Is there anything chickens won't/shouldn't eat?

[JetBlack]

Mine are pretty omnivorous. Around the garden, where the grass has gone to seed, they spend hours pecking off the grass seeds. Right now, they are enjoying some smoked ham that did not get eaten, for lunch this week. Later, I will dispose of a few tablespoons of macaroni and cheese.

They love rice dishes! They are like a walking compost converter. Where normally, you would compost leftovers and "turn and wait" for a long time. With chickens, you feed them the "compost", wait two hours and it's ready for the garden!

I just pickled a couple pounds of jalapenos (and have, apparently been touching my recently shaved face, 'cuz.... ow) and it got me thinking, is there anything the chickens should not eat?

Anything that I shouldn't feed them, like hot peppers?
Will eating garlic make their eggs taste funny?
Could I feed them cilantro and then not have to season my omelets, for the rest of the week?

I'd like to videotape their faces when they eat a lemon! I mean if it's as funny as when babies do it....

 

[Akane]

Ham and lunch meat isn't the best choice since it's high in salt and chickens are sensitive to salt levels. You also want to watch things heavily seasoned (pepper doesn't matter) just in case. Other than that there really isn't much that we or some of our other pets can eat that a chicken can't.

 

[JetBlack]

Why can't chickens have salt? I don't want to have to put them all on lisinopril.

 

[Akane]

Birds dehydrate easy. Too much salt and not enough water will lead to death.

 

[gallusdomesticus]

When hens are given foods with high levels of dietary energy, such as corn or fruit, they deposit the extra calories as fat around their liver and abdomen. They can develop fatty liver disease which can cause ascites, water belly, and eventually heart problems and death. Occasional corn or fruit is OK but not as a major component of their diet...like wise, I would be hesitant to give them any processed human food containing sugar.

 

[DTRM30]

I would also be careful about using fresh chicken poo as fertilizer - it can burn your plants roots. It, too, needs to compost for a while before being ready to use for fertilizer.

I don't give a lot of treats - mostly just mushed up cooked eggs. They love it. But they get out and about so get to eat buggies and grass for a while too.

 

[cybercat]

Citurus should not be fed to chickens. Due to the citric acid it can cause problems if they eat too much of it. Many stop laying with too much fruit added to diet. Thing is they will eat anything but moderation and major varity is the key. Feeding to much of just a few items can be bad but feeding more other items with those bad is OK.

 

[JetBlack]

I like giving them new things. They dino-race over and start devouring anything that falls out of a pot, pan or crock pot. They love bread that's left over from the week of sandwiches.

Worms make them go "NOM NOM NOM!"

 

[feathersnuggles]

I crush a couple cloves of raw garlic, each week, mix with some scrambled eggs & oatmeal and feed that "snack" to my chickens. The garlic is fine - it never comes through in the eggs' flavor. And raw garlic is a good immune booster and parasite killer. The girls just have bad breath for about 1/2 hour.

 

[JetBlack]

And they probably shouldn't swim for half an hour, after? Garlic breathed chickens.... well, I'm not kissing them anyway so....