The worst things to feed your chickens.

[human1]

If you can eat it they can eat it! Everything that comes out of my kitchen goes to the run and the birds get their chance at it. Stale bread, meat, potatoes, beans, rice, corn, cake, cereal, carrot peels, potato peels, apple peels and cores (including seeds), stale chips, milk, soup, I mean everything. If they don't want it it composts away. They come running when we show up with the old cool whip containers we put the stuff in to carry it out there.

some things like very sweet or salty thigns and fat may be okay for humans but not so great for chickens
like for example, if a human eats a piece of candy/lollies, its not that much
but if a chicken eats a piece of candy/lollies, its kind of a lot, because their bodies are much smaller, if that makes sense

 

[Kirkwooder]

I doubt there has ever been any candy make it very far past me, Just saying.

 

[Chris2018]

I wasent sure about the rice and bean but i have received mixed information about it so I just put it on to be safe.

You will get mixed information on a lot of things on here.
Lots of poultry feed and good scratch grains will use rice or both rice and beans in there mix.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

I will add something no one other than my spouse considered: tiny marshmallows (the kind you put on top of hot chocolate)

I can TELL you it is bad because he gave it to 1 specific chicken (who thought it was grand and ate them like they were the most amazing thing ever). She had nasty diarrhea afterwards.

My very scientific experiment was done under controlled conditions (she was in the house that day due to a bumblefoot, but had not had any meds).

Additional, long term result ? She now LOVES my spouse. Follows him around, he is the Candy-man.

Also, I now eat all the little marshmallows as soon as they come into the house (that'll teach him!)

 

[Ridgerunner]

You asked to include why so I'll comment on a few things.

Apple seeds - Many fruit seeds contain arsenic. It's here to kill any tiny insect that might try to eat the seed. Have you ever swallowed an apple seed? I did when I was a kid picking apples off of a tree. Why am I not dead? Dosage. The amount of arsenic in an apple seed might kill a tiny insect but isn't enough to bother me. It's not enough to bother a chicken either. I have fruit trees either growing in the run or nearby. They eat fruit that falls or I toss fruit into the run. That fruit has seeds in it but they don't eat enough seeds to harm themselves, not by the time they fill up on the fruit. I've found plum pits in their gizzard when I butcher them. Those have arsenic too. It does not bother them. When I make apple sauce or apple jelly I don't give them a pile of pure apple seeds to go through, why take a chance, but an occasional apple seed when eating an apple is not a problem at all.

Avocado skin and pits - I can't remember exactly what part it is but there is a part of an avocado that can be harmful to them so I avoid them getting any avocado.

Dry beans - Uncooked dry beans contain a substance that can be harmful to you or chickens. Different varieties of dried beans contain different concentrations, red kidney are the worse. Cooked dried beans are OK for you and them. Dosage comes into play some but just avoid all uncooked dried beans.

Dry rice - It would be interesting to know why people think this is bad. There used to be a myth that throwing rice at weddings was bad because wild birds would eat it, their crops would swell up when the digestive juices hit it, and that would kill them. As I said, that is a myth. Chickens and other birds eat all kinds of dried grass seeds (also called grains) and don't have problems. I don't hesitate to feed dry or cooked rice to mine. By the way, it is still a bad idea to throw rice at a wedding. Not because of any danger to the birds but on hard floors or sidewalks it is really easy to slip on those dried rice grains and fall. You could hurt somebody from the fall.

Raw egg - Again, why? Chickens don't know what the inside of an egg tastes like until it is opened. How can eating raw egg cause them to open an egg eat it? It can't. It is pretty common for a chicken to eat an egg that is broken, that's just taking advantage of available nutrition. That doesn't make them an egg eater. An egg eater is a chicken that learns to open an egg to eat it. Those are really pretty rare. I've had one in my life. When she opened an egg other hens would help her eat it but none of the others ever learned to open one on their own. I prefer to cook eggs before I feed them back to the flock, but that's mainly because of the mess raw eggs can make. They are not like a dog that could lick it all up, they can leave some to go rotten. I hate that rotten egg smell.

Raw potatoes - another one where myths abound. There is nothing wrong with you or them eating raw or cooked potatoes. The problem comes in when those potatoes are green. If a potato is exposed to sunlight it turns green. The green itself isn't the danger, but a potato in sunlight also produces a toxin that can harm you or the chickens so the green is a sign that the toxin is there. Cooking doesn't help, cooking doesn't destroy that toxin. Dosage again comes into play, one bite won't kill you or them, but I try pretty hard to not feed my family or my chickens any green potatoes damaged by exposure to sunlight.

