Is Feeding Chickens Bread Okay?

[Chickmagnet9]

Bread is also good for warm mash on very cold mornings....just add bread to your feed with hot water and you can add all sorts of other things like

raisins, nuts, cut up meat leftovers, cracked cortn and other grains, etc.....  I do this first thing in the morning when the temps are way low.  It gives them a quick heat up.


Feeding them so cracked corn or chicken scratch as  a treat at night will also help keep them warm  overnight.


Sandra

 

[Chickmagnet9]

It's always been my understanding that chickens cannot have nuts because they are poisonous to them but that they can have all seeds. Will someone please address this to help me clarify whether this is true or not? Now I'm really unsure. Thank you, chickmagnet9

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

i have got 6 2week old chicks and the chick crumb isnt filling them would it b okay to give them bread n water

The bread, if white bread, has basically almost no nutrients in it and is just a treat for older fowl. I would not feed it to chicks, as they need a lot of protein/nutrients and are growing rapidly. If whole wheat, it is better but again not for chicks as it would have a protein amount of 12-14% or so. Chick feed is usually 20% protein. They only eat a tiny amount at a time and thus need the perfect feed.

I would stick with the crumbles. They don't eat much and it may seem like they aren't eating it. Are they acting sick in any way?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

It's always been my understanding that chickens cannot have nuts because they are poisonous to them but that they can have all seeds. Will someone please address this to help me clarify whether this is true or not? Now I'm really unsure. Thank you, chickmagnet9

I have fed my chickens nuts with no problem.

Don't feed them anything moldy though or spoiled as that can kill them. I have fed slightly stale nuts but would not feed nasty rancid nuts, for example.

Mine have had pecans, almonds, walnuts, cashews, peanuts (peanuts used to be part of their feed for awhile), etc. with no problem. They will beak it apart on the ground so you don't have to chop them for them.

Bantams though, I'd be careful with them...they may choke on things that large fowl can eat merrily.

 

[MercifulAngel40]

I feed my 6 chickens 4-6 pieces a day. Plus lefties grain and oyster shells. I don't see the problem with bead... other than chemicals what's the big deal?

 

[RonP]

The main problem with bread is that it does not have all the nutrition a chicken needs for sustained good health.

That said, they usually take to it like a child takes to candy.

 

[pixie83]

Hi, I am new to keeping chickens (currently 12 girls and 8 boys) but I have taken to grinding up the egg shell and adding it to my bread maker to make make a high calcium bread. I add about 6 egg shells to a loaf, and use wholemeal flour. They like it as a treat!

 

[carlsaSC]

My chickens treat bread like a huge treat, and that's all it should be. A speaker at the Mother Earth News Fair last year recommended against feeding bread as the grain is processed.

 

[Soylent Chick]

@pixie83 I like baking for my chickens too. Look up "diy flock block". It's a fun and simple treat to make and can be very nutritious. No need for a bread machine or proof/rise time. There's various recipes out there but you can add anything you'd like. I mix up spice, fruit, and veggie combinations every time. I think you'll have lots of fun with it.

 

[CalgaryFarmer]

For whatever reason, the one thing my chickens won't eat is white bread. I use that as a cautionary tale to others, implying that if the chickens won't eat it then you probably should not as well. Food for thought.