parsnip in it
freezer burnt dinner rolls (not all of them just a few)
freezer burned mixed veggies
freezer burned pasta bake
*these were all single serving size, I will freeze left overs in single lunch size servings for my lunch the following week*

they get these treats in the evening/late afternoon, they are on grass and layer pellets all day

 

[HenryHughes]

Quote:
You fed your chickens actual chicken meat?

 

[tammyd57]

Quote:
You fed your chickens actual chicken meat?

Chickens love to eat other chickens! and eggs! They'll eat just about anything. I slid on a muddy patch in my chicken pen and plopped on my butt, I thought my chickens were gonna eat ME the way they came running over!

 

[Dar]

Quote:
You fed your chickens actual chicken meat?

Yep and turkey too... its really funny when you put a turkey carcass whole in the chicken bowl... they will crawl inside to get all the goodies

 

[Kim_NC]

I feed 20% laying pellets, that allows me to feed greens, corn/scratch, and other treats (about 15% of their total diet) and still keep their total protein at above 16% for best laying.

My general treat guidelines are....

Easy on the salt and sugar...but the table scraps aren't all that much volume, so each bird can afford a morsel or two
Clean out refrig leftovers, freezer....sure, but never anything moldy (some people do feed moldy things without a problem, I simply don't go there)
Meat leftovers, including chicken/turkey or other meats....definitely, they love it and it's a high protein treat
Greens, veggies, cooked root crops like potatoes, carrots
Fruit...they love it, it's like candy (same as scratch or corn)....I take it easy on this, they love fruit and its not bad for them, but fruits quickly drop the protein level and can reduce laying
Breads, carby things like rice, pasta or sugary cakes/dessert....they love that too, but again take it easy, these things quickly reduce total protein levels

I avoid feeding anything exceptionally salty like chips, salted crackers, etc.

ETA: Ya know, they're ominivores (like we humans, and even pigs or bears). They like the same things we do and have similar nutritional needs. But they can easily overeat carbs, sugar and salty stuff just like us. The salt and sugar is particulary touchy because their bodies are so small compared to we humans or other omnivores.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I'm not big on feeding treats.

But I do feed scraps. My rules on what NOT to give my birds are nothing moldy or rotten. No way to know if that particular mold has produced mycotoxins many of which are passed through to the egg.

Nothing really salty. A few potato chips and that sort of thing are OK an entire bag is too much unless there are a lot of birds.

Nothing that has been sprayed with something I wouldn't eat myself.

Not a lot of sugar. A stale doughnut or two among a flock of birds is no big deal. An entire doughnut per bird or more is a bit much.

Otherwise anything goes if I think they might eat it. The dog gets first cut at the meat/fat/bone scraps. The chickens get everything else. Whatever they don't eat eventually composts.

.....Alan.

 

[PunkinPeep]

My answer is everything.

My chickens free range all day every day, so i have come to understand that i'm not truly controlling what they eat out there. I believe the deal with potatoes is when the skin is green, that's mildly poisonous to us and them. I've found they don't really like a raw potato anyway, and i will boil potatoes that are getting spongy - or will boil potato peelings from preparing our meals. Those are great. I will also take turns giving the drained grease from making ground beef between my chickens and my dogs. My chickens and my dogs get a ton of exercise; the fat is great for them.

Basically i'll give them anything they'll eat, and i feed them a high protein feed as a supplement to everything else so as to balance out their ratios and make sure their protein doesn't get too low.

Oh, but i have never tried to give them banana peels. I wouldn't eat it, so i'm pretty sure they wouldn't either.

 

[MareeZoCool]

My chickens go crazy over raw oatmeal and mac & cheese. Some bits of ham is always a favorite treasure. Earthworms, if you're out digging in the garden. Grab some worms & watch those chicken's eye light up!

 

[MareeZoCool]

Yogurt, plain , just let them have a TBSP or two to try, they will love it!