Salt - If you look on the label on a bag of chicken feed you'll see salt listed as an ingredient. Some salt is good for them, very small amounts of salt. But, a big but, too much salt is not good for them. Sea birds like gulls that drink salt water can separate out the salt. Chickens can't do that. Again, one bite won't kill them but avoid salty foods. They'll pickup what they need without you feeding it to them. To be clear, avoid salty foods.

Mine get table scraps, kitchen scraps, excess from the garden, whatever they can find when they forage, including a fair amount of fruit and berries in season. You can see from the above what I try to avoid. To me the key is moderation. In general, one bite won't kill them, let alone harm them. So moderation goes a long way to keep them safe. By feeding all treats in moderation so most of what they eat is their chicken feed you also help them keep a balanced diet which protects their health.

 

[Chookchicken]

You asked to include why so I'll comment on a few things.

Apple seeds - Many fruit seeds contain arsenic. It's here to kill any tiny insect that might try to eat the seed. Have you ever swallowed an apple seed? I did when I was a kid picking apples off of a tree. Why am I not dead? Dosage. The amount of arsenic in an apple seed might kill a tiny insect but isn't enough to bother me. It's not enough to bother a chicken either. I have fruit trees either growing in the run or nearby. They eat fruit that falls or I toss fruit into the run. That fruit has seeds in it but they don't eat enough seeds to harm themselves, not by the time they fill up on the fruit. I've found plum pits in their gizzard when I butcher them. Those have arsenic too. It does not bother them. When I make apple sauce or apple jelly I don't give them a pile of pure apple seeds to go through, why take a chance, but an occasional apple seed when eating an apple is not a problem at all.

Avocado skin and pits - I can't remember exactly what part it is but there is a part of an avocado that can be harmful to them so I avoid them getting any avocado.

Dry beans - Uncooked dry beans contain a substance that can be harmful to you or chickens. Different varieties of dried beans contain different concentrations, red kidney are the worse. Cooked dried beans are OK for you and them. Dosage comes into play some but just avoid all uncooked dried beans.

Dry rice - It would be interesting to know why people think this is bad. There used to be a myth that throwing rice at weddings was bad because wild birds would eat it, their crops would swell up when the digestive juices hit it, and that would kill them. As I said, that is a myth. Chickens and other birds eat all kinds of dried grass seeds (also called grains) and don't have problems. I don't hesitate to feed dry or cooked rice to mine. By the way, it is still a bad idea to throw rice at a wedding. Not because of any danger to the birds but on hard floors or sidewalks it is really easy to slip on those dried rice grains and fall. You could hurt somebody from the fall.

Raw egg - Again, why? Chickens don't know what the inside of an egg tastes like until it is opened. How can eating raw egg cause them to open an egg eat it? It can't. It is pretty common for a chicken to eat an egg that is broken, that's just taking advantage of available nutrition. That doesn't make them an egg eater. An egg eater is a chicken that learns to open an egg to eat it. Those are really pretty rare. I've had one in my life. When she opened an egg other hens would help her eat it but none of the others ever learned to open one on their own. I prefer to cook eggs before I feed them back to the flock, but that's mainly because of the mess raw eggs can make. They are not like a dog that could lick it all up, they can leave some to go rotten. I hate that rotten egg smell.

Raw potatoes - another one where myths abound. There is nothing wrong with you or them eating raw or cooked potatoes. The problem comes in when those potatoes are green. If a potato is exposed to sunlight it turns green. The green itself isn't the danger, but a potato in sunlight also produces a toxin that can harm you or the chickens so the green is a sign that the toxin is there. Cooking doesn't help, cooking doesn't destroy that toxin. Dosage again comes into play, one bite won't kill you or them, but I try pretty hard to not feed my family or my chickens any green potatoes damaged by exposure to sunlight.

Salt - If you look on the label on a bag of chicken feed you'll see salt listed as an ingredient. Some salt is good for them, very small amounts of salt. But, a big but, too much salt is not good for them. Sea birds like gulls that drink salt water can separate out the salt. Chickens can't do that. Again, one bite won't kill them but avoid salty foods. They'll pickup what they need without you feeding it to them. To be clear, avoid salty foods.

Mine get table scraps, kitchen scraps, excess from the garden, whatever they can find when they forage, including a fair amount of fruit and berries in season. You can see from the above what I try to avoid. To me the key is moderation. In general, one bite won't kill them, let alone harm them. So moderation goes a long way to keep them safe. By feeding all treats in moderation so most of what they eat is their chicken feed you also help them keep a balanced diet which protects their health.

Thank you. This is a lot of useful information, probably the most useful information so far. I’ll take off dried rice, raw egg and raw potatoes (I’ll replace it with green potatoes). Again thank you

 

[Carson213]

Apple seeds, avocado pit/skins, salt, rotten food, and junk food.

we used to have two apple trees in the chicken run. apple seeds?

i don’t give them avocado..but that’s because we like it and they’re expensive.

as far as rotten food...if it’s past its prime in the fridge...goes in the chicken run.

literally, the only thing i don’t give them is intact eggs and limes. i give them all the barley from brewing beer, hops, old sauerkraut, meat scraps, fruit scraps, rotisserie chicken carcass after boiled for broth...

they eat everything...

 

[Carson213]

they ate 4 liters of sauerkraut today from an experimental batch i made that my kids didn’t like

 

[Carson213]

You asked to include why so I'll comment on a few things.

Apple seeds - Many fruit seeds contain arsenic. It's here to kill any tiny insect that might try to eat the seed. Have you ever swallowed an apple seed? I did when I was a kid picking apples off of a tree. Why am I not dead? Dosage. The amount of arsenic in an apple seed might kill a tiny insect but isn't enough to bother me. It's not enough to bother a chicken either. I have fruit trees either growing in the run or nearby. They eat fruit that falls or I toss fruit into the run. That fruit has seeds in it but they don't eat enough seeds to harm themselves, not by the time they fill up on the fruit. I've found plum pits in their gizzard when I butcher them. Those have arsenic too. It does not bother them. When I make apple sauce or apple jelly I don't give them a pile of pure apple seeds to go through, why take a chance, but an occasional apple seed when eating an apple is not a problem at all.

Avocado skin and pits - I can't remember exactly what part it is but there is a part of an avocado that can be harmful to them so I avoid them getting any avocado.

Dry beans - Uncooked dry beans contain a substance that can be harmful to you or chickens. Different varieties of dried beans contain different concentrations, red kidney are the worse. Cooked dried beans are OK for you and them. Dosage comes into play some but just avoid all uncooked dried beans.

Dry rice - It would be interesting to know why people think this is bad. There used to be a myth that throwing rice at weddings was bad because wild birds would eat it, their crops would swell up when the digestive juices hit it, and that would kill them. As I said, that is a myth. Chickens and other birds eat all kinds of dried grass seeds (also called grains) and don't have problems. I don't hesitate to feed dry or cooked rice to mine. By the way, it is still a bad idea to throw rice at a wedding. Not because of any danger to the birds but on hard floors or sidewalks it is really easy to slip on those dried rice grains and fall. You could hurt somebody from the fall.

Raw egg - Again, why? Chickens don't know what the inside of an egg tastes like until it is opened. How can eating raw egg cause them to open an egg eat it? It can't. It is pretty common for a chicken to eat an egg that is broken, that's just taking advantage of available nutrition. That doesn't make them an egg eater. An egg eater is a chicken that learns to open an egg to eat it. Those are really pretty rare. I've had one in my life. When she opened an egg other hens would help her eat it but none of the others ever learned to open one on their own. I prefer to cook eggs before I feed them back to the flock, but that's mainly because of the mess raw eggs can make. They are not like a dog that could lick it all up, they can leave some to go rotten. I hate that rotten egg smell.

Raw potatoes - another one where myths abound. There is nothing wrong with you or them eating raw or cooked potatoes. The problem comes in when those potatoes are green. If a potato is exposed to sunlight it turns green. The green itself isn't the danger, but a potato in sunlight also produces a toxin that can harm you or the chickens so the green is a sign that the toxin is there. Cooking doesn't help, cooking doesn't destroy that toxin. Dosage again comes into play, one bite won't kill you or them, but I try pretty hard to not feed my family or my chickens any green potatoes damaged by exposure to sunlight.

Salt - If you look on the label on a bag of chicken feed you'll see salt listed as an ingredient. Some salt is good for them, very small amounts of salt. But, a big but, too much salt is not good for them. Sea birds like gulls that drink salt water can separate out the salt. Chickens can't do that. Again, one bite won't kill them but avoid salty foods. They'll pickup what they need without you feeding it to them. To be clear, avoid salty foods.

Mine get table scraps, kitchen scraps, excess from the garden, whatever they can find when they forage, including a fair amount of fruit and berries in season. You can see from the above what I try to avoid. To me the key is moderation. In general, one bite won't kill them, let alone harm them. So moderation goes a long way to keep them safe. By feeding all treats in moderation so most of what they eat is their chicken feed you also help them keep a balanced diet which protects their health.

the dried stuff you mentioned expands in their gut. dried beans or rice...not a good idea for humans or chickens

 

[Carson213]

You asked to include why so I'll comment on a few things.

Apple seeds - Many fruit seeds contain arsenic. It's here to kill any tiny insect that might try to eat the seed. Have you ever swallowed an apple seed? I did when I was a kid picking apples off of a tree. Why am I not dead? Dosage. The amount of arsenic in an apple seed might kill a tiny insect but isn't enough to bother me. It's not enough to bother a chicken either. I have fruit trees either growing in the run or nearby. They eat fruit that falls or I toss fruit into the run. That fruit has seeds in it but they don't eat enough seeds to harm themselves, not by the time they fill up on the fruit. I've found plum pits in their gizzard when I butcher them. Those have arsenic too. It does not bother them. When I make apple sauce or apple jelly I don't give them a pile of pure apple seeds to go through, why take a chance, but an occasional apple seed when eating an apple is not a problem at all.

Avocado skin and pits - I can't remember exactly what part it is but there is a part of an avocado that can be harmful to them so I avoid them getting any avocado.

Dry beans - Uncooked dry beans contain a substance that can be harmful to you or chickens. Different varieties of dried beans contain different concentrations, red kidney are the worse. Cooked dried beans are OK for you and them. Dosage comes into play some but just avoid all uncooked dried beans.

Dry rice - It would be interesting to know why people think this is bad. There used to be a myth that throwing rice at weddings was bad because wild birds would eat it, their crops would swell up when the digestive juices hit it, and that would kill them. As I said, that is a myth. Chickens and other birds eat all kinds of dried grass seeds (also called grains) and don't have problems. I don't hesitate to feed dry or cooked rice to mine. By the way, it is still a bad idea to throw rice at a wedding. Not because of any danger to the birds but on hard floors or sidewalks it is really easy to slip on those dried rice grains and fall. You could hurt somebody from the fall.

Raw egg - Again, why? Chickens don't know what the inside of an egg tastes like until it is opened. How can eating raw egg cause them to open an egg eat it? It can't. It is pretty common for a chicken to eat an egg that is broken, that's just taking advantage of available nutrition. That doesn't make them an egg eater. An egg eater is a chicken that learns to open an egg to eat it. Those are really pretty rare. I've had one in my life. When she opened an egg other hens would help her eat it but none of the others ever learned to open one on their own. I prefer to cook eggs before I feed them back to the flock, but that's mainly because of the mess raw eggs can make. They are not like a dog that could lick it all up, they can leave some to go rotten. I hate that rotten egg smell.

Raw potatoes - another one where myths abound. There is nothing wrong with you or them eating raw or cooked potatoes. The problem comes in when those potatoes are green. If a potato is exposed to sunlight it turns green. The green itself isn't the danger, but a potato in sunlight also produces a toxin that can harm you or the chickens so the green is a sign that the toxin is there. Cooking doesn't help, cooking doesn't destroy that toxin. Dosage again comes into play, one bite won't kill you or them, but I try pretty hard to not feed my family or my chickens any green potatoes damaged by exposure to sunlight.

Salt - If you look on the label on a bag of chicken feed you'll see salt listed as an ingredient. Some salt is good for them, very small amounts of salt. But, a big but, too much salt is not good for them. Sea birds like gulls that drink salt water can separate out the salt. Chickens can't do that. Again, one bite won't kill them but avoid salty foods. They'll pickup what they need without you feeding it to them. To be clear, avoid salty foods.

Mine get table scraps, kitchen scraps, excess from the garden, whatever they can find when they forage, including a fair amount of fruit and berries in season. You can see from the above what I try to avoid. To me the key is moderation. In general, one bite won't kill them, let alone harm them. So moderation goes a long way to keep them safe. By feeding all treats in moderation so most of what they eat is their chicken feed you also help them keep a balanced diet which protects their health.

no reason to feed chickens salt either