Trying to save a bit on the feed

[bt03]

i just talked to the local grocery store and they give produce scraps free to whoever comes to pick up the box. It's usually only a small box but today it was 2 boxes of scraps. What CAN'T I give my chickens and ducks? One of the boxes was half citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruit,lemons,limes) and I thought I had read somewhere they can have oranges but not grapefruit? The other box was a mix of green veggies. I know I wont be feeding them the jalapenos but what else are they not allowed to have? Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[chickenscott]

I would not give anything that is rotten (common sense) and no potatoes with green skins. Onions, garlic, ginger root would not be a good idea either. For the most part they will pick through the greens. No sure about citrus fruits. I feed cores of apples (no seeds), melons and pears. I do not give pits of seeds of fruit as a rule. I am also curious to see what others say about oranges, lemons, line fruits etc.

 

[DFCottage]

Mine deeply love a watermelon! I eat what I want out of it, and then toss in cut sections with some pink, and they go crazy, and eat it down to the rind.

 

[Arielle]

I can't remember the rules about citrus either--I always need to look it up! I use the search feature--most opinons are pretty consistent about citrus. Good job on finding a resource to recycle food!

 

[bt03]

Quote:
There are a lot of conflicting thoughts about citrus fruits. Some say they give it to their flock and others say it can cause a build up of acids in their system

Maybe I should start small because I'd hate to waste anything that is free. With the cost of feed rising all the time & our limited space I'm afraid free ranging won't be enough to lower costs.

 

[TN_BIRD]

Look on the bright side. You can always throw the "questionable" items in a compost pile and let your chickens have access to the compost pile. My pile of compost is a favorite spot for our chickens. We don't have a lot of citrus in there, but something tells me they aren't looking for veggies and fruit in the compost pile.

 

[Arielle]

With the cost of feed rising all the time & our limited space I'm afraid free ranging won't be enough to lower costs.

there are other resources to consider: friends, neighbors. I have an aunt that cleans out her freezer occassionally and gives me everything! I had a dog that ate everything but now I have the chickens!

 

[dbounds10]

Check out the Treat Chart - It does say not to feed citrus.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-Treats_Chart

 

[GiddyMoon]

I have seen many people on here who have fed citrus to their chickens for years without issues. Many things end up on lists because someone has trouble with something and they blame it on something new they may have tried, etc. I am sure with just like many things..it is a matter of quantity.