Question about things they CANNOT eat

[TomZilla43]

The total lack of punctuation's made my head hurt so bad. And I heard ALL of my English teachers screaming and there was red markers all over that post.

 

[cyndalrash]

Hello and welcome to BYC!
Another food to avoid is citrus.
Just as a heads up, although chickens love scraps and treats, please try to limit them to occasionally, as they require formulated protein feed. I suggest feeding your flock with Grower or Flock Raiser, offering oyster shell for your layers at about 17-18 weeks of age. Even though they enjoy being spoiled, you risk health issues if their treat intake takes place of their feed.
Good luck!

I AM LEARNING THAT THE HARD WAY. HAVE LOST 2 CHICKENS I THINK TO NOT ADEQUATE FOOD. PULLED THE CORN AND SCRATCH FEED AND THEY HAVE ALL PELLETS NOW AND WILL GIVE THEM CORN EVERY NOW AND THEN FOR SCRATCH. AND VERY SELDOM EXTRA HOUSE FOOD BUT AS A TREAT ONLY.

 

[New2Chicks97]

I AM LEARNING THAT THE HARD WAY. HAVE LOST 2 CHICKENS I THINK TO NOT ADEQUATE FOOD. PULLED THE CORN AND SCRATCH FEED AND THEY HAVE ALL PELLETS NOW AND WILL GIVE THEM CORN EVERY NOW AND THEN FOR SCRATCH. AND VERY SELDOM EXTRA HOUSE FOOD BUT AS A TREAT ONLY.

Have you found yours to be picky when it comes to food? I have had to try different brands of food to find one they will eat well. Mine don’t like pellets they prefer crumbles. I have tried various brands both locally made and others. Mine like Purina best and that is what they will eat with gusto. Everything else they seem to start losing weight because they don’t eat well.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

So I have a compost pile and everything goes into it, moldy or not, and the chickens get access to that for about half the year. However....
I am very careful to bury things with know toxins deep enough they have trouble getting to it. This list is very specific. Citrus peels, chocolate, coffee grounds, alcohol, avocado shells. Almost nothing else. I would bury onions except I have found that my chickens hate them, so no need.
Consider what you're feeding and why it might be toxic. Studies show citrus can have effect on the calcium in layer chickens, but the others have things that are actively toxic to most life in them. One thing humans are good at is processing toxins. Chickens aren't as good at it as us and they are MUCH smaller. The dose of chocolate for chickens is only a few ounces. The same chemical that causes that problem also exists in coffee grounds.

So I would look into if there's anything ACTUALLY toxic, specifically, in what you are looking at feeding and go from there. many people just throw moldy food onto the compost pile and let the chickens pick it apart at their leisure. If you're having trouble finding info on it for chickens, specifically you can compare it to other birds. There's a lot of info for example on chocolate toxicity in parrots. I wonder if you can find info on these berries in regards to other birds.
(https://pets.thenest.com/theobromine-toxicity-parrots-11344.html)

I will say this about hot peppers. Chickens can't taste heat. Most birds don't have the taste receptors for capsaicin so hot peppers should be fine as long as they're not in extreme excess or hot enough to burn skin on contact.

 

[Shadrach]

I'm about to change the processed food I give the chickens here. What they have been getting is layers pellets; they don't like them much. I expect it's much the same everywhere, but layers pellets were developed for caged chickens with the aim to provide the nutrition that would produce most eggs per ration. That doesn't necessarily make them good for the chickens. I have finally found a supplier of multi feed reasonably close and I'm going to give it a try. If I make the change slowly I'm not expecting any problems.

The chickens here free range during the day and watching what they eat makes strict diet plans pointless. What they shouldn't eat is pretty much the same as what we shouldn't eat; so chocolate, crisps, take away dinners, anything with a high salt content, E numbers, artificial flavorings, you know, the stuff we all live on

 

[New2Chicks97]

I'm about to change the processed food I give the chickens here. What they have been getting is layers pellets; they don't like them much. I expect it's much the same everywhere, but layers pellets were developed for caged chickens with the aim to provide the nutrition that would produce most eggs per ration. That doesn't necessarily make them good for the chickens. I have finally found a supplier of multi feed reasonably close and I'm going to give it a try. If I make the change slowly I'm not expecting any problems.

The chickens here free range during the day and watching what they eat makes strict diet plans pointless. What they shouldn't eat is pretty much the same as what we shouldn't eat; so chocolate, crisps, take away dinners, anything with a high salt content, E numbers, artificial flavorings, you know, the stuff we all live on

Glad to hear that mine aren’t the only chickens that dislike layer pellets. Are you considering milled foods? Let us know if your chickens prefer it. I might consider driving to get some if I hear some success stories. Otherwise it is a long drive for food they won’t eat.

 

[Hopperkiller]

Don't feed your chickens anything from the Nightshade family so potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers as they carry a toxin that can kill. Avocadoes are really bad for them. You can feed them asparagus but it does make the taste of the eggs different so your call on that. Onions and rhubarb are a no no. Jalapenos are fine as they aren't affected by the spice.

I have to disagree with the inclusion of tomatoes. Numerous people and i in my area plant cherry tomatoes in our chicken gardens for shade and treats. Have had no problems with this practice and in the Texas sun they provide excellent cover. I have been picking about 3 cups a day from the higher branches to feed them with no ill effects.

 

[Shadrach]

Glad to hear that mine aren’t the only chickens that dislike layer pellets. Are you considering milled foods? Let us know if your chickens prefer it. I might consider driving to get some if I hear some success stories. Otherwise it is a long drive for food they won’t eat.

I'm not completely sure what the foods I'm looking at are described as; my Spanish isn't very good. I'm going to have a look at what they've got and go from there.

 

[New2Chicks97]

I'm not completely sure what the foods I'm looking at are described as; my Spanish isn't very good. I'm going to have a look at what they've got and go from there.

This is what I was considering
https://spokane.craigslist.org/grd/d/non-gmo-chicken-layer-feed/6682506085.html

 

[Shadrach]

This is what I was considering
https://spokane.craigslist.org/grd/d/non-gmo-chicken-layer-feed/6682506085.html

I'm looking at these.
https://www.agroterra.com/p/pienso-gallina-puesta-ecolgico-125-kg-3070717/3070717
https://www.agroveco.com/products/piensos-gallinas/
https://www.planetahuerto.es/venta-...304nATskYAZRwd71wiVM_8h5OoEwUbRhoCxYQQAvD_BwE