Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.
Good luck with your future flock! Hope all goes well with getting them.
Here is a list I've made of foods safe for chickens and foods that should be avoided. I hope it helps!
Good foods
Berries
Greens Don’t give out iceberg lettuce, which is really just green-tinged, unhealthy water and don’t overdo spinach which can result in poor egg quality if fed to often.
Eggs and Eggshells-Remember to rinse and crush the shells and cook the eggs before feeding. Scrambled and boiled eggs are also a wonderful snack for chicks and molting chickens.
Fruits The fruits you give them can be damaged but never moldy.
Garlic-Garlic is very healthy for chickens and acts a natural wormer, laying stimulant, feather re-grower and boosts the circulatory system. It’s also helpful to put in the water or food when a chicken is sick.
Herbs Basil, thyme, comfrey, parsley, bay leaves, lavender, calendula, spearmint, lemongrass, catnip, sage, oregano, yarrow, chickweed, marjoram, cilantro, peppermint, clover, dandelions, dill, bee balm, echinacea, fennel, mint, feverfew, garlic, ginger, lemon balm, marigold, nasturtium, nettles, pineapple sage, rosemary, wormwood and cinnamon.
Dairy
Meat Scraps Don't feed them spoiled meat, as it’s poisonous.
Vegetable
Pumpkins and Squash
Spaghetti, Pasta, Bread and Rice
Bread, Cake, Cookies, Cereal, etc Scrape off the frosting on cake and cookies.
Garden or Yard Weeds Avoid feeding them yew, mushrooms or fungi.
Not good foods
Alcohol
Moldy Foods
Anything Salty
Asparagus-This will change the flavor of a hen’s egg to a bad taste but it otherwise is not harmful.
Avocado-Avocado has a fatty acid in it called “persin” which sadly can be fatal to chickens and sometimes other birds.
Green Areas of Potatoes, Peels and Potato Sprouts-All are poisonous to chickens and you personally shouldn’t eat them either!
Herbs and Plants to Stay Away from-Azalea, philodendron, rhododendron, sweet pea, black nightshade, foxglove, oleander, castor bean, vetch, henbane, irises, lantana, St. john's wort, trumpets vine, morning glory, datura, clematis and honeysuckle. If any of the herbs you are wondering about are not listed in this book, look them up before giving to your flock.
Leaves from Tomato, Pepper, Potato, Eggplant or Nightshade Plants
Onions-Onions contain a substance called “thiosulphate” which will kill red blood cells, cause anemia and sometimes even result in death.
Potatoes-Surprisingly, potatoes contain solanine which causes diarrhea, heart failure and kills red blood cells. However, sweet potatoes do not contain this substance and are perfectly fine and dandy to feed to your flock. Sweet potato fries are also fine as long as they aren’t salted.
Processed Foods and Sweets
Raw, Dry Beans
Raw Peanuts and Other Nuts
Rhubarb leaves-Rhubarb leaves surprisingly contain oxalic acid which is poisonous to chickens.
