List of food NOT to feed chickens

[chicken hawk 33]

chickens are omnivores.. but it doesn't mean they can eat anything if you want to keep them healthy + not affecting the quality of the eggs.

Chickens do eat bugs/insects.  I saw them eat cockroaches, caterpillars and scorpions.  They just love bugs/insects.

for a list of things not to feed your chickens


NO citrus
NO onion
NO garlic
NO avocado (contain the toxin persin, and according to the Merck Veterinary Manual: "Ingestion of avocado has been associated with myocardial necrosis in mammals and birds.
NO white potato
NO tomato leaves or eggplant leaves
NO apple seeds
NO rhubarb
NO raw dried beans
NO chocolate, caffeine, tea bags ([COLOR=1D0F06]Caffeine should never be fed to chickens and chocolate also contains the toxin[/COLOR]

[COLOR=1D0F06] [/COLOR]​

[COLOR=1D0F06]methylxanthines theobromine which should be avoided.)[/COLOR]
NO moldy foods
NO alcohol  ?
NO too salty or sweet foods
NO food that has been sprayed with pesticides, herbicides or other chemicals such as lawn treatment products.
NO asparagus
NO iceberg lettuce (will cause diarrhea)
NO spinach (interfere with calcium absorption)
NO dairy products (also cause diarrhea)
LIMIT the amount of white rice, pasta and bread

 All of the above foods are either bad for your chickens' systems  OR can actually be toxic in large enough amounts.

we feed ours yogurt and cordage cheese with a whole bottle of cracked red pepper.yogurt is good for them and it's a dairy product

 

[chickengr]

And I thought fresh garlic could be used as a dewormer. Glad I have not tried it.

I give fresh garlic but it helps expel worms only, nothing natural kills worms. 2 of my hens died day after I wormed them with chemicals. garlic didn't kill any. I chop 7-8 big cloves for about 40 chickens. I chop 3-4 hot peppers as well and mix them together with some ground black pepper and cloves in their feed. I wet it all and they go nuts for it.

 

[Fluffers]

i never give my chickens poptarts,never heard of such a thing!

i sell chicken eggs, so what they eat has to be organic because that is what i tell customers.
No rhubarb, we had a rhubarb plant and had to get rid of it
as less bread and gluten as possible,
No apple seeds
no avocado skin or pit
No non ripe plants from the nightshade family (tomatoes,potatoes,eggplant,ect.)
No raw or dried beans (i did not know this, i have been feeding my chickens green beans for years, so i guess don't let them eat any other bean.
No cheese (but i hear cottage cheese is ok, i wouldn't feed them that though. Yogurt on the other hand,good fro them but don't give them loads of it, could cause diarrhea)

 

[Cbcarter]

I give all our moldy bread products to the chickens. Is it really that bad?

 

[Fluffers]

I give all our moldy bread products to the chickens. Is it really that bad?

yes!! No Mold!!! on any kind, or anything!!! plus i reccomend not feeding them a lot of white bread.

 

[chicken hawk 33]

yes!! No Mold!!! 

I would say it fine.peeople say chickens live to be like 5 years old and then stop laying I had some ten plus years old and still laying.and we feed ours all our scraps.

 

[Fluffers]

I would say it fine.peeople say chickens live to be like 5 years old and then stop laying I had some ten plus years old and still laying.and we feed ours all our scraps.

really? well some people are sensitive to mold. naturally, mold is bad from what i've heard and read.if your chickens are sensetive, they can get sick. how old are they? if younger i would wait untill their immune systems are stonger.

 

[MeepBeep]

Not all mold is bad, but because it's hard to identify the exact mold and some individuals are sensitive it's best to try and avoid it... But, at the end of the day a little bread or fruit mold is not likely to cause the chicken any harm, that isn't to say toss it to them with no regard, but it's not as black and white good/bad as many would suggest a small amount of bread with mold on it and or a fruit with a little mold is not likely to cause any harm...

One has to remember that if these animals were not confined in captivity they would be eatiing stuff they came across in the wild, and a lot of those things would have some degree of mold on them, it's natural...

 

[crealbilly]

My take only... chickens eat what they know is good for them... i mean how did chickens survive and multiply before humans controlled their diet? Seems to me chickens are a lot smarter than we give them credit for being.

 

[RezChamp]

Oooooooooops! My bad! I guess
My chickens get into the garden regularly. They do a wonderful job of "mini tilling" some "weed control" and are the perfect "insecticide". They eat pretty much anything they can reach up to, in to, on to and or dig at, including onions and garlic, tomatoes and potatoes, as well as rhubarb and corn and crab apples and....and...
Ya,,,,,, true about iceberg lettuce.......and yogurt and cottage cheese...eeewwww
About mouldy foods now. Chickens evolved from jungle fowl that lived on the floor of the "jungle" and from what little I know of any forest there is always moulding food to pick at.
I do not make it a practice to feed my chickens mouldy foods but due to the size and environment of their range it is inevitable they will get some mouldy foods.
I figure that if they can scratch around in a cow patty and eat grains and bugs and stuff and/or scratch around in a pile of discarded venison viscera or fish viscera for the same(bugs and stuff) and even eating some of flesh the little bit of "mouldy foods" they find in their range ain't gonna hurt them too much.
I am one of the lucky few people alive today that still is connected to my food. We(my family and I)still practice gathering and preserving wild berries, fruits and vegetables as well as wild and tame meats. The frame of mind "It didn't kill "them" so I guess I can eat "them". It came from Nature so it can't be all that bad." is kinda what describes me on that account.
As opposed to... Pesticides and Herbicides and Fertilizers etc.,.. .
..HMMMMM! I think of Monsanto and Beyer(and what ever corporations)
It's pretty tuff to get away from P's and H's and F's and GMO's all of which are big parts of pretty much any foods prepared for livestock and humans. That said the cereal grains that are used to prepare not only feed for our chickens and beef and other "foods" but also our pet dogs and cats, are pretty much the cast-offs of the human food industry("Corn Flakes", "Porridge Oats", "Light Rye Bread" pastas etc). A great deal of it also contains dead(really, really dead) and diseased grains, mouldy grains, mishappen grains all of which predominantly were "ripened" by use of "Round-Up". As well remains from diseased animals and even some euthanized pet remains goes into the "pet-food industry'. There is also dead and diseased animals used in the "commercial livestock feeds" industry.
I use as little as possible of the commercially produced livestock feed for my chickens and my other stock (including my K9's). I also make a conscious effort to refrain from feeding mouldy foods and dairy products(bread,yogurt). If they eat from the garden or the surrounding wilderness and still make it home alive, and are still alive in a few days, and in good health then I think I won't worry too much.
The eggs I get from my chickens are "mucho delisioso" as is the sweet spicy firm flesh. Unlike the bland (actually very "eeeeyyuck!") eggs from the store, and indeed the flesh that doesn't even require chewing and slides down the throat like a small oyster....and pretty much as slimy....and about as much flavour.
My family is pretty healthy according to the local "health authorities" and I firmly believe that it is directly related to what we put into our bodies.
In conclusion, I'm gonna stick with my free roaming, pretty much feral chickens.
...........and turkeys and ducks and geese..and rabbits.
And I am gonna continue harvesting our local wild fare be it flora or fauna.
Aint really that much P's, H's, F's, GMO's, Monsanto's and Round-Up's in them things. Not where I live at anyhow